Page 28 of Pregnant Bratva Wife (Vadim Bratva #13)

I stepped out of the examination room, Beatrice hovering protectively at my side, still murmuring something reassuring in my ear. God bless her, but I didn’t hear a word of it.

Because Federico was there. Standing in the middle of the hallway like a goddamn storm waiting to explode.

He strode over until he towered over me. Pale. Jaw clenched so tight I could see it twitch. His eyes— those eyes —locked on mine with such intensity that I forgot how to breathe.

And in that one look, I knew.

Someone had told him.

My secret—the one I hadn’t even fully processed myself—was out. Federico Lebedev had just found out he was going to be a father.

And judging by the way he stared at me, rage and disbelief and heartbreak all flashing in his eyes, he had not taken it well.

“Were you ever going to tell me?” he growled.

I froze, my hand instinctively moving to my stomach. “I only found out a few days ago.”

“And you didn’t think I deserved to know?” The controlled fury in his tone made Beatrice step slightly in front of me.

“Federico, this isn’t the place,” she warned.

His eyes never left mine. “When exactly were you planning to share this information, Autumn? After the baby was born? When they started college?”

“I was going to tell you,” I said quietly.

“You were going to ?” His voice came out extraordinarily sharp. “Autumn, you could’ve told me the second you found out. I had to hear it from a doctor .”

“I was processing,” I shot back, finding my voice. “I needed time.”

“Time? While I was going out of my mind missing you, you were keeping my child a secret! From me. I’m the god damn father, Autumn!”

“Federico, stop it,” Beatrice hissed. “We’re in a hospital.”

He threw Beatrice a look of such annoyance that she flinched.

He was hurt. I could see it underneath all that anger. And guilt curled in my chest, thick and suffocating.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” His face twisted with pain as he met my gaze.

“I didn’t know how,” I whispered, biting my lower lip. “Everything felt like too much.”

He stared at me for a long moment, and then his voice softened—just a little.

“You’re coming home with me.”

“Wait, what?” I squealed.

Federico took a deep breath, ignored me, and turned to Beatrice. “Thank you for bringing her in. For taking care of her. But she’s coming home with me now.”

“I don’t recall agreeing to that,” I said.

His eyes flashed. “You’re carrying my baby. You’re not staying at my sister’s apartment anymore.”

The old me might’ve argued.

The angry, fractured version of me might’ve pushed back harder.

But I was too exhausted. Too raw. Too pregnant .

“I think that’s Autumn’s decision,” Beatrice said carefully.

“It’s fine, Bea,” I sighed, suddenly feeling like all I needed to do was get the hell out of here. “I’ll go. We need to talk anyway.”

Surprise flickered across Federico’s face, like he’d been prepared for more of a fight.

“Are you sure?” Beatrice asked, concerned.

I nodded. “I’m sure.”

Federico’s shoulders relaxed slightly. He turned to Beatrice. “I mean it. Thank you for everything.”

She gave him a long look. “Don’t screw this up again.”

He just nodded, then held out his hand to me. I didn’t take it, just started walking toward the exit. I heard him sigh behind me, then follow.

***

The ride back to the house was silent. Federico kept his eyes on the road, but I could feel how tense he was. I stared out the window, watching the city blur past, trying to make sense of the chaos in my head.

I was pregnant.

With Federico Lebedev’s baby. The man who had manipulated me into marriage. The man I had started to fall for despite everything. The man who, if I were being honest with myself, I still couldn’t get out of my system no matter how hard I tried.

As we pulled up to the mansion, I felt a knot form in my throat. It had only been a few weeks since I’d left, but it felt like years. The place I once called home now looked like a house again.

Federico helped me out of the car, as always. Even when angry, he took care of me first. Quietly, we walked inside, side by side.

“I’ll send one of my men to go get your things from Bea’s tomorrow,” he said as he closed the door behind us.

I just nodded.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “You should eat something.”

That broke me.

I don’t know why that simple question was the one that did it—not the pregnancy test, not the doctor’s confirmation, not even seeing Federico at the hospital.

But standing in the entryway of this mansion that represented everything about my strange, twisted life, being asked if I was hungry by the man who had turned my world upside down twice now... it was too much.

“No,” I choked out, and then the tears came. These ugly, gasping sobs that bent me over. I wrapped my arms around myself like I was trying to hold all my broken pieces together.

“I’m pregnant,” I sobbed. “I’m actually pregnant. With your baby. And I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to be someone’s mother. I don’t know how to be a mob wife. I don’t know how to forgive you, or trust you, or stop missing you. And I’m so tired of feeling lost.”

I was talking to myself. I was a mess. And in an instant, he was by my side, his arms wrapped around me.

God. He was solid and warm and real.

He was kinder than he should have been, considering the secret I kept.

“Breathe,” he murmured against my hair. “Just breathe, Autumn. I’ve got you.”

I leaned into him, breathed in the smell of his skin, and felt the comforting steadiness of his chest. His hands moved in soft circles on my back.

