Page 8 of Obsession of the Bratva

I didn’t like it.

I liked it even less when she smiled. It was a small, tired smile, just as beautiful as her. It infuriated me.

“Don’t.”

The smile disappeared. Good. I reached for her, my hand closing around her wrist. My touch was firm, certain, and unquestionable. For the first time, genuine emotion crossed her face. It was not fear or resistance but something that looked suspiciously like relief again. My instincts sharpened immediately, but I didn’t have time for any of this. I didn’t have the time to sit and decode her feelings. Before I could pursue the thought, voices echoed somewhere down the hallway.

Time. We were running out of it.

“We’re leaving.”

Vera looked at me for a long moment. “Nico, I am getting married.”

“Does it look like I care?”

“I can’t leave like this, Nico. You need to go and leave me alone.” There was no conviction in her voice. No anger or fear, except a dull tiredness which made everything worse. The lack of opposition was somehow more unsettling than a fight would have been.

“I’m not going to sit here and watch you get married to someone else, Vera. Not after what you did to me.”

I didn’t stop after that, and she didn’t resist much. I tightened my grip slightly and guided her toward the door as the wedding continued somewhere below us. Guests laughed and music played, and I was certain her groom waited at the altar. But none of that mattered. I opened the door, forcing Vera Stavros to go with me.

And this time, I had no intention of letting her disappear again.

Chapter 2 - Vera

The first thing I noticed was that Nico’s hand had not left my wrist for a single second. Not when he pulled me out of the dressing room. Not when he guided me into the service corridor behind the chapel. Not even now, as we moved through the maze of hallways hidden behind the beautiful white walls of the church. I hadn’t even known this pathway existed, but of course, Nico knew. He was never unprepared.

His grip was firm. Certain. Possessive.

As if letting go had never even occurred to him. The wedding music continued somewhere in the distance. I could hear the violins and an organ playing. The soft murmur of hundreds of guests gathered to watch me marry another man felt surreal. Just a few minutes ago, I had been standing in front of a mirror, ready to put on my wedding gown.

Now I was being abducted by the only man I had ever loved.

And somehow, none of it felt surprising. I know I should have been terrified. I should have been screaming and fighting and asking him to let me go, but I did none of that. I didn’t want to. Instead, I found myself staring at the broad line of his shoulders as he walked ahead of me.

It had been months since I had walked into his office and destroyed both of our lives. Yet the moment I saw him standing in my dressing room, everything inside me had gone strangely calm. Because Nico Romanov might be dangerous and terrifying, he was also familiar. And familiarity was a dangerous kind of comfort.

The corridor turned sharply, and Nico adjusted our direction without hesitation. He knew exactly where he was going, and there was no uncertainty in his movements. No searching or second-guessing. He had clearly memorized the place, which only meant this had not been impulsive. He had planned every second of this.

Of course, he had.

Nico did not do anything halfway.

The realization should have frightened me. Instead, it made my chest ache.

How long had he been planning this?

Before I could stop myself, I looked at him again, but his expression remained completely unreadable. The same cold mask he had worn in his office months ago returned. The same expression he had worn when I shattered his heart. Nothing reached his eyes anymore. I was responsible for that.

The thought settled heavily inside my chest.

Suddenly, Nico stopped, and I nearly collided with his back.

“What—”

His hand tightened, silencing me immediately. I followed his gaze, noticing the two security guards who had appeared at the far end of the corridor. My stomach dropped even though I should have been happy. One of them frowned, and the other squinted as recognition flashed across their faces.

“Miss Stavros?” The words echoed through the hallway.