Page 71 of The Russian Pakhan's Forced Bride
Trying to gather my thoughts and words, I sigh and debate myself once more.
If she doesn’t know, then that knowledge can’t hurt her.
But if she does know, then she can be vaguely prepared. At the very least, she won’t be so in the dark about everything going on.
“Those were Maxim Nikolaev’s men. Things have escalated beyond my control, and he’s looking for you.”
Her confusion deepens even further. “Me? Why me? I’ve never met him before…”
Dread trickles into my system, but I have no choice.
“You have…you just don’t remember.”
“What are you talking about?”
This is it…
“This might be hard to believe, but you were born Viktoria Nikolaev…Maxim is your brother—your real brother.”
Immediately, she stares at me, blinking through astonishment. “No…that isn’t possible. I told you a hundred times that I have no siblings.”
“You did—you do,” I murmur, trying my hardest to be as concise as possible for her. “When your father died, and your mother vanished, you and Maxim went into the foster system, but you were too young to remember any of it. I assume your name was Americanized once you were taken in.”
Victoria doesn’t move a muscle, and she doesn’t look away from me for even a moment.
I take another breath and continue, “I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth…Originally, I thought I had the wrong woman when I captured you, but now I know my intel wasn’t wrong…you are Maxim’s sister.”
While Victoria stands there in complete shock, I watch as the reality of it all sets in, and I already know she’s losing herself to that spiral.
I never wanted to burden her with this, but here we are…and it feels even worse than I imagined.
Chapter 24 - Victoria
The house is so quiet that it nearly makes me squirm. Roman’s words echo in my mind and feel more like a knife to the chest than anything else.
It can’t be right. He has to be wrong.
My lungs feel heavier than ever as I stand there, struggling to find the words. My head is too much of a mess to put anything together. It’s all too much to handle…this apparent truth, this confusing state our relationship is in, and the fact that I’m pregnant with his child…
I feel like I’m seconds away from exploding.
I can hardly swallow it all, yet there he is, insisting this is the absolute truth.
That I am a Nikolaev, the sister of his rival and enemy.
“I don’t remember him,” I manage to murmur, well aware that I can’t just remain silent. “…I don’t remember any of it.”
“You won’t…and maybe that’s for the best,” Roman offers, even if it doesn’t help all that much. “He isn’t the brother he could’ve been to you. He’s not that innocent boy anymore.”
Even if I don’t know him, and despite the obvious danger he poses, something in me still clenches at that mental image.
Of the two of us only being young children and separated from one another.
It doesn’t feel like my memory, but it’s still sad.
Swallowing hard, I look at Roman again, and my chest aches.
“What does he want with me?”
