Page 189 of The Bratva Devil's Pregnant Captive

I turn toward the window, rocking him gently, instinctively matching his breathing to mine. Outside, the estate is alive in a different way now. Not war.

Children run across the garden lawns, laughter cutting through the open air. Staff move between the house and the grounds, preparing for tomorrow. There’s music somewhere—faint and distant, like the world itself has finally learned how to soften around us.

A Rusnak gathering tomorrow. The house will be full of celebration. I’m really looking forward to it. We all deserve it.

Behind me, I can hear Valeria moving lightly through the room, unhurried. Alexei shifts in my arms, already drifting. His grip loosens slightly against my shirt, eyelids heavy. I instinctively adjust my hold, steadying him with care.

And I think about everything it took to get here.

The violence. The loss. The blood. The choices that left permanent marks on both of us.

All of it narrowing down to this.

This quiet. This breathing room. This fragile peace that feels almost too perfect to trust.

We’re back in the States now. A year after Moscow. A year of rebuilding, of learning how to exist without constant war pressing against our skin. The world still knows our names. Still watches. Still calculates. But here, inside this space we’ve carved out, none of that feels close enough to matter.

We’re…happy.

The thought comes with hesitation, like even acknowledging it might break it.

This is the life I used to imagine in fragments I never thought would connect. And now it’s real enough to touch, real enough to lose.

Sometimes I catch myself waiting for it to collapse. For the phone call. For the breach. For the sound of something breaking again.

But it doesn’t come.

Alexei breathes against my chest, steady and small, and that alone holds me in place.

I look toward Valeria over my shoulder for a moment—just a glance—and she meets my eyes with another smile.

“It’s been two years, Timofey,” she says softly. “You better believe it.”

I take a deep breath, and I do.

*****

THE END