Page 60 of Bratva Brother’s Bride

He exchanges another glance with his partner. Then he nods. “We’ll follow at a distance. Mr. Volkonsky would want us to.”

“No.” The word comes out sharper than I intend. “I need space. I can’t have that with two men in dark suits trailing me like I’m some kind of criminal.”

The taller one’s jaw tightens. “Mrs. Volkonsky?”

“Vera.” I correct him. “I’m asking you, as a favor, to let me have twenty minutes. Just twenty. I’ll have my phone. Nothing is going to happen.”

He looks like he wants to argue, but something in my face must convince him because he finally nods.

“Twenty minutes,” he says. “You call if anything feels off.”

“Thank you.”

I turn and head for the elevator before he can change his mind. Oksana follows.

The elevator ride is silent. My heart is pounding and my palms are sweating, but I don’t regret it. For the first time in days, I feel like I’m in control of something.

The lobby is empty when we reach the ground floor. The doorman barely looks up, and the street outside is quiet in the late afternoon sun.

I step outside and take a deep breath. The air is cool and fresh, a relief after the stale confines of the penthouse. I didn’t realize how much I needed this until right now.

“Pharmacy?” Oksana asks.

I start walking. The city unfolds around me, familiar and strange at the same time. We walk for what feels like hours, though it’s probably only been five minutes. My mind is racing, turning over the same questions.

As we round a corner and I see the pharmacy, something inside me settles. I’m done waiting. I’m done letting other people make decisions for me.

It’s time to figure this out on my own terms.

I stop in front of the pharmacy door.

Oksana stops beside me, her eyes following mine. “Go on, then,” she says quietly. “Get your answers.”

I take a deep breath and push open the door.

18

VERA

The pharmacy smells like antiseptic and artificial flowers.

I stand just inside the door, letting my eyes adjust to the harsh fluorescent lighting. The shelves stretch out before me, filled with bottles and boxes in colors that seem too bright for the otherwise muted atmosphere.

Oksana hangs back near the door, giving me space. I appreciate that more than I can say.

My feet feel heavy as I make my way toward the back of the store, toward the section I’ve visited so many times before. The section that always gave me the same crushing disappointment.

Pregnancy tests. I reach for one without really looking at it. My hands are shaking, and I can feel my heart pounding in my chest.

This is different, I tell myself. This time is different.

Except I’ve told myself that before. In the beginning, I stood in pharmacies just like this one, holding a test and hoping for a different result. Every time, I walked away with the same hollow ache in my chest.

Dmitri’s voice echoes in my memory. There’s something wrong with you, Vera. Something that can’t be fixed.

I shake my head, trying to dislodge the thought. That wasn’t true. Was it?

I clutch the box tighter and make my way to the counter. The pharmacist is a young woman with kind eyes and a professional smile. She looks at me, then at the test in my hand, and something in her expression softens.