The Bratva King's Lost Bride

6 The Truth

Ivana POV

I know that Ivan would never really hurt Meadow physically, but that doesn't mean my brother won't say something stupid. He is after all the leader of the Bratva. They aren't known for their finesse. She has been through enough. Losing her parents to a drunk driver as a child. Losing her grandmother and then the sh*t with my brother. Even if he didn't mean to hurt her, he did.

I was half tempted to argue when Ivan told me that Alexi and I would be taking Ava for ice cream, but the anger in his eyes had me wondering if arguing would just make it worse for Meadow. After a few seconds of us just staring at each other, he finally speaks. "You know I love Meadow, which makes what you did all the worse, Ivana. You are my sister and I love you, but I don't like you very much right now," he says as he turns to walk up the steps of the porch.

"You took my sister from me. Even if you love her, you hurt her. I don't like you very much either right now," I blurt out. His steps falter and he turns his eyes burning into me. I'm not sure what I expect, but he nods before turning back toward the farmhouse. What the hell did that mean?

"He knows he screwed up with Meadow, Ivy, but you had no right to keep her from him. He has been losing his mind looking for her," Alexi says. "You didn't hold her while she cried her eyes out. You didn't listen to her tell you all the things those two a**holes said to her every time they were in our home. So don't tell me what I have the right to do, brother. He should have protected her and the baby growing in her womb."

Our conversation is ended by the sound of the screen door slamming open and a skipping Ava. I smile when I see my niece rushing toward me. I scoop her up and bury my face in her neck. "Auntie, we are going for icecream. Mama wants a big scoop of triple chocolate," she says, oblivious to the tension surrounding her. "Well, let's not disappoint her. Come get into your big girl's seat so we can take Uncle Alexi to our favorite sweet shop."

Once she is buckled in, I slide into the passenger seat of the beast. I chuckle at my nickname for Meadow's truck that she refuses to get rid of. "Something funny sister," Alexi says. "Just thinking about when Meadow bought this monstrosity. She refused to let me help her buy a new vehicle. She loves the truck." "Mama, said it was the first big thing she bought all by herself. It's her second baby," Ava says with a giggle.

A few minutes later, we pull up to the mom and pop icecream shop with the pink and purple awning. They also sell pastries that are made in their daughter's bakery. They are better than the high-end coffee shops I normally frequent in Russia. I'm going to miss visiting Meadow here when Ivan forces her back to Russia. "What thought has such sadness creeping into your eyes, Ivana? You know he's right. He won't hurt her," Alexi says as we make our way into the shop.

We place our order and I stare at my brother. It's hard to see him as anything but the lanky teenager that followed Nickoli and Ivan around like a puppy. He has definitely changed over the years, but he will always be my baby brother. We take our seat in the corner while Ava sits at one of the children's tables with two little girls. She talks animatedly, pointing at Alexi.

"Pain isn't just physical Alexi. Besides, Meadow has made a life here. I hate that everything she has built will be taken from her. She is not meant to be a caged bird." "You think that is what she was in Russia. I thought she was happy. She loves Ivan. She never seemed sad in the time I spent with her," he says.

"She does love Ivan. Even after the sh*t that happened that gutted her, she tries to deny it, but I know she still loves him. Do you know what she does here, Alexi?" He shakes his head as we watch Ava make a mess of herself. "She works at Ava's school. She is a teaching assistant. She loves working with children. She isn't meant to be the kept bride of the King of the Bratva."

"You don't think that Ivan would make sure every one of her dreams came true had she simply told him what she wanted. Had she told him what was happening that made her so unhappy, she felt the need to run," Alexi says. "He didn't listen when she told him how uncomfortable those two a**holes made her, so no, I don't." "You said that earlier. What exactly did Dimitri and Danica do to my sister," Alexi asks.

Ivan POV

Once Ava is gone, Meadow stands to her full height. She is tiny compared to me, but she fits perfectly in my arms. I wish I could have put her in my pocket and carried her with me. Then she wouldn't have left me. "Why are you smiling? You are freaking me out," Meadow says, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"You have seen me smile many times, malyshka. Though since you ran, I haven't smiled much. If anything, I've become more ruthless, so it was good for business but not my heart, Meadow." "Ivan, please don't do this," she says. "Do what malyshka?" "Pretend that you love me. Pretend that you aren't angry that I ran away from you and kept Ava a secret," she says.

