The Bratva King's Lost Bride

Meadow POV "Ava, I swear if you don't get your little behind down here, I'm telling your aunt that you are the reason we are late to pick her up from the airport. I'm also telling her you can't have the gourmet chocolates I'm sure she has hiding in her bag for you." I love my daughter, but sometimes she acts so much like her father. She thinks the rest of the world is waits for her. She is four going on fourteen. It must be innate since they share blood, considering she has never met the man. My heart clenches in my chest as an image of the man that I thought was my forever pops into my head unbidden. God, he was the most handsome man I've ever seen in and out of clothes. I shake thoughts of him away. It's been five years and the love and anger I feel toward him is as strong today as the day I ran. I've wished many times to stop loving him, but it's like trying not to breathe. He broke us and I refuse to give him any more time in my head. Ava is the best part of him, so I can never regret the two years I spent as his wife. My four-year-old daughter comes bounding down the stairs. I fight the laugh that wants to break free from my throat when I see what she is wearing and her wild hair. She has his striking blonde hair but my curls. "Ava, as much as I love that you have your own style, nothing that you have on matches. Besides that, your hair looks like you stuck your finger in a light socket." "I told you that you could get dressed, but you at least have to look like you don't live with the wolves." She giggles as I lead her back upstairs. Ten minutes later, her curls are tamed, and she is wearing her favorite pink T-shirt with jean overalls. She hates dresses and has since she could walk. I won't make her wear something just because I think she will look cute in it. My daughter is the definition of strong-willed, and I wouldn't want her any other way. We make our way out to my second-hand pick-up truck that is parked in our dirt driveway. Ivana tried to insist during her last visit that I needed a new truck, but I refuse to take her money. She has done enough for me. I buckle Ava in before sliding into the driver's seat. Besides, we live a comfortable life and I refuse to take any money that is associated with Ivan. He is the reason I almost lost our daughter and my own life. He cared more about his friendship with Dimitri, his second and being Pakhan, then he did about me. I mean I knew his role as the leader of the Bravta would always be more important than me, but to choose his best friend and his best friend's sister stung more than I care to admit. I still don't understand why he didn't just choose her instead of making me feel like he was in love with me. She made my entire time in Ivan's house hell, but I couldn't bring myself to leave him. Not until the night before I ran. Memories of seeing them together in our marital bed wrapped up in each other still bring tears to my eyes and a feeling of rage to my heart. I hate him for making me love him and then stomping all over my heart. "Mommy, are you sad," Ava asks. Even at her age she is so observant. I look at her in the rearview mirror and force a smile onto my face. "How could I be sad baby? I have the sweetest, smartest, strongest daughter, and we are about to see my best friend. I'm happy. How about you?" "I'm happy and excited to see my auntie. She said we could go shopping for new stuffy toys when I talked to her last night," she says. I groan because Ivana spoils her. "You already have too many stuffy toys, Ava. Soon you are going to run out of room on your bed for you to sleep." The look of disgust on her face at what I just said makes my heart happy and sad at the same time. She looks so much like Ivan when she makes that face. I focus my attention back on the road as we approach the airport. A strange feeling washes over me as we pull into the guest parking lot. I shake the feeling away as I shut the car off. "Are you ready baby?" She nods her head so hard I'm surprised she doesn't hurt her neck. I round the car and help her out of the booster seat. She takes my hand, and we make our way into the small airport. When I ran from Russia, I picked a small town in Nebraska because I knew Ivan would never look for me here. The first time I met him was when I was waiting tables in an Italian restaurant in little Italy. I'm sure if he bothered to look for me, it would be in New York or some other big city. I always said how much I loved the noise and bustle. It's where I grew up. Not that I had any ties to the place since my parents never stuck around and my grandmother passed years ago. I had no idea at the time, but Ivan was meeting with the head of the Italian Mafia to set up operations in New York. I'm not sure how he became friends with Leonardo Rizzo, but they got along like a house on fire that night. They stayed drinking and talking long after the restaurant closed. I was cleaning up the kitchen when the restaurant went quiet. I assumed everyone but my manager had left. It wasn't until he approached