Arranged Bratva Love

Lottie

I kept expecting the other foot to drop, or whatever the statement was.

Nibbling my lip, I glanced around the library and frowned. One month of married life and everything was … lovely. No, better than lovely. It was peaceful and fun, and I loved it.

I didn’t see my husband, ever. Since he dropped me off at home and showed me to my own room, I’d not seen him again. He told me I wasn’t allowed to leave the grounds, but I could do everything else. This was insane.

The first day, I stayed in my room andhis soldiers actually delivered my food. None of them tried to force me out of my room. They brought me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They didn’t stop me late at night while I went to the kitchen to get snacks.

The second day was the same, as was the third. By the fourth day, I wanted toexplore.

What was a bit of a surprise was I had a guard with meat all times. It took me two more days to realize it was the same guy every day. When I asked his name, he told me it was Hubert, but didn’t give me any other details. He stayed by my side and helped me to explore, never stopping me as I went from room to room in the house.

My husband owned a mansion. I was pretty sure I could get lost in it. After the first week, I realized I was going around in circles and not really exploring, so I started to leave little sticky notes on each door as a way of me knowing which room I had explored.

His home had three floors with at least six to eight rooms on each floor. I don’t know why he felt the need to have such a large home, but when I asked Hubert, hemerely said Ive’s home choices were his.

Either way, it was a large home, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Ive wanted a large family. I’d never thought of having a family. Ive and I hadn’t had sex, so making a family would be very difficult. Even when I was younger, I didn’t think of a different family or father, or anything. I accepted what I had. Strange.

After exploring the upstairs, including the attic, which I’m not going to lie, scared the crap out of me, I took to downstairs. I found Ive’s office, and I didn’t explore that, as it terrified me. I swore my loyalty to his boss and my husband, checking out his office. This made me think of all kinds of spy and bad shit, so his office was off limits, and on that sticky tab, I wrote as such. Hubby’s office: off limits. I found the library with so many books, which was awesome, as I happened to love to read. When I was allowed to go to the library back home, I’d find myself wandering the shelves. Not just for fiction books, but I loved to learn. It had always been difficult for me to learn with everything that went on at home. I always tried though.

My teachers told me if I applied myself, I’d get the grades. It was easy for them to say so, they didn’t have to go home with their father tearing up their schoolwork, or destroying their books. It was easier to try and do everything at school, which meant my work was often rushed. If I stayed too long at school, it would end in a beating. Not easy to deal with.

After finding the library, my next exploration took me to a game room.

Hubert had stood at the door as I staredat the games. There was a pool table and what appeared to be an air hockey table. There were also some machines. They were all turned off, but Hubert told me if I wanted to play, he knew how to turn the power on in the room.

I was embarrassed. I had never played before. Not one single game. The pool table looked like a lot of fun, as did the air hockey table. I’d wanted to play. It was stupid and childish.

Before I turned back toward him, I made sure to compose myself, and then left the room. Late at night, I’d come down to the room and sit in one of the available chairs and look. Was it strange I wanted to play but was afraid to?

I don’t think Hubert knew I came to the game room. I would have to ask him one day how to turn on the power, so I could at least try while no one was around.

After thegame room, I found the cinema world, and I’d spent several hours in the past three weeks watching movies. I discovered a love of popcorn and ice cream. I loved strawberry cheesecake ice cream, that was my favorite. Then I found a love of cooking. The chef in residence, Michael, spoke with a lovely accent, I think it was French, but I hadn’t asked him if he would like to teach me to cook.

He wasn’t in the kitchen all the time, and on those days I would cook, and I’d started to feed the staff at Ive’s home. I don’t know if the staff truly meant it when they said my food was delicious or if they were just being nice. I’d asked Hubert and he smiled. I thought my food was niceand Michael said I had a gift. Again, I don’t know what any of that means, but it was nice to hear. I had come to realize that I loved to bake. Cakes, cookies, tartlets, pies were a lot of fun. Tricky, but fun.

So, the first month of wedded life was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. Without my husband.

It was nice to live without fear of each bang. Of course, whenever there was a bang or a noise I wasn’t quite prepared for, it would startle me. Hubert was so sweet, though, he’d tell me what it was or who it was. In a gun-carrying, guard-duty kind of way, I liked him.

As for Ive, he didn’t call. If he did, Ididn’t know about it.

Heading into the second month of marriage, it was one of Michael’s days off and I was back in the kitchen. This time I was making biscuits as I just wanted one with some whipped cream and slices of strawberry, when Hubert came back with none other than Ivan. There had been a knock at the door, and Hubert went to answer. With my hands covered in butter, flour, and sugar, I didn’t know if I was meant to bow, or what.

“Mr. Volkov.”

“Ivan, please,” he said, holding up his hand. “You may leave.”

Hubert looked at me and then at Ivan, but bowed and did as he was told.

“He’s my guard,” I said.

Ivan nodded. “And now that I’m here, I’m your guard. What are you making?”

“Would you like me to call Ive?” I asked.

“Your husband is aware of my presence. I did tell him I planned to visit. Did he not tell you?”

Should I lie?

Ivan chuckled. “You do not need to worry. I’m aware your husband has not been around.”

“He’s been verybusy.”

“I know.”

