Page 51 of Obsession of the Bratva

“You could have left and come to me, Vera.”

Her gaze snapped to mine, immediately and sharply.

“Could I?”

The question hit harder than it should have.

“Yes, Vera, obviously. You are mine to protect, and I would have kept you safe from both Manny and Adrian.”

Silence settled between us again. Heavier this time.

“Till when, Nico?” she asked, her eyes swimming with tears.

“Forever.”

“What would that have looked like? Staying indoors so no one can find me? Or going out with a security detail every time I stepped out? Not being able to work? Never living without fear? Always checking for cars that might be following me or people that might be after me or calling you every five seconds? I didn’t want any of that, Nico. I wanted a normal life.”

“Your life stopped being normal the day you got involved with a bratva man, Vera. You know our lives are complicated. We just have to live with it.”

“I just want to be happy, Nico. I didn’t know how to be that.”

“You seriously thought you could be happy without me?”

The tears in her eyes finally gave way and crept down her cheeks. I wiped them away, holding her face in my hands as I kissed her. It wasn’t passionate like our earlier kisses, but softer this time. It was the kind of kiss that was meant to deliver that I loved her. The brief moment of normalcy surprised both of us.

I could tell. Because she smiled. And despite myself, I smiled back. For a second. Just one.

Then reality returned as it always did. I couldn’t forget all that had happened, from the lies to the wedding and the kidnapping. The months between us. Everything unresolved crashed back into place.

“Nico.”

I paused. “What?”

“What happens now?”

There it was. The question neither of us could answer. I looked at her. Really looked at her. And realized I had no idea. The revenge I’d planned no longer made sense, and the certainty I’d been living on for months was gone.

“I don’t know, my love.”

The admission felt strange. Foreign. Because I always knew. I always had a plan. But now? Nothing. Vera studied me for several seconds and then nodded. As if that answer somehow made sense. Maybe it did. Without another word, I walked toward the door. I needed space and clarity. I needed to think.

“Nico.”

I looked at her and realized she was watching me carefully. Like she wanted to say something else. Something important.

Instead, she simply said, “Be careful.”

I almost laughed, not because it was funny but because it was absurd. After everything that had happened between us, she was still worried about me. The realization followed me all the way out of the room, and for the first time since learning the truth, I began wondering what else I had gotten wrong.

Chapter 12 - Vera

Two weeks.

That was how long it had been since everything had changed, and somehow, nothing had changed at all. If someone had asked me whether sleeping with Nico had fixed anything between us, I would have laughed in their face. The answer was obvious.

No.

It hadn’t fixed a single thing. The truth was almost cruel in its simplicity. For one night, we had found our way back to each other. For one night, we had forgotten everything that stood between us. For one night, I had seen the man I loved instead of the stranger who had dragged me away from my own wedding. He had been perfect in every way imaginable, and it had truly felt as if I had been transported back in time to when we were together and happy.