Page 93 of Born into Chaos

“What the hell is taking so long?”

The sound of her dad’s voice has me letting out a groan while she gives another laugh.

I hear Lev say, “I think we all know what’s taking them so long.”

“Lev, don’t fucking start,” Vitaly growls at his brother.

Lev just laughs and says, “Payback is way more fun than I imagined.”

“He’s still too sick to do whatever the hell it is that you’re thinking,” Vitaly says.

Sveta’s eyes widen when Lev says, “I can think of a few things they could be doing that wouldn’t require Vitya to move.”

I laugh and give her a wink, because Lev and I are obviously thinking the same damn thing.

Vitaly ignores his brother and yells, “Sveta, I’m coming down. Vitya, I better not see anything that I won’t like.”

“Your dad is so dramatic,” I whisper, giving her another kiss before she pulls back and scoots out of reach so I’m no longer cupping her ass when her dad walks in.

“I had to help him get ready,” Sveta says, giving her dad an innocent look that I don’t think he’s buying for a second.

He turns and offers me an arm to hold as I get out of bed and stand up. It would be sweet if I didn’t know he was doing it just to keep his daughter’s hands off me.

“You need me to carry you up the stairs, or you think you can manage it?”

I can’t help but laugh at his tone. He may love Samantha as a granddaughter, and he may not be fighting my relationship with his daughter, but he’s still not thrilled about it. Now that I have a daughter, I can understand his position a little better.

“I can manage,” I tell him, and when I’m steady on my feet, I add, “You’re going to learn to love me, Vitaly.”

“Yeah, I really doubt that,” he mutters while Sveta bites back a laugh and steps closer so she can wrap an arm around my waist.

As much as I’d love to be able to take the stairs two at a time like I’d normally do, I’m forced to take it slow, one step at a time with one hand on the railing and the other using Sveta for support.

“It won’t be like this for long,” she reminds me.

I kiss the top of her head, refusing to admit how much a single flight of stairs has winded me. When we turn the corner, Sveta’s family is waiting for us. Katya has Samantha, and as soon as she sees us, she squeals and kicks her feet. Katya laughs and kisses her head. Sveta’smom is just as taken with her as Vitaly is, and it means the world to me that they’ve accepted her so easily into the family. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. The Melnikov brothers chose to be a family. They understand better than anyone that sharing DNA doesn’t really mean shit. Family is everything, but that doesn’t mean you’re required to be related by blood. Family can also be a choice, and we’ve all made that choice with Samantha. The sweet little girl in front of me will never want for anything. She’s always going to be surrounded by the love of her family.

“Good to see you up,” Matvey says while Alina gives me a gentle hug.

I nod at Yelena and Evgeny before hugging the other wives. Sveta stays next to me, secretly helping to support my weak ass until she finally says, “Okay, I’m taking him home now. He needs to rest.”

Dominic is holding Isabella, and she gives me a cute wave while I shake her dad’s hand, thanking him once again for everything he’s done.

“Anytime, Vitya, you know that. Come back for supper when you’re feeling better. Lucia made you enough food to last several weeks. Your freezer is stocked with the best Italian food in the city,” he says with a laugh.

Natalya gives me a hug and whispers, “I knew you were in love with her this whole time.”

“I tried my best to hide it, but you know how persuasive she can be.”

She pulls back with a laugh. “Oh, I definitely know.”

Isabella points to Samantha, so Dominic lets her down, smiling when she runs over and gives her new cousin a kiss on the forehead. I swear Roma gets jealous, and when he lets out a squeal, Isabella quickly runs over and kisses his head too.

“She’s going to be such a good big sister,” Dominic says, wrapping his arms around Natalya and pulling her back against him so he can rest his hand on her growing belly.

I look down at Svetlana, already imagining her pregnant. As ifsensing my thoughts, she looks up at me and gives me her sweet smile, the one that always makes my chest feel too tight.

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

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