Chapter 24 - Vivian

Even from my place in the master bedroom, I could hear Ari shouting at someone, and as hard as I tried to ignore it, I couldn't.

Given how I could only hear his voice, I assumed he was on the phone giving someone a piece of his mind. Since it likely had to do with his work, I figured it would be over soon enough.

But the longer it went on, the more interested I became. I sat up in bed and tried to focus on what he was saying, but despite his clear volume, the words were too muffled, and I couldn't make the words out properly.

It seemed too early in the morning for him to be laying into someone, and since I couldn't focus on anything else, I decided to pull myself out of bed.

As I moved down the hall and headed down the stairs, listening to how his yelling only got louder, dread filled my chest.

As much as I wanted to believe they were leaving things alone, I had the sinking feeling it was because of my brothers.

Ari hadn't told me anything beyond what he mentioned that one day about them snooping, but that didn't mean everything was perfectly fine on that front. He could've been trying to spare me from something worse, which didn't make me feel any better.

I just hoped they weren't the reason, and nothing else would come of it.

Leaning against the stairwell wall, I tried to listen for any indication if it was about my family, but it was too general for me to understand what was going on. Then, Ari murmured a final demand before he ended the call and let out a heavy breath.

Gingerly walking down the rest of the way, I found him running an irritated hand down his face as he stood by himself in the kitchen.

"What was that about?" I asked, keeping my voice quiet to not alarm him.

As if realizing he hadn't been quiet enough, Ari glanced over at me and sighed. "It was just something work-related. Sorry if I woke you."

Not believing him, I walked further into the kitchen with my brows furrowed. "That sounded pretty serious. What's going on?"

"You don't need to worry about it," he mumbled, ignoring my obvious concern.

"Does it have anything to do with my brothers?"

When the words hit him, Ari looked away, silently confirming my suspicions. That pit in my stomach only grew more.

Leaning his forearms against the countertop, Ari looked like he wanted to keep it from me still, but he was already caught. He surely knew I wasn't prepared to give it up until I heard the truth.

It was a correct assumption.

When he met my gaze, he seemed exhausted. "I didn't want to tell you because I don't need this compromising the pregnancy in any way. You shouldn't have to stress over my work, too."

Understanding his reasoning, I also knew it wasn't enough.

Still, I did my best to be empathetic as I approached him and put a hand on his arm.

"I get that, Ari, but if my family is causing issues, I need to know. You may not want me to stress about it, but I don't want you carrying this on your shoulders alone," I told him, offering him my support. "We're partners in this, remember? You can tell me."

Ari looked conflicted at first, but as he thought about it more, he eventually nodded as he came around. "They've attempted to hit our warehouses multiple times now. One of our higher-ups just informed me they've hit another this morning, and this one caused the most damage. They've been getting bolder over the last few weeks, and I'm worried this might cross over into Andrei's territory. He doesn't need to get pulled into this, and I don't need this getting any worse."

My skin went cold as that reality sank in, and at least a part of me felt numb.

As much as I wanted to believe I could handle hearing the truth, I couldn't deny how it hurt to know my family was causing problems, and there was no telling exactly why it was happening.

"We believe they've been trying to poke holes in our defenses to see where they might find success, but other than that, we don't know what they're after," Ari continued, clenching his jaw as he spoke. "I believe they're trying to throw us off so they can hit us big. Maybe even so they can get you back."

"To get back at you for embarrassing Dad," I murmured, connecting those pieces in my head.

Ari nodded. "I'd assume so. We won't know until I can either get more intel on the situation or until I can confront them face to face."

That struck panic through my system. "You'd do that? Face them directly?"

"If that's what it takes. I'm sorry you had to hear this, but we can't always handle things by proxy. If this keeps up, I can't guarantee they'll come out of this alive."

It was hard to digest that fact, but to my surprise, I wasn't concerned about them.

As far as I could tell, they were messing with something they shouldn't have, and if they were poking the Levovs despite their reputation, they were asking for it.

"I'm not worried about them," I said, realizing I needed him to know that his safety mattered the most to me. "I don't want you or your family to get hurt because of my brothers and their stupid revenge."

Ari softened at that, and he put a hand on top of mine. "I appreciate that, Vivian, but if it comes down to it, there's nothing else I can do but tackle it head-on."

I averted my eyes then as the tears threatened to fall, but I didn't want them to. I was tired of the constant up and down with my emotions because of the pregnancy, and from going through a whirlwind of experiences over a few months.

I didn't want to seem weak. I wanted to seem strong like Ari, even if I could barely handle the thought of anything happening to him.

"Look, I have to level with you," he began, facing me completely with his hands against my waist. "This whole thing has me in a precarious place. I've been wanting to keep you out of this because of the obvious conflict of interest. I can't stand by while your brothers get in the way of our operations, but I don't want to hurt you by engaging with them. It could get ugly, and I need you to know it's nothing more than business. If I had my way, they would stay out of it, and nobody would have to get hurt. I don't want you to think I take any pleasure in this."

Confused for a moment, I couldn't understand why he was trying to emphasize that point so greatly. But then I realized why.

He assumed my heart was still with my family to some capacity. He thought I was worried about them, when in reality it was him I was concerned for.

The more I thought about it, the stranger I felt.

They were my blood, and I should've felt some sort of allegiance to them. I should've been afraid for their lives given who they were up against, but I wasn't.

They were asking for it by getting involved in something they should've left alone, and there was nothing I could do about that.

If anything, they were betraying me by waiting so long to take action, after I had come around to the idea of being with Ari and starting a family together. I couldn't even pretend to be on their side.

They treated me like I never mattered a day in my life, but Ari proved otherwise. He made me see that I was worth something, that I was important to him. No matter what I went through during my upbringing, he was the reminder that better things were possible.

"Ari," I murmured, meeting his gaze with a swell of genuine pride in my chest as I looked at him. "I realize I never answered your question before, but my loyalty is with you and your family. I'm on your side."

He took me in completely then, providing me with his complete and unwavering attention. For once, he seemed to be at a loss for words, unable to return with anything substantial enough. Yet his eyes gave away how much it meant to him.

Working up my courage, I continued, "Whatever you need to do, do it. They never had any love for me before, and I can't ignore the person in front of me offering exactly that. Don't let me or my connection to them get in the way of what has to be done."

Dropping a hand to my stomach, I held the small bump there, aware that regardless of getting my permission to carry out any means necessary to get my brothers off his back, Ari also had to do whatever was necessary for our growing family.

He was doing everything for us, and that was all I could ask for.