Semua Bab Keeping my Mafia Husband : Bab 31 - Bab 40

I stand there, stunned. Clingy? I’m clingy for wanting to sleep beside my own husband?I let out a shocked laugh. That wasn’t Alek…Except it was. He said it so naturally. Like he’s done this a thousand times.I close the door slowly, heart pounding, thoughts scrambling. Maybe it’s a family thing. Maybe it’s because we’re at his parents’ house and he doesn’t want to explain things. Maybe it’s about Katya.My brain spins. I run my fingers through my hair, gripping the back of my neck.“There has to be a good explanation. Even if I can’t see it right now.”I want to call Serena. Tell her everything. But I hesitate, can I trust her not to tell the others?The last thing I need is Freya turning this into some public mockery. She’d live for it.She’d call me desperate, pathetic, weak.And maybe I am. Because I married a man I’m obsessed with. Because of the way he touches me, the way he kisses me like I’m sacred one second and sinful the next.I thought that’s what love was. This storm of n

We make it downstairs and into the dining room. My father sits at the head of the table, already in his high-backed chair. Katya’s there too, chatting animatedly with Irina. My uncle. My cousin. The idiot.These are the last surviving members of the Drognov family, either alive or not rotting in prison.My uncle used to run the Kremlin casino, the one I control now. He nearly tanked it. Then wanted his son, Arthur, to inherit it, but I took it, the way all power in this family is won: earned, or seized. He tried to kill me, twice. I put him in the wheelchair.Then there’s my cousin. Dresses like an accountant. Six kills under his belt. Claims he wants peace. Loves animals. Still the coldest, most brutal bastard I know. He keeps running petty Ponzi schemes. Fraud is where he thrives. If he slips, and I already see the cracks forming, I’ll put a bullet in his head.My aunt Irina and Katya get along only because they’re in the same line of work: assassins. Killers for hire. I don’t trust

Aleksei leaves almost immediately after.I wanted cuddles. Pillow talk. But he says he has to run. At least he bruised my lips with his goodbye kisses.“You drained me,” he laughs when I pout. “I’ve got nothing left to give another girl.”Then he kisses me again. “Not even if I wanted to. And I don’t.”So now I wander the mansion, unsure what to do with myself.That’s when I run into him. Arthur.I think about avoiding him, since he’s banned from speaking English to me per his uncle's orders. But this time, he steps right into my path.“Excuse me,” he says with a smile.(why is this giving hongdae guy 😂)He looks nothing like Aleksei. None of them do. Honestly, they don’t even look like a family, just strangers who decided to claim each other. “Yes,” I say, frowning and cautious, eyes flicking around. We were alone.“Don’t be anxious,” Arthur says, waving a hand. “I’m not part of the ‘Get Claire Out’ campaign.”My eyes go wide as I lean in. “There’s a campaign?”He chuckles. “Everyone

I scramble, grabbing my ripped jeans and clutching them like a shield over my bare thighs. “Arthur, why did you come in here? I’m changing.”“Tell me,” he says, almost casual, flicking something off his sleeve. “What exactly do you like about my cousin?”“What?” I blink, gape at him like I don’t understand English. “You came in here just to ask that?”“Well, ” he tilts his head slightly, “more importantly, what does he like about you?”His eyes trail over me again. My fingers twitch from the nerves, but I keep my expression flat and irritated.“Get out,” I say. “Get out of here right now.”My voice doesn’t shake. Thank God. I sound far more composed than I feel.“I just want to know, that’s all.” He pauses, thinking, then chuckles. “You’re so plain. So ordinary. Compared to Katya? Or any of the girls Aleksei’s dated? It’s almost laughable.”He laughs once, a short breath of amusement, then brightens like a lightbulb just went off. “Is it the pussy? Yours must be to die for.”I shrink

My voice drops, gravel-thick. “It doesn’t belong to her.” “But it was meant for her,” she says, eyes searching mine. I feel the old anger rise, instant, wanting to rile me up, but I force it down. “Yes,” I admit. “I bought that ring for her. But Katya forfeited her right to it. Now it’s yours.” “And tomorrow, it’ll belong to someone else,” she says quietly, staring at the mattress. I could tell she is spiraling. “If you don’t want the ring, little bunny, I’ll get you one you want. Just say the word.” She looks at me, then groans, this deep sound from somewhere in her chest. “That’s not the point, Alek,” she says. The way she says my name, soft, worn out, made me want to kiss her. “Then what is?” I ask, still relaxed. I know she has her worries, but all of it can be solved easily. She sighs. “You married me to punish her.” “I married you because– ” Her finger touched my lips, cutting me off. She is flushed, knowing what I'm going to say. “Don’t you dare say it.”