Page 44 of Cruel Russian Monster
“It’s so funny to me that you’re chastising him for doing something you should’ve done yourself.”
Jaroslav placed his hand on my arm.
“Vera, don't…” Jaroslav's voice was louder, harder this time.
I knew I was pushing it, but I didn’t care.
“If you had stuck to the original arranged marriage, none of this would be happening.”
“If you hadn't run away, maybe I would have.”
I heard someone swear under their breath.
I smirked. “Maybe as a leader, you should focus on using restraint. Because all you had to do was wait until the day of the wedding. I was there, at the church. But where were you, Lev?”
I saw Katya flinch behind Lev.
“Oh, that's right. You were already married! We get it, you're their Bratva leader, they can't tell you how they really feel…”
My eyes darkened.
“But I can. Jaroslav is cleaning upyourmess. All because you couldn't exercise some good old-fashioned patience.”
“Vera, leave,” Lev said angrily.
“Lev,” Katya said softly. “Please, we can talk about this…”
“Katya, it's okay. I'll leave. But one more thing. Lev, if you had a real solution, this damn war, which has been going on formonths, would’ve been over by now.”
“Leave!” Lev yelled.
“I'm leaving!”
I yanked my arm from Jaroslav's clutch, grabbed my purse, turned on my heel, and stormed out of the room, trembling with fury.
Did I make things better or worse between Jaroslav and Lev?
I didn’t know. Only time would tell.
Chapter 13 - Jaroslav
As soon as Vera stormed out, so did Lev.
Mariya and Ninel stood immediately.
“Katya, go after Lev. We’ve got Vera.”
The women rushed out, leaving me with Marten, Avit, and Pyotr.
“How do we fix this?” Marten asked, leaning forward.
Before I could answer, Avit scoffed.
“Fix?” he said with a dry laugh. “Did any of you seriously think Lev would approve of this marriage to Vera?”
He stood. “Congratulations, Jaroslav. You’ve officially destroyed whatever was left of our faction. Dad would be so damn disappointed.”
In the blink of an eye, I had him pinned to the wall.
