Midnight Sanctuary (Bugrov Bratva #2)(79)

I mean, I should be happy they’re close. He’s my brother and she’s my… my…

I turn towards Alyssa’s ward door as something deep and visceral stirs in my gut. Without saying a word, I push my half-drank coffee cup into Nikolai’s free hand and drift numbly into Alyssa’s ward. She’s holding her elbows tucked tight to her abdomen like she can’t get warm no matter how hard she tries.

“You okay?” I ask as I slip into the room.

She sniffles but doesn’t answer.

I venture closer. Every step in her direction is harder than the last. It’s like I’m being sucked into a black hole—I can’t tear myself away, no matter how much I try. It’s just blissful oblivion. Inevitable. Inexorable.

Alyssa looks like she feels the same pressure consuming us. Before I even get halfway across the room, frantic words burst from her lips. “If you’re coming back to try to talk me out of continuing with this pregnancy, don’t bother, Uri, because it’s not going to happen. I’ve—”

“That’s not what I came here to do.”

“Oh.” She looks surprised. “Okay then.”

“I’m here to tell you that we’ll do things your way.” Those words feel like acid coming off my tongue but I force myself to say them anyway. “I’m going to support your decision.”

Her face brightens with a smile. “Really?”

“Really. But—” The smile drops off her face immediately. “—only on one condition.”

“Which is what?”

“Marry me.”

She stares at me blankly for a moment. “E-excuse me?”

“I want you to marry me,” I repeat. “That’s the condition of my agreeing with your ridiculous and reckless decision to continue with this pregnancy.”

Her jaw drops. “Did you just propose to me?” She looks down at her hospital robe as though she should be wearing something else. “Here? Now? Like this?”

“When better? Where better?” I cross the last distance and stand by her side. All I want is to touch her, to feel her warmth against mine, but it’s like there’s something invisible holding me back just a little bit longer. “I want to marry you. I want us to go into this together as husband and wife. I want you to be mine, Alyssa.”

Her bottom lip starts to tremble. “Uri…”

“I can have someone here within the hour to marry us. Hell, I can even get the ward decorated if you want things to look pretty.”

Tears accumulate like morning dew in those dazzling eyes of hers. “W-what about friends and family? Polly and Lev? Elle?”

“I’ll get all of them down here immediately if that’s what you want.”

“You want to do this today?”

I nod. “I refuse to wait another day to make you my wife. That’s my condition. Do you accept?”

She seems incapable of speaking for one long, breathless moment. But then her hand slips into mine. She blinks and a tear slips down her cheek as she smiles.

“I do.”





49





ALYSSA





I’m getting married. I have to repeat it to myself a couple of times before it starts to sink in.

I’m getting married.

I’m getting married.

I’m getting married!

While Uri’s on the phone with the florist, organizing flowers for the hospital chapel, I call Elle. “Hey, you,” she chirps. “I was wondering where—”

“Elle, I have big news.”

“Your life is a freaking movie at this point, isn’t it?”

A burst of laughter escapes my lips. Considering the choice I was faced with this morning, I didn’t think I’d experience this kind of blissful euphoria on the same day. Life’s not a movie—it’s a roller coaster with the brakes removed.

“First off, I’m in the hospital.”

There’s a beat of silence. “Okay, now, the happiness makes a lot less sense.” I don’t blame her; she knows how much I hate hospitals. “Is everything alright?”

“Well, I mean, yes and no. It’s… complicated.”

“Isn’t it always?”

She has a point. I take a breath and launch into my explanation. “My pregnancy is high-risk. One of the babies isn’t developing as fast as the other.”

“Oh my God—”

“But it’s okay,” I cut in with renewed determination. “Because I’m going to keep these babies inside of me long enough to make sure they can survive outside of me. Both of them.”

“Is that what the doctors are recommending?”

“It’s what I’ve decided, Elle.”

“Hon—”

“Listen, Elle, I love you to death, but I’m not calling for your approval or your advice. I’ve made my decision. I’m calling because I’m getting married in an hour and I want you to be my maid of honor. I know it’s short notice but it would mean the world to me if you were here.” The silence stretches on for ages and ages. “Um… Elle?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but did you say you were getting married?!”