Thank fuckingGod. I had no idea what Ive was doing. I could only hope he was busy and there was some crisis, and then I felt bad for even thinking that way. I shouldn’t be hoping for there to be a mess happening in the Volkov Bratva. Wait, my words were true, which meant … oh, crap.

“Is Ive okay?”

“Yes. According to my sources, he will be joining us soon. So what are we making?” he asked, grabbing an apron, washing his hands, and rolling up his sleeves.

His arms were covered in ink. I never noticed that before, but they were completely decorated. Why hadn’t I noticed that before?

“Charlotte?” he asked.

“Biscuits. I’m making biscuits.”

“Are we talking British for cookie, or British for scone?”

This made me frown. “Why British?”

“I heardMichael has been training you.”

“Wouldn’t that be French?” I asked. “He is French, isn’t he?”

This caused Ivan to throw his head back and laugh. “No, Michael is English. One of the best chefs in the world. I thought of stealing him away, but Ive’s got his loyalty.”

This was totally news to me. Michael had always spoken with a French accent.

“I’m so confused,” I said.

“Oh, Michael is a man of many talents. Two years ago, he spoke with aSpanish accent, and then an Italian one. He’s learning the language and as he does, he tries to use the correct pronunciation and dialect.”

“So, he’s learning French. That’s kind of cool.”

“Yeah, until he gets bored and moves on.”

“You don’t think that’s cool?” I asked.

“All learning is welcome, but when it’s wasted, I don’t see the point.”

“How is it wasted? He would be able to travel the world. Go to places and talk to people.”

Ivan stared at me. “Do you have wanderlust?”

“No.” I never had any desire to travel. In fact, the past month had been the best days of my life so far.

“If you wanted to, all you’d have to do is ask Ive.”

This made me smile. To ask my husband for anything, I’d have to know a way to get in touch with him, or to see him.

“So, tell me how to make these biscuits,” he said.

I was no expert, but he seemed insistent. Ididn’t quite get Ivan Volkov. I knew he was a monster and he was willing to do unspeakable things. People were afraid of him. He had a reputation that even made my father hesitate. My father never hesitated, he was never afraid. He was more than willing to take on any battle, or cause a war. He had a bloodlust, but Ivan Volkov caused that man to fear. Why? How?

I talked Ivan through making biscuits. I told him the measurements I used, including the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. The salt was important as Michael refused to buy salted butter. All the butter we had was unsalted. He liked to be able to control the amount of salt he used.

After they were mixed, I got him to add the sugar. I didn’t knowif this was right, but it seemed to be working. It did make mixing in the butter feel a little grainy, but oh well. With everything well mixed, it was time for the cold cubed butter, which he had to do himself.

“Why do they not cube it for us?” he asked.

This made me laugh.

“It doesn’t take long. Honestly. Just grab a knife. It doesn’t matter about the size of the cubes, you’re going to squish them between your thumbs.”

“This is pointless.”

“It’s necessary. Trust me. They taste really good.”

Ivan puthis hands in and began to crumble the butter into the flour. He seemed to be pretty good at it, so I had to wonder if he even needed my help.

“Do you cook?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you a good cook?”

“Yes.”

“So, you’re modest.”

“I’m being truthful. Are you a good cook?” he asked.

“I honestly don’t know. I haven’t made anyone sick or anything.” I shrugged.

“How do you not know?”

I told him my concerns when it came to the staff. He tutted and called Hubert back into the room.

“Tell me, boy, is she a good cook or a bad one?”

“She’s a good cook.”

“Andwhat do the others think?”

“They all adore her food. They love Michael’s food, but he seems to go a bit … posh, and they like good grub,” he said.

This made my cheeks heat. They loved my food. This was so awesome. I felt like I was glowing. I couldn’t believe it.

Ivan looked my way. “See, all you’ve got to do is ask.” He dismissed Hubert.

“That’s easy for you to say. How do you know if he’s even telling the truth? You’re the boss. He might have been feeding you lies.”

“Nonsense. The boss I may be, but they also know I like the truth. I do not deal well with bullshit. Lying to me doesn’t get the job done.”

Without my telling him to do it, he added in the buttermilk. I had already cut my biscuits into triangles and placed them on a baking tray. He handed me the buttermilk, and I used some to spread on top of my biscuits, before sprinkling the sugar.

I waited for him to be finished and it didn’t take him long to have them on the tray. He took over and placed them in the oven.

“Are you a trained cook?”

“I’mnot trained but I know how to take care of myself.”

“Have you had to?”

Like my birth, there were a lot of rumors about Ivan Volkov. Many said he was the unwanted bastard son of the previous Bratva. They had tried to kill him, left him for dead. Others believed he was superhuman. Staring at him now, I had to wonder if the tale about him being kicked out, left for dead, and abandoned was more accurate. It made the most sense to me.

“We all have to learn to take care of ourselves, don’t you think?” he asked.

This made me nod.

“Yeah, we do.”

“Who taught you?” he asked.

“The cooking channel. School. You know, the usual.” I had forgotten how hard it could be. For a month I could pretend I was normal, that I didn’t have a past and I could forget everything I once was. One question and it all came rushing back.

I wanted to wrap my armsaround myself and put up a protective shield to keep the bad memories away, but what was the point? Nothing was ever going to stop them. They were part of who I was.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org