Page 99 of Bought to Bear Bratva Heir

Epilogue 3

Ilya

In the rearview mirror, I watched her. My wife sat there, with our children on either side of her. It was strange, because growing up, I had never wanted this kind of domestic bliss. Now, I couldn’t imagine a time when I hadn’t wanted it.

Even as I watched, Daisy bent over the car seat, fussing over our infant daughter whom we had let Alec name. Of course, he had wanted to call her Daisy but had finally conceded to another flower name. Rose. But we all just called her Rosie. It suited the tiny bundle of sweetness, with her rosy cheeks and her strawberry-blonde hair, just like her momma's.

Like she could hear my thoughts, Daisy's eyes snapped up, and I couldn’t help it; I smiled. A slow, contented smile that I knew lit up my entire face. She returned it, but just for a second before our usually quiet and content baby girl let out a wail. Instantly, she went back to trying to comfort her.

"Here," Alec said in a tiny but firm voice; rummaging through a bag at his feet, he held out a stuffed elephant. Threadbare and faded because it had been his favorite toy. "She needs this."

"Thank you," Daisy said softly, taking it from his hands. "But I think she may need a diaper change as well."

I watched as my son's face crumbled; his little nose wrinkled in disgust for just a second before he set his narrow shoulders. "I don’t like doing that, it’s smelly. But," he sighed theatrically, "I’ll do it."

I couldn’t help it; I chuckled lightly. That was Alec all over. Seven years old now, but such a little old man. From the moment Rosie had been born, he had taken his big brother duties super seriously.

The corners of Daisy's mouth twitched up in a little half-smile. "I know, but maybe this time I’ll do it." She winked at him. "You are definitely doing the next diaper change, okay?"

Alec nodded solemnly. "Deal, or I could just play with her."

Daisy made a big deal of looking thoughtful, and then she nodded, her face completely serious. "Yeah, that might work. You’re better at that than I am."

Giving a small shake of my head, I turned my attention back to the road. Honestly, Daisy was the best mother I could wish my children to ever have.

She was kind and attentive, and nothing was too much for her.

To anyone looking in, she had gotten over her ordeal completely, but I knew her better than that. She still struggled. Especially at night, and sometimes I saw her looking at me thoughtfully before she caught me looking back and looked away.

We were happy, there was no doubt about that, but even after all this time had passed, there was still a shadow over her at times.

And that’s what today was about. I was going to try and take that shadow away and fill her life with sunshine and happiness like I should have done the moment I met her.

Women like Daisy only came around once, and I wasn’t going to lose her.

"We will be there in," I slowed the car, turning off the road with a little nervous laugh, "about thirty seconds. Can she wait that long?"

In the rearview mirror, Daisy met my eyes. "And where exactly are we going, husband?"

I shook my head. "It’s a surprise."

Her eyes narrowed. "Okay," she murmured noncommittally. "I’m not the biggest fan of surprises, though, you know that right?"

"I know, but you will like this one." At least I hoped she would. It had kind of been in the works for eight years.

Slowly, the road curved to the left, and a house came into view. A towering structure of sandy-colored stone set amongst lush gardens. And I knew she would be even more impressed around the back because there was a pool and a fully equipped playground.

"Whose house is this, Ilya?" she asked in a whisper, leaning forward though, so she had half-wedged her body through the gap over the center console.

"If we are visiting someone, I would have dressed more appropriately." She said.

I flicked my eyes over her as we sped through the open electric gates, our security car coming in fast behind us. None of us went anywhere without security these days. Especially not my family. I’d learned my lesson the hard way on that one.

"You look perfect," I said, and meant every single word. She always did look perfect; it didn’t matter what she wore. "But no, we aren’t visiting anyone."

"Then—"

"It’s our house."