Pregnant by the Mob Boss {18+}

39

If the children are not born when you're not legally wedded, then they aren't legitimized as their life is in constant threat and danger. 

Those children aren't seen as a part of the household and are seen as excluded from the family.

Marcella and Marco Spencer are different matters, but my half-sister was also excluded from the family, some of Marco's extended family rejected Marcella as her mother was a mistress and nothing else. 

But Marcella's mother was a mistress that Marco dearly treasured and cherished, but in the end she was a mistress, not the wife.

She was not allowed to make any social or public appearances because she could have gotten killed since she was a mistress, a lover.

No matter how fondly Marco thought of his mistress, she did not have the status of the wife nor the power, as anybody could mistreat and abuse her.

Although this was over twenty years ago, but the old-fashioned methods were greatly used among the wealthy even in the underworld. 

I needed to bring this topic about with Lev once he got back from his trip to Italy. 

Our wedding wouldn't be fairy tale-like, but the most important thing for me was to legitimize the twins before they are born. 

But then there was the statement from Nikolai, that Lev was still legally married to Ana, who was supposed to be his ex-wife. 

What if Nikolai's claims were true? Or what if he played with my mind?

I felt like I could no longer trust the father of my children, even if I was battling with my subconscious to not jump into any conclusions before I have a serious talk with Lev. 

At the thought of Nikolai, a random idea crept into my mind.

"Do you happen to know anything about Nikolai Novikov?" I asked my older brother, who has been reported to have vast contacts with people from the underworld.

Stefano put the cup of coffee on the table with a stern expression on his face at the mention of Nikolai.

"How do you know of him?" He made an attempt to inquire if I personally had ever met Nikolai.

"No, I only heard his name a few times from the staff and guards around here, that's all." I had lied to him because I wasn't going to admit that I had met Nikolai in person.

Not only one time, but two times. 

"That's good, nobody should get near that guy since he is a complete lunatic." He sighed in relief as he returned to drinking coffee.

I put the cup of tea on the table while reaching for the last photo album that I had found hidden on a bookcase inside Lev's office.

"He's hated because he's deemed to be too crazy for any of us. He doesn't fit in." My brother adds, he clearly hated Nikolai Novikov.

I skimmed through the pictures of the photo albums, and they all were of Layla from various ages, but all of a sudden I stopped, and my eyes grew wide in disbelief.

There was a photo of Nikolai when he was young, about the age of five or six, and I almost mistook his face for a little girl because of his feminine features.

Nikolai appeared to be outside when the picture was taken. In the photo, he was cuddling with a tiny puppy in his embrace as the small dog licked his face in the picture.

But a thing that struck me about him was his golden eyes that seemed to glow with life in the picture as they weren't hollow nor empty, instead they carried a warmth in them.