37. Natalya

Chapter 37

Natalya

I ’ve had enough. More than enough.

I’m absolutely fucking livid.

“You’re not going in there alone,” Alex says as I storm out of the car and toward my father’s house.

“Then follow if you feel like you have to.” I’m determined though. I march up to the door and throw it open, not giving a damn if I’m not welcome here anymore.

Alex ghosts in my wake, looking annoyed. He tried to talk me out of this, and when he attempted to physically restrain me, I screamed in his face until he let me go.

My father’s gone too fucking far.

It’s bad enough that I’m asking Lev to make a choice.

But I will not let my father force my brother into a marriage when he’s not willing, just like he tried to force me.

I find Oleg Federov in his office. He’s on the phone when I storm in and slam the door behind me, leaving Alex out in the hall. Dad stares in my direction with an amused smile before politely telling whoever’s on the other end of his call that he has to go.

“You crossed the line,” I say, standing on the other side of the desk.

This room never fails to make me feel like a scared little girl again.

When I was young, this is where he took us when he wanted to dole out some punishment. This is where he took us to make us feel tiny and weak.

But I will not cower in front of this man anymore.

Not ever again.

“Tell me how you think I’m the one that crossed a line, daughter.” He leans back, hands crossed over his belly.

“You fucked up twice already when you tried to force me to marry Valentin and Adriano. You knew I didn’t want it, but you didn’t care. Your children are just pawns in your power games, aren’t we? You don’t give a damn what we want at all, so long as you become stronger. You’ll crush anyone, even your own fucking kids.”

“You were doing your duty, or at least you should have. Except you’ve always been willful and selfish. How do you think you have anything in this world? Because of me, because this family and our organization. How have you been so fucking privileged? All you had to do was obey, and all that privilege would be yours. Instead, you spit in my face.” He smirks at me like this is a game. “Now look at you. Married to a traitor and carrying a bastard baby. You are nothing, Natalya. You never were. All you ever had was because of me. Your little apartment in Paris? Your piano tutors? All because I was generous and soft.”

I breathe in through my nose. He’s trying to make me upset, but I won’t let him get away with it.

Maybe he’s right. I’ve been spoiled in a lot of ways. Where Lev and Step were essentially pushed into the business the moment they could think and walk, I was kept out of danger. I was given everything, pampered, coddled; my brothers were beaten and screamed at and pushed hard. He’s not wrong.

But he still doesn’t understand.

“You can’t force Lev. He’s supposed to have a choice.” I say it as clearly as I can. “That isn’t how this should work. We can be better. I won’t fucking let you ruin him the way you tried to ruin me.”

“Like you have a say in what I do? I’m the head of this house. I’m the leader of this family. Lev knows what his duty is, unlike you, girl.”

“I know my duty, and it’s not to you.”

He bangs his palms on the desk. “You need to watch your fucking mouth , daughter. Valentin Zeitsev is the only reason you’re still breathing. If he hadn’t told me to stand down, I would have killed both you and your shit eating husband. How is that traitor fuck, by the way? No, don’t tell me, unless his dick is rotting off and his tongue is swollen to the size of a melon.”

I stare him down. Dad stares right back, face going red with anger. I want to crawl across the desk and strangle his fat neck with my bare hands, but I know that’s just the temper he gifted me with.

The truth is, Dad will never see past what he wants. In his mind, he gave us everything—and that might be true. But he believes that gives him the right to push us into hellish situations if he deems it necessary.

And he’s wrong about that.

So fucking wrong.

“I’m going to save this one more time as clearly as I can.” I push back against the rage and give him a cold, steady look. “You will not order Lev into anything. You will not force him to marry. Lev will get to make his own decision, and we’ll respect what he chooses.”

“You always were a stupid bitch, Natalya.”

I turn my back on my father. “I hope you do the right thing, but knowing you, that’s just wishful fucking thinking.”

“Don’t come back to this house,” he calls out as I storm out of his office. “You’re not welcome here anymore!”

Good. Fuck him.

I slam the door and stand in the hallway, seething.

That stubborn asshole.

I don’t know what I expected. I knew Dad wouldn’t react well to getting yelled at by his disgraced youngest daughter, but I hoped he’d at least hear what I was saying.

Instead, he’s so deep into the Bratva world that he doesn’t care about anything else.

Not even his own son.

But if I’m honest with myself, it’s mostly guilt. I made this happen. If I had just married Adriano, Lev would still be free. And I know that eventually, Dad’s going to force Lev into the marriage, and it’ll be my fault.

I can yell and threaten all I want, but I can’t change all my selfish mistakes.

“I heard what you were saying in there.”

My chin jerks up. Lev’s standing in a nearby doorway, watching me. His eyes are narrowed but he’s smiling slightly in his sly, mischievous way.

“How long were you listening?”

“When you came stomping through the house, I figured something interesting was about to happen. I didn’t expect you to confront him like that.”

“Yeah, well, someone had to. Might as well be the black sheep daughter.” I walk over to him and put some distance between me and the office. Dad’s still in there, the big asshole.

“For what it’s worth, I appreciate the sentiment, I really do.”

“I meant what I said in there.” I slump beside my brother and look at the ceiling. “I know I screwed up. Running from Valentin was bad enough. And honestly, I was going to marry Adriano, but?—“

“But life happened instead.” Lev’s talking quietly now. “I get it, Nat. I really do. You know, I heard the way you and Alex were talking at Fed the other night, and I’ve been thinking about that.”

“Really? What do you mean?”

“About the baby. About raising it together.” He’s staring hard down at his hands. “It could be worse, you know. You could be pregnant with that child and married to Adriano. Alex would go insane, knowing another man was raising his baby. Could you imagine?”

“He’d be the fucking worst.”

“Right? So self-righteous and depressed all the time. I’m glad that didn’t happen.”

I smile slightly. I know he’s joking around to make me feel better, but I don’t know why. “You don’t have to do this, you know. You have every right to hate me.”

“I don’t. Not really.”

“Why? Seriously Lev, why not? I fucked up everything.”

“You’re my sister. No, seriously, that’s all there is to it. You’re my sister and we’re running out of family, right? Step’s gone and losing him put a lot of shit into perspective for me. I was pissed when you ran off with Alex, but now I get it. I see the way you two are together, and I get it.”

I nod, feeling miserable. “What are you going to do?”

“We both know I don’t have much of a choice.”

“That’s the thing. You should.”

“Yeah, maybe, but that’s not the way things are. Step died and I was pushed into his position. No choice there. You got pregnant, and now I’m doing what you couldn’t. Still no choice there. I’ll survive, because it’s what I do.”

“Lev—“ I try to say something, but there are no words. My throat swells with tears and I have to blink them away. I don’t want to start crying and make him feel freaking worse than I already have.

“It’s okay. I’m glad you got to yell at Dad a little at least.” He gives me a sideways hug, pulling me against him briefly. “Good luck, little sister. I mean that with all sincerity. I want you to be happy.”

“Yeah, Lev. I want you to be happy too.”

He only gives me one of his big, charming smiles, before walking off. I watch him go and something about that feels weird to me. Good luck ? Why is he saying good luck ?

But before I can chase after him, Alex appears at the end of the hall. I go to my husband and he kisses me, and I tell him about what happened with my father as we get the hell out of that house, but something still isn’t sitting right as he drives me back home to the apartment.