Page 71 of Plus-Size Bride Forced By the Bratva

Her lips curled into a faint grin, eyes sparkling with a glint of mirth.

I rose to my feet and walked over to the couch she was seated on, then sank into the vacant space beside her. Her perfume lingered in the air, blending seamlessly with the scent of my cologne.

She looked into my eyes, as if searching for any sign of dishonesty or insincerity.

“I’m not the kind to admit their feelings, but I’m doing that now,” I said, placing my hand on her lap, my eyes locked to hers. “You’re my anchor, Ravyn, my strength and the light in my dark. I wasn’t sure at first, but now I am. I cannot function without you because you complete me.”

She stared at me in silence, her expression softening by the second. She didn’t say anything, just sat there, listening.

“You might find my confession hard to believe,” I added. “But I assure you, everything I just said is the truth and nothing but the truth.”

Silence.

I let out a soft exhale, wondering if my honesty had just ruined everything. “I can understand if you don’t feel the same and—”

“Shhh.” She shushed me, her index finger resting on my mouth.

Ravyn leaned in and claimed my lips, our kiss sealing a vow that needed no verbal promise. With my forehead against hers and her fresh breath warm against my face, she whispered, “I love you too, Lev Tarasov.”

My lips curled into a genuine smile, and my eyes crinkled at the corners. I hadn’t felt more fulfilled in a really long time, and to think my joy was birthed from a woman’s approval? Crazy!

Maybe they were right all along. Maybe I had changed more than I wanted to admit. To the outside world, I was still the same brute whose name sent shivers down my enemies’ spines.

But to my wife at home, I wasn’t just her husband; I was her protector and defender, the one who’d rather watch the world burn than let anything bad happen to her.

*****

THE END