Page 44 of The Bratva Enforcer and His Virgin Bride

Calm voice.

That unsettling certainty, like everything he says already exists as truth in his world, and I’m just catching up.

I hate that I remember him so clearly.

I hate that my body reacts before my thoughts do.

I hear the elevator ding.

My entire body reacts before my mind even processes it.

I’m on my feet instantly, heart jumping into my throat.

Lukyan.

It has to be him.

I don’t even know why my chest tightens like that—why my first instinct isn’t curiosity, but something closer to bracing for impact.

The doors slide open.

I turn—

And everything in me stops.

For half a second, I can’t breathe at all.

Then it hits me so hard my eyes sting immediately.

“Valeria…”

She steps in fully, and before I can even take another breath, she’s already moving toward me.

“Oh, Sofi.”

Her voice breaks in a way I’ve never heard before.

That’s all it takes.

I rush forward too.

We meet halfway, and the moment she wraps her arms around me, something in my chest finally collapses.

I cling to her. Like if I let go, I might float away into whatever this place is supposed to be.

My face presses into her shoulder, and I don’t even try to stop it.

I cry.

Just everything I’ve been holding in since this morning breaking loose all at once.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, holding me tighter. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

But it doesn’t feel okay.

None of it does.

I shake my head against her shoulder.