Page 85 of Married to My Sis’s Bratva Fiancé

The smile she tipped up at him made my lungs seize.

By the time my black sedan stopped outside Yegor's villa, it was already dark.

The iron gate stayed shut. Through the bars, I spotted Elena in the yard immediately.

She wore a light shirt smeared with paint. Her hair was loosely tied back. She stood by an easel. Yegor said something, and she looked down and laughed, her shoulders shaking a little.

That wasn't the fake, polished smile from a banquet. Around me, she almost never looked that loose.

Yegor handed her a rag. Their hands didn't touch, the space between them careful—still, I wanted to break his fucking hand.

The guard at the gate refused to let me in. Minutes later, Yegor walked out from the main house alone. Elena lifted her head too.

Our eyes met through the bars.

My spine went rigid. The smile vanished from her mouth. Those hazel eyes used to look at me with this careful little light. Now there was only wariness.

Yegor came out the side door and pulled it shut behind him.

"Leave."

I got out of the car. "Bring her out."

"She doesn't want to see you."

"You decided that for her?"

"No. I respect the decision she already made."

He was younger than me, didn't carry the same constant guard in his stance, but he didn't give an inch as he stood in front of that door. We'd used to drink at the same table and talk business. Now I only wanted him out from between me and my wife.

"She is my wife."

"When you handed her the divorce papers, you didn't act like it."

"The papers were forged. The audio was cut up. I need to tell her myself."

"I can pass the message along."

"I need to see her."

"No."

I stepped forward.

The side door snapped open.

Elena stood half a step behind Yegor. She looked paler than I remembered, thinner too. Her sleeves were rolled to her elbows, showing narrow wrists.

"Elena."

Her lashes trembled. Her breathing went shallow. Her gaze paused on my face for a second—then slid away fast.

That tiny reaction lit something in my blood. I reached out on instinct, ready to pull her back where she belonged.

"Don't touch me."

She stepped back, keeping space between us.