Page 59 of Bratva Boss's Secret Baby

I fold the yellow sleeper and add it to the growing pile, then reach for my phone. The conversation I need to have with Jessie can’t wait any longer. She’s been patient with my scattered updates and careful omissions, but I owe her honesty about where my heart is leading me.

The phone rings twice before her familiar voice fills the sunroom via the speakerphone as I set it down to continue folding and sorting. “Hey, Mama. How are you feeling today?”

“Good. Better than good, actually.” I lean back against the couch cushions. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Uh oh. That tone usually means you’re about to do something that scares me.”

I laugh despite the nervous energy building in my chest. “Not scared, exactly. More like...ready.”

“Ready for what?”

I take a breath, gathering the words I’ve been turning over in my mind for days. “Things with Nikandr have changed, Jessie. He’s different now. More open, more...” I search for the right word. “Present. Like he’s actually here with me instead of just protecting me.”

“That’s good, right? You sound happy about it.”

“I am happy about it. That’s the problem.” I run my free hand over the curve of my belly, feeling the baby’s subtle movements beneath my palm. “I’m ready to have a real conversation with him about our future, not just co-parenting arrangements or keeping things civil for the baby’s sake.”

Jessie is quiet for a long moment, and I can practically hear her thinking. “What kind of conversation?”

“The kind where I tell him I want commitment. A real future together. Not just shared custody, but an actual life—marriage, family, and growing old together… All of it.”

She seems to be struggling with what to say. “Sabrina...”

“I know what you’re going to say?—”

She interrupts with a short laugh that has no amusement. “Do you? Because what I’m going to say is that I want you to be happy, but I also want you to be safe. Wanting something froma man like him...” She sighs. “There are things about his life that don’t just disappear because you’re having his baby.”

The careful way she phrases it tells me she’s trying to be diplomatic, but her concern comes through clearly. “I know that. I’m not naïve about who he is or what he’s done.”

“Then you know that the life he’s built doesn’t have an easy exit ramp. Men like him don’t just retire and become suburban dads.”

I stand and walk to the window, looking out at the perfectly manicured grounds that surround this beautiful prison. “What if he was willing to try? What if he wanted to leave it all behind?”

She sounds skeptical. “Has he said that?”

“Not exactly in those words, but there are indications…” I press my forehead against the cool glass. “There have been moments where I can see him imagining a different life. Something normal and safe and...”

“And you think that’s enough to build a future on? Moments and maybes?”

Her skepticism stings, but I understand it. From the outside, my situation looks insane—falling in love with a man who kidnapped me and carrying the child of someone whose world operates on violence and fear. She still doesn’t know about the kidnapping though. She just thinks he’s a powerful, dangerous man, with whom I spent four impulsive days before learning the full truth.

“He’s been different lately,” I say, turning away from the window to pace the length of the sunroom. “More thoughtful. Like when we went baby shopping, he didn’t just buy everything I touched.He watched me with this look, like he was memorizing the moment. And the way he talks about our daughter...” I pause, remembering the wonder in his voice during our last ultrasound appointment. “It’s like Elizabeth has already changed him somehow.”

She’s quiet for a moment before sighing slowly and loudly. “Change is good, but it takes time. Real change, the kind that sticks, doesn’t happen overnight.”

I nod as I fold two tiny socks together, realizing my hands have been idle while we’ve been talking. “I know, but what if this is the beginning? What if having a family is exactly what he needs to want something different?”

Jessie’s silence stretches long enough that I wonder if the call dropped. Finally, she speaks, her voice gentler than before. “What exactly are you thinking of asking him?”

I sink back onto the couch, pulling a soft pink blanket into my lap. “I want to know if he’s willing to leave his business behind. Completely. Not just delegate more or step back gradually but actually walk away from all of it.”

“And if he says no?”

The question I’ve been avoiding hits me square in the chest. “Then I’ll raise our daughter alone, and he can be the kind of father who sees her on weekends and holidays.”

“You’d really walk away from him?” She makes no attempt to hide her doubt.

I close my eyes, trying to imagine a life without Nikandr’s solid presence, or the way he makes me feel protected and cherished and completely seen. The thought makes my chest ache, but Iforce myself to face it. “I’d have to. I won’t raise my child in a world where violence is always lurking around the corner, where every knock at the door could be a threat.” I open my eyes and stare at the carefully organized baby clothes. “She deserves better than that. We both do.”

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