me with his s*xy Russian accent that I realized I wasn't alone. He turned on the charm that night. I never had a chance. "Mommy, there is auntie," Ava says, bringing me out of my memories. I smile when I see my best friend strutting in our direction. I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face. We are polar opposites. She is built like a model. Legs for days and wearing stilettos like it's her job. Her hair is a beautiful blonde bob and her makeup is perfect. She looks like she is ready for the runway. She is perfect despite eating just like her brothers. I wanted to hate her for that alone when I first met her, since I'm barely 5'6" and curvy, but she became my best friend very quickly. I'm a healthy size fourteen. Having Ava has made my butt and boobs even bigger. I still have a small soft belly, but I love it. It reminds me of the time I got to carry my baby girl close to my heart. "Meadow, oh my god, I've missed you so much. You look amazing. I swear I would kill for those curves," she says. I roll my eyes. She pulls me into her arms and I feel a pinch on my side. My eyes fly open and Ivana is glaring at me when she pulls back. "Why the hell are you pinching me?" "I'm pinching you because you have no clue how hot you really are. You are a gorgeous woman. Why do you think my brother fell so hard and so fast? You are wearing jeans and an unassuming T-shirt and at least five guys have checked out your a** and b**bs since I spotted you," she whispers. "Ivana, it's you that they are checking out. You are the one that looks like you have just stepped out of a magazine." "My brother would disagree," she says. "I really don't want to talk about your brother. Let's grab your luggage and get you back to the farmhouse." I can see she wants to say more, but thankfully she doesn't. We head to the terminal and grab her two bags. "How long will you be staying this time," I ask as we make our way through the airport. "Unfortunately, only about a week. I have to be back for my brother's wedding," she says. I swear my heart stops beating and my steps falter. I'm on the verge of not being able to breathe when she grabs my arms. "Nikoli, is the one getting married to Jasmine. Breathe Meadow, he will never marry anyone that isn't you. He hasn't touched another woman since you left," she says. "Its fine. I don't know why I reacted like that. We haven't been together in five years. I just figured he married that b**ch Danica after I left. I mean he did cheat on me with her. So you are wrong about him touching another woman. He did it while we were still married." "I told you before, he denied sleeping with her. I'm not sure exactly what happened that day when we walked in on them in bed, but he insists he had been drugged, Meadow. Maybe," she starts to say, but I cut her off. "No, Ivana. Even if she did something that day, they were too close. The month before I left, he was spending all his time with Dimtri and Danica. Every time I'd bring it up he would blow me off and tell me I was imagining things." "Do you know how many times Dimtri told me that Ivan and Danica were meant to be together? That I was simply a passing p**sy to f**k until he took a proper Russian bride. That I wasn't good enough for the Pakhan of the Petrov family. I'm just shocked they haven't married." "First, you are a terrible li*r. You may be angry at him for hurting you, but you still love him. Second, he has never stopped looking for you, Meadow. I told you many times he still has men searching for his lost bride. He loves you. If he ever finds out I helped you escape that day, there will be repercussions," she says. "Ivana," I start to say. "I'm not saying it to scare you, Meadow. I am not afraid of his wrath, but I know without a doubt if he finds out I've known where you've been for the last five years I'll be dead, blood or not. I would do it again without a second thought, Meadow, to protect you and her from that ba**ard and his sister. My brother let familiarity cloud his judgment. Third, he hates her now. I'm not sure if he believes that she didn't drug herself, since she insists she didn't, but he blames her for losing you. He even holds Dimitri at arms length. He spends more time in his office than anywhere else. He has become even more ruthless," she says. "Whatever he is no longer concerns me. He never believed me where Dimtri and Danica were concerned. He would say he loved me and tell me that I was overacting in the same breath. The day Dimtri and Danica cornered me to tell me she was pregnant with the true heir to the Petrov family and threatened to kill me if I didn't leave, I took them at their word. Especially after seeing them in bed with my own eyes." "We have been over for five years, Ivana. I hope he finds happiness. I don't hate him anymore. My reaction was out of line. I have no right to be upset if he moves on. I'm the one that left him even if it was justified." She nods before pulling me into a hug. God, despite what I just said, it kills me to think about him being married to anyone but me.