Page 37 of BRATVA'S Traitorous Bride

"For what?"

"For seeing me. For choosing me. For making me strong enough to stand up to him today."

"You did that yourself," I tell her. "I just gave you the space to realize you already had that strength."

She's quiet for a moment, then: "I really am the perfect Pakhan's wife, aren't I?"

The satisfaction in her voice makes me smile against her hair.

"Yes," I agree. "You really are."

And as we lie there, my hand on her belly and her body warm against mine, I know with absolute certainty that this; this moment, this woman, this life we're building, is everything I never knew I needed.

She chose me. And I'm going to spend every day for the rest of my life making sure she never regrets it.