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“Good. Now that we have that settled, let’s get this wedding underway.”
The men around us watch as the officiant opens his book.
I try to go numb, repeating the words I’m supposed to say while drowning out the rest of the world. If I let myself think about what is happening right now, I know I’m going to break.
I can’t break. My family needs me to be strong. I have to protect them.
Even if it destroys mee.
Christian doesn’t look happy about the marriage, which is perhaps the most shocking part.
For a person who went to the effort of kidnapping me to marry me, he doesn’t look like this is what he wants either.
Anger courses through me as I stare at him.
This isn’t the way my night was supposed to go. I met a cute stranger at the bar. I made out with that cute stranger at the bar, thinking that I was due to have a good night.
And then this is how my night ends.
Dad said the deal was off, that the marriage was off.
So, why is he marrying me anyway? Or is this another man who is using me because of my dad?
God, what is going on?
“You may now kiss the bride,” the officiant says.
Christian leans toward me, the kiss short and chaste.
It’s nothing like the way he kissed me in the bar.
I hate the way disappointment curls through me when he pulls away.
A few minutes later, the marriage license is signed, and I'm alone in a home I don’t know with a man who screwed me over.
“Well, this is home now,” Christian says, nodding to a long hallway to his right. “There’s a staircase at the end of that hallway that leads to your room. I’ve already had your belongings brought up there while we were getting married.”
I shake my head, taking a step back from him. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Do you think that this is the way I wanted things to go? Do you think I really want to force you to marry me?" He gives a bitter laugh and crosses his arms.
"Let’s get one thing clear, Zoe. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be married to you at all. Unfortunately, there are decisions to be made that are bigger than the both of us. I’ve done what I had to.”
“You’re a bastard.”
I turn and head down the hall, needing to get away from him before I explode.
My body feels like it’s