I step closer to her, and she steps back until she is resting against the door. "Ivan," she practically whispers. "First, I have never pretended to feel anything a day in my life. I love you Meadow Petrov. You are my heart. I have never felt for another woman what I feel for you. I haven't been able to truly breathe since the moment you left me." She drops her gaze to the floor, but I need her eyes for what I say next. After the silence passes for a beat, she lifts her eyes to mine.

"I'm not angry at you, Meadow, I'm hurt. I'm hurt that instead of fighting for us, you left. I'm hurt that you found out about the baby growing in your belly, and you didn't tell me. You robbed me of watching your belly grow round with our child that was made in love. You robbed me of watching Ava's firsts. I've been lost since you left Meadow. You are the one person I trusted completely, and you abandoned me." I can see tears forming in her eyes, but she wipes them away quickly.

The sadness that was marking her beautiful features as I spoke fades, and she straightens her spine. "You do not get to try and make me feel guilty for protecting myself and my child," she says. "Our child, Meadow. She is our child."

"I will not keep you from being part of her life, but you and I can't go back, Ivan. I won't let you hurt me. I don't trust you to keep me safe. I don't trust you not to betray me again. I am not the same naive girl you met in Little Italy. Even if we are still legally married, I refuse to return to that place that was my own personal hell. I sure as hell won't put my daughter at risk. If you want to see her, you can come here. This is her home," she says.

"You think I can't keep you and Ava safe." I can't keep the anger and hurt from my voice. "If I hadn't left I have no doubt that Ava wouldn't exist. Your little girlfriend and her brother would have made sure of that," she says. "Explain," I say, through gritted teeth. "It's too late to explain Ivan. How long are you planning to stay? I can stay at the bed and breakfast in town, so you can stay here with Ava while you're here. I assume you will be returning with Ivana for Nickoli's wedding," she says.

"Meadow, I am not a patient man and most people don't make me ask twice. Explain what the hell you just said about Dimitri and Danica." "Fine, but I'm not sure why you care so much now. Every time I told you that Dimitri didn't like me and Danica wanted me gone and to have you for herself, all you said was neither of them mattered. You never cared how mean they were to me," she says. "That is absolutely not true. You never said they were mean to you. I thought you just felt like they didn't like you and their opinions didn't matter to me. You never told me they said things to you."

She rolls her eyes. "Ivan, you are the smartest man I've ever met. Do you really think I would make a fuss because that pr*ck and his sister didn't warm up to me? I didn't need them to like me, Ivan. I had you. I had Ivanna and Alexi. I had Nickoli when he was home. Your mother didn't like me and I never said a word to you because she was never unnecessarily mean to me," she says.

"They hate me Ivan. In fact, they took every opportunity to tell me that I wasn't worthy of being a bride of the almighty Pakhan. I was too fat. I was to stupid. I was pathetic. I wasn't going to last as your wife. I was just a tight virgin p**sy that you would eventually tire of and take a proper Russian bride like Danica. Thank you for telling him that too. It wasn't embarrassing to find out that my husband told his best friend about our first time, which was probably one of the best moments of my life," she says.

With every word out of her mouth, rage bubbles up inside of me. I've killed men for less than Meadow is telling me happened. A man I considered my most trusted confidant mistreated my wife in my home. "Then let's not forget about Ivana and I finding you and that wh*re in our bed naked. That was just the icing on the cake. You say I didn't tell you about Ava, but I had planned to," she says.

"I also planned to tell you that those two a**holes had cornered me and threatened our daughter if I didn't leave, but instead I saw you wrapped around that b**ch in our bed. I knew at that moment you wouldn't protect me or my daughter. That everything they had said was true. Maybe if it was just me I would have walked into the room and raged at you for being a cheating ba**ard, but I had my daughter to think about. I begged Ivana to help me leave. You have no right to be mad at her. She was protecting Ava," she says.

I pull the phone from my pocket trying not to break it as the anger flows through me. I push one button, and before he can speak, I do. "I want Dimitri and Danica taken to the cells in the terem (old home) immediately. They are to be kept there until I return." "Can I ask why," my father asks. "No, I will explain in person when I return. Also, you better have a conversation with your wife about the treatment of mine before I return papa." "Consider it done, my son. Glad to see you've pulled your head out of your a**," he says and disconnects the call.