All Chapters of THE BRATVA'S BROTHER'S WIFE: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Chapter 2 — AlinaYelena turned first. Very slowly. Like she had all the time in the world.Boris made a strangled sound and shoved her off him."Alina—"I stared at Yelena. She stared back. For one second I thought about turning around, walking away, pretending I hadn't seen anything, going home to break where nobody could watch.I didn't.I stepped inside and shut the door behind me instead."Explain," I said to Boris. My voice didn't shake. I was proud of that. It was the last thing I'd be proud of for a long time.He opened his mouth. Nothing came out.Yelena answered for him. "I'll explain, since he doesn’t want to.""Yelena—" he warned."No, let her know." She straightened her blouse. "Boris and I loved each other before you ever existed in his life, Alina. I found you for him. Rich father, sweet face… exactly what an illegitimate son needs if he wants a seat at his father's table.""You're lying." My voice cracked on the second word. "You held my hand at the clinic. You cried

Chapter 4 — DimitriI didn't look up when my assistant knocked twice and let herself in. I was still sorting shipment manifests, the real ones, the ones only three people alive are allowed to see."Sir, the numbers from the western port." She set a folder on my desk and stepped back like she'd walked up to a sleeping animal.I found the discrepancy on page three in under ten seconds and slid it back across the desk. "Someone is skimming off the top. Find out who before I do.""Yes, sir." She left faster than she came in.My phone buzzed. A text from my mother.'Family dinner Saturday. And Dimitri, find a wife. Give this family an heir before your brother's bastard does it first.'I set the phone down without answering. My jaw tightened, just enough that my assistant, still hovering by the door, suddenly found something urgent to read on her tablet and disappeared entirely.My mother is the only person alive who isn't afraid to talk to me like that. She raised me in a house full of me

Alina"Let go of me." My voice was a threadbare thing, stripped of everything that made it mine.Dimitri didn't let go. His hand remained clamped around my wrist. He didn't pull me closer, but he didn't yield an inch either. He simply stood there on the rain-slicked gravel of the hospital rooftop staring down at me with an expression that was entirely blank."No," he said.One word. "I don't have anything left," I choked out, trying to wrench my arm free. Pain flared through my lower abdomen, a reminder of the baby gone. "You don't understand. I have nowhere to go. I have nothing.""I am not interested in your dramatic inventory of what you lack, Alina," Dimitri replied softly. His tone was as casual as if we were discussing the evening weather. "Step down from the ledge.""Why do you care?" I cried, the wind whipping my hair across my face, stinging my tear swollen eyes. "We have spoken perhaps twenty words to each other in three years! You barely look at me at family dinners! Why a

Alina"No." I pushed my cup away, the porcelain scraping against the wood. "No. Absolutely not."Dimitri didn't react. He simply watched me, entirely unbothered by my sudden outrage."I lost a child less than twenty-four hours ago, Dimitri," I said, my voice shaking with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "Your half-brother’s child. And you sit there, calmly eating breakfast, asking me to produce another Sokolov heir for you?""I am not asking for a child today, Alina," Dimitri said, his tone infuriatingly level. "Nor am I asking you to fulfill a romantic fantasy. I am stating a requirement.""It's insane.""It is practical," he corrected. "My father's estate clause is clear. The legitimate heir must secure the line before his thirtieth birthday to retain full voting rights on the board. My birthday is in eight months. Boris knows this. His entire strategy with Yelena relies on producing a child first to challenge my standing.""Then find someone else," I snapped. "Find a woman who has

AlinaThe next morning arrived with quiet efficiency. Saturday.I woke up to a faint knock on the door. Before I could even answer, two women in black uniforms stepped into the room, pushing a rolling rack filled with garment bags, followed by a stylist carrying a cosmetics case."Good morning, ma'am," the head stylist said, offering a crisp, professional bow. "Mr. Sokolov sent us. We have forty-five minutes to prepare you."I sat up, pulling the duvet to my chest, my mind still sluggish from sleep. "Prepare me for what?""Your wedding," a voice spoke from the doorway.Dimitri stood against the frame, fully dressed in a tailored navy suit that made his sharp features look carved from marble. He checked his watch, his face completely unreadable."The registry office has been cleared for us at ten o'clock," he said, stepping into the room. "The dress, hair, and makeup are taken care of. We leave in an hour.""An hour?" I blurted, my chest tightening instantly. "Dimitri, wait—"I swung m