Page 42 of Sweet Deception (Savage Vow #2)

ANNA

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Tears of joy streamed down my face as I cradled my baby in my arms. He was so small, so delicate, his tiny fingers curled into fists, his soft downy hair barely visible against his smooth skin. The moment I had feared I would never have was finally here. My son was in my arms, safe.

As I held my son, a tremor ran through me. For a brief, agonizing time, I thought I’d lost him forever. My fingers curled protectively around his tiny form, my breath uneven. Gleb’s hand landed on my back, warm and grounding.

“He’s here, Anna,” he murmured. “And he’s not going anywhere.”

I swallowed hard and nodded.

Gleb assured me it was normal for newborns to keep their eyes closed in the first few days, but worry still tugged at my heart. I pressed my lips against his warm forehead, inhaling his scent. My baby. My precious, beautiful baby.

“I swear, I will protect you with my last breath,” I whispered, holding him tighter, as if afraid he would slip away again.

“We need to go.” Gleb’s voice pulled me back to reality.

I blinked, realizing we were still at his private airport.

The baby had been stolen from me in a high-tech baby pod, and now he had been returned the same way.

My father, on the other hand, had been immediately sent to the Romanov family’s private prison.

the same one where my brothers and cousins had once been kept.

Nodding, I followed Gleb to the car.

Inside the car, he gestured for me to pass him the baby. Since he wasn’t the one driving, he could hold him safely.

I hesitated for a second before placing our son in his arms. The way Gleb looked at him made my heart clench, his gaze was filled with something I had never seen before. Wonder. Adoration.

“He looks like you,” he murmured.

I chuckled. “Really?”

“Yeah, look at him,” Gleb murmured, his voice thick with awe. “He’s perfect.” His fingers brushed the baby’s soft cheek before moving to his tiny hand. A small gasp left Gleb as the baby instinctively grasped his thumb. He let out a deep chuckle, and I couldn’t help but laugh too.

By the time we arrived home, the doctor was already waiting to examine our baby. I was sure he was healthy, but Gleb insisted on taking no chances.

After a thorough check, the doctor smiled. “The child is very healthy. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Romanov.”

Gleb dismissed him, looking satisfied.

I breastfed the baby, watching as his tiny hands clung to me. Once he was done, Gleb took him and played with him for a while, tickling his belly. The baby cooed softly, wiggling his tiny toes in response. But the moment didn’t last long, soon, he drifted off to sleep in Gleb’s arms.

I took him and gently laid him in his crib. We had designed his nursery together while I was pregnant. The soft hues, the plush toys, the soothing lullaby mobile hanging above it was a space made just for him.

I stood there, watching his peaceful face, my heart swelling with love.

A strong arm wrapped around my waist from behind, and I immediately recognized Gleb by his familiar aftershave. He peered over my shoulder at our son.

“I think he’ll grow up to look like me.”

I scoffed. “Are you jealous that he doesn’t look like you yet?”

“No.”

“Liar.” I laughed, placing my hand over his.

Gleb disentangled himself and led me to the bed. From where we lay, we could still see our son. A top-of-the-line baby monitor ensured we would never be too far from him, but I doubted I would ever want to take my eyes off him. His presence brought me a kind of peace I had never known before.

And now, no one could threaten that peace. Gleb had already dealt with his family, and mine.

“Your sister has been sent back to Italy,” he said, his fingers combing through my hair. “Some of my family wanted me to keep her locked up, but I refused.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, exhaling a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “My father deserves that hole, but Maria...” My throat tightened. “I may never forgive her, but she doesn’t deserve that kind of punishment.”

He nodded.

“I got my mother’s properties too.”

I frowned, looking up at him. “How? I thought only your grandmother could grant you those.”

Gleb’s expression darkened. “Turns out one of my uncles had been keeping secrets,” Gleb said, his tone unreadable. “After Grandma’s death, he came forward with my mother’s will. said he’d help me claim what’s mine, but only if I let him take over as the new head of the family.”

I tensed. “And you agreed?”

“I never wanted the title anyway.” He shrugged. “And don’t worry. I made sure our agreement was ironclad. If he ever turns against us, he dies.”

I exhaled, relieved.

“You don’t have to be afraid anymore, Anna. You and our son are safe. You can go anywhere in Moscow without fear.”

Tears pricked my eyes at his words. After everything, I could finally breathe.

“I feel bad for being so hard on you yesterday,” I admitted.

