Her cheeks flushed, eyelashes battering at me.
I reached out and placed a hand on her belly. “How’s our little girl?”
She threw her arms around my neck. “What makes you so sure it’s a girl?”
“Wanna bet?”
She laughed, refusing to look away. “Our baby girl’s fine.”
“And you?”
She hesitated, her smile retained. “Never better.”
The Bratva believed I’d grown soft because of her. They were wrong. All of them. She didn’t make me weak. She made me stronger, more human. She taught me how to view the world through a different lens, one that wasn’t broken.
Inmyopinion, every ruthless monster out there would be a better version of themselves if they had a woman like Celine in their lives. Not to soften them. But strike a balance between good and evil. Light and darkness.
Men like me understood only one language in this world: violence. It was nice to learn something other than what we were taught growing up.
Her influence rubbed off on me just as much as mine rubbed off on her. The same way she awakened the humanity in me was how I awakened the survivor in her.
She was no longer that timid, weak girl who was kidnapped and brought to the mansion. She was different. Wiser. Stronger. More mindful of her surroundings.
I was impressed by how she had me at gunpoint, thinking I was an intruder. That only meant that she was alert enough to have sensed something creeping into her room.
Once again, she proved that she was capable of defending herself. And our unborn child.
I couldn’t be prouder of the woman she’d become.
Bold.
Smart.
Fearless.
Dangerous.
Chapter 25 – Celine
Six Months Later
Everything had returned to the way it used to be. We were back at the mansion again, picking up the pieces of our lives shattered by the war. Our enemies had been dealt with, and at last, peace was gradually returning.
My belly was growing at a steady pace, and I was happy for how far we’d come as a couple. It had been tough, and the journey wasn’t at all smooth. Yet, against all odds, we still refused to be shaken by the storm.
That was until my health issues started.
At first, I didn’t think much of it: weight loss, aching joints, and the recurring dizziness. I believed it was just the side effects of my pregnancy. But with each passing day, I felt weaker, and the pains in my body grew worse.
I barely ate, hardly slept at night, and my head felt heavy all the time. I didn’t tell Artur about this until I could no longer bear the pain. Instantly, he suggested we see a doctor.
The results were inconclusive for some reason, but I was given some drugs to help with the pain. And for a while, it worked. Although we had to keep visiting the hospital almost all the time for regular check-ups.
I never missed an appointment, and no matter how tight his schedule was, Artur always went with me. He was becoming the ideal man for me, the perfect father for our unborn child.
Unlike before, he no longer hid how much he cared about me. Everyone could tell that the baby and I had become his top priority.
He became my shadow, following me wherever I went—every doctor’s appointment. His presence alone was enough to keep me going. Whenever it was time to rest, he was always there to put me to sleep.