Chapter 120 A Gift

Chapter 120 A Gift
The girls opened their vile mouths but couldn’t immediately find anything to say. Not that I needed a reply. I lifted the hem of my dress, walked past them, and headed straight toward my beloved husband. I know him better than anyone, and I’m confident in his feelings. I love him, and I want to trust him. Maybe for someone else that sounds naïve or stupid—but it’s how I feel.
I don’t force Kirill to tell me he loves me every day. I didn’t force him to marry me or be faithful to me, even though our contract allows him freedom. All of this—every bit of it—is his initiative and his own feelings.
Someone gently hooked their arm through mine, and I saw a very pleased, glowing Nazar beside me.
“Holy shit, baby!” my husband’s brother laughed. “I came over to rescue you from those hens, but you handled them beautifully on your own! By the way, they can be pretty damn vindictive—and you left them standing there with their beaks in the air. You’re sure you don’t have a twin sister? I’d marry a girl like that in a heartbeat!”
“Got a sudden attraction to good girls?” I laughed back.
“Only the ones like you!”
“Good thing Kirill didn’t hear that,” I snorted.
“Oh, absolutely. Do you know how many times I’ve gotten punched in the face because of you?!” Nazar groaned theatrically, not even bothering to look where he was walking.
“And you’ll get punched again if you keep pressing up against my wife,” Kirill appeared right in front of us, gently pulling me away from his brother. He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips—my hopelessly jealous, possessive man.
“I love you,” I whispered against his mouth, without a hint of dishonesty.
“And I love you,” he murmured, sliding a warm hand over my belly.
“Ugh, disgusting—how sweet,” Nazar grimaced dramatically. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want a girlfriend. I’ll turn into… that.” He nodded toward his brother and immediately received a judging glare.
We left early—and I have zero regrets. The time we spent together in the bedroom afterward was far more enjoyable than that suffocating reception and all those stuck-up faces who truly believe they know more about your marriage than you do.
And today is my birthday! Mid-September still spoils us with hot days, though evenings are already quite chilly. Thankfully! Because dealing with heat while carrying a growing belly-dweller is… challenging. I’m only five months along, but my body has rounded noticeably, the swelling kicked in, the shortness of breath, the heartburn—the whole set of pregnancy “delights.” Except for nausea, thank God.
We decided to celebrate at home. I have zero desire to parade around fancy venues right now, so celebrating in our cozy, beloved home sounds perfect.
Over the past few months, our property has changed a lot. I wanted the house to keep its charm, and we managed it.
The territory now has a tall decorative fence and beautiful gates. Clean paths and alleys appeared. The tall, sprawling trees in front of the house stayed, offering their lovely shade, though we had to remove a few old dry ones. The lawn became lush and green after reseeding. From the outside, if you didn’t know it was a private home, you might think it was a well-kept enclosed park.
But that impression applies only to the front.
The backyard was a compromise between me and Kirill. Plenty of decorative greenery, but also comfortable renovated zones. A driveway leads to the back where the underground garage is still under construction. We now have a small orchard, flowerbeds around the kids’ playground, a big beautiful gazebo, and a barbecue area. A pool was installed too—with a temporary child-safety fence—and several loungers for sunny days. Construction on a small guest house is still ongoing; it will be home to the full-time staff and security.
There’s still a lot of free space left, and we’ll decide what to do with it later. After all, we have our whole lives ahead of us.
Since space was more than enough, we set up tables under a canopy out on the lawn; chefs from well-known restaurants handled the food, and hired hosts took care of entertainment. We gave our nanny the evening off—after all, today it would only be family and plenty of people eager to cuddle our two little troublemakers.