I should have pushed him away because I was still angry.

But he was angry too, and I was so damn tired of fighting, of pretending I didn’t need him that I collapsed against him.

He didn’t move. Didn’t rush.

Just held me while I cried like the world had spun off its axis.

“I miss you,” I finally whispered. “I hate what you did, but I miss you. I miss you.”

His chest rose and fell under my cheek. Then slowly, he kissed the crown of my head.

“I missed you, too,” he murmured.

“I’m scared,” I whispered into his shirt.

“I know. So am I.”

That admission, small as it was, made me pull back to look at his face. Federico Lebedev, admitting fear? “You are?”

He nodded, his beautiful green eyes reminding me of a forest on a dark, sunless day. “Terrified. But not of the baby.” He brushed a tear from my cheek with his thumb. “Of losing you for good.”

I let out a shaky breath. “I’m still angry with you.”

“I know that, too.”

“And I can’t just forgive what you did.”

“I’m not asking you to.” He led me to the living room couch, keeping his arm around me as if he were afraid I might bolt.

Maybe I would have if I’d had the energy.

But he was being so good, so gentle. I kept the fact that I was with his child from him, and he still put me first. “I’m just asking you to stay.

To give me a chance to make things right. ”

I sank into the familiar cushions, suddenly aware of how exhausted I was. “The doctor said the spotting was normal. Nothing to worry about.”

“The doctor told me.” He sat beside me. We sat in silence for a while, neither of us saying a word, taking in this new reality.

I looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since the hospital. There were shadows under his eyes, and he looked rumpled as a human being, like he hadn’t been sleeping well.

“Why did you do it?” I asked quietly. “And don’t say because you wanted me. That’s not enough.”

He was quiet for so long, I thought he might not answer. Then he sighed.

“When my parents died, everything fell apart. Caspian was barely an adult himself, but suddenly he had to step up, take care of all of us, and run the family business. He was drowning.” Federico’s eyes were distant, seeing a past I couldn’t.

“I was sixteen. The second oldest. And I knew if I didn’t help, we’d lose everything. ”

I listened, silent, as he continued.

“So I became the one he could count on. The enforcer. The one who did what needed to be done without question. I became the steady one, the rock he could lean on.” His jaw tightened. “That meant no weakness. No vulnerability. Just control. Always control.”

“That must have been hard,” I said softly. “You were just a child.”

He shrugged. “It was life. I learned that if I made the right moves, I got what I wanted. Always. By any means necessary. And for us to survive as a family? We had to have our way. That became who I was.” He looked at me, his dark eyes intense. “Until you.”

“Me?”

“You turned me down.” He gave a rueful smile. “Do you have any idea how rare that is in my world? People don’t say no to me, Autumn. But you did. And I didn’t know how to handle that.”

“So you manipulated me,” I said, the hurt still fresh.

“Yes.” He didn’t try to soften it. “I saw what I wanted, and I took it the only way I knew how. It was wrong. I know that now. But...” He paused, as if weighing his next words carefully. “If I’m being completely honest, I’d do it again.”

I stiffened. “What?”

“Not the same way,” he clarified quickly. “I’d tell you the truth sooner. Much sooner. But I don’t regret that you became my wife. I don’t regret a single moment with you. And that terrifies me, because it means I’m still the selfish bastard who put you in this position in the first place.”

I stared at him, shocked by his honesty. This wasn’t the Federico I knew—the man who always seemed to know exactly what to say, as if he’d planned every conversation in his head. This was someone new. Someone raw and real.

And I realized this wasn’t a tactic. This wasn’t control. This was him, letting me see him.

The side no one else got. The one who’d always carried the weight for everyone else, and never asked anyone to carry his.

I leaned forward, and the look of sheer surprise on his face made my heart clench. Had I truly been so cruel that he began to believe I would never touch him again? I brushed my fingertips along his jaw. “Why are you opening up to me now?”

His voice dropped. “Because I don’t want to lie to you again. Not ever.” The words fell between us, simple and true. “And because I’m trying to be better. For you. For...” His eyes dropped to my stomach. “For both of you.”

I swallowed hard.

In that moment, I knew the man in front of me wasn’t perfect. He was flawed, bruised by a lifetime of having to be the strong one. But right now, he was choosing me over pride.

And I could feel it—this quiet shift between us.

I leaned in, pressing my forehead to his.

He reached out slowly and brushed a strand of hair from my face, his eyes locked on mine. “I don’t expect you to forgive me overnight. But I need you to know that I mean it. I won’t lie to you again, Autumn. And I will spend every day proving that to you, if you’ll let me.”

I should have been stronger. Should have kept my walls up. But when he looked at me like that, with those dark eyes that saw right through me, I couldn’t remember all the reasons I was supposed to stay angry.

Instead, I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his.

He froze for a heartbeat, as if he couldn’t believe I was still here. And kissing him, that too. Then slowly, I felt the tension leave his body all at once, and his lips parted for more. For me.