Gleb kissed my temple. “It’s okay. Any mother would react the same way. Some never recover from the trauma of losing a child. The heartbreak is unbearable. I understand.”

I tilted my face up, brushing my nose against his playfully. He chuckled, then kissed me.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

I reached for it and handed it to him.

“Gleb,” a voice said on the other end. “You have men in Colombia, right?”

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

“I need them.”

“For what?”

“She left me. To attend her late boyfriend’s funeral in Colombia. And she’s ignoring my calls. She’s doing this on purpose.”

Gleb exhaled. “Misha, you’re not thinking about...”

“I’m going to kill that bastard’s family for inviting her. Then I’m going to punish her right on her ex boyfriend’s grave.”

Gleb remained silent.

“You think I killed him just because I’m only obsessed with her?” Misha scoffed. “The bastard was sleeping with her seventeen-year-old sister. Since she was sixteen.”

“She doesn’t know?”

“If she did, she wouldn’t still be hating me. But I won’t tell her. Not yet.”

Gleb sighed. “Do whatever you want, Misha. You know I have your back.”

“Good. Will contact your consigliere,” Misha said, then the line went dead.

I stared at Gleb. “Misha Petrov? Luna’s husband?”

Gleb shook his head. “Those two are like cats and dogs, but they’ll sort themselves out eventually.”

He set his phone down and turned to me, his gaze darkening with something else. He reached out, trailing his fingers down my throat before cupping my breast.

“Do you know how beautiful you are, Anna?” he murmured.

I smiled. “Maybe you should tell me while looking into my eyes.”

His smirk deepened. He brushed his thumb over my lips, and I playfully sucked on it before he pulled away and placed his hand on the small of my back.

“You are the most beautiful woman on earth.”

A lump formed in my throat. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. And I’m the luckiest man to have you.” He cupped my face. “Thank you for loving a scarred man like me.”

“You’re perfect, Gleb.”

I kissed him, lingering against his warmth.

After a moment, he said, “That novel you discussed with Nate... I read it.”

I blinked. “You did?”

“I wanted to talk about it with you. So you wouldn’t have to discuss it with another man.”

I laughed. “You’re so jealous.”

He shrugged. “Should we talk about it?”

“Erm... I actually haven’t finished reading the book,” I confessed. “I can’t seem to concentrate on books when I’m not mentally okay, and the last few weeks have been a bit rough. But since you’ve read it all, just tell me what happens.”

“I’ll spoil the story for you.”

“I don’t mind,” I said, a small smile tugging at my lips.

He sighed. “Alright. So, where did you stop?”

“Nate of blessed memory actually spoiled it for me up to the part where the king reveals to Naoni, the female lead that he’s a victim of rape, too, and that’s why he kills women after marrying and having sex with them.”

“Well, I won’t do justice to the story if I tell you, because there are so many plot twists, but the ending wasn’t exactly happy.”

“I know it ends tragically,” I replied.

“The king eventually took a mistress, citing Naoni’s inability to bear children as the reason. He claimed that his throne was at risk and that he only took a mistress because he needed an heir. Yet, he spent almost every night with his mistress, who bore him three sons.”

He paused for a moment, clearly caught up in the narrative.

“The queen was heartbroken, having always believed in the king’s genuine affection.

She repeatedly sought his favor, but he remained indifferent.

So she focused on politics, enduring the shame of being barren.

The mistress didn’t make life easier for her, either, but the queen endured.

Even when she had several chances to cheat on the king, she refused. ”

“What happened next?” I asked, leaning forward.

He continued, “The king went off to war three years later, and before he returned, there was a fight between the queen and the mistress. The queen had ordered the mistress locked in the tower. When the king arrived, he was furious and demanded she be released immediately, but... she was already dead.”

“What?!” I exclaimed. “Did the king blame the queen?”

“Yeah, he was so angry, he ordered her execution. What he didn’t know was that their sporadic, intimate moments had resulted in the queen being pregnant.”

“While she was about to be executed, the queen confessed her pregnancy, but the king was still blinded by his rage. He thought she was evil, a fornicator who had probably slept with one of his men. He insisted she be executed anyway. Even his mother begged on her behalf, but he refused.”

“So the queen asked for one last request, as is the right of every criminal before their execution. Her request to speak to the king was granted,” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

“She was released and escorted to the king and the council. The people watching chanted her name, no one wanted her dead. Many loved her more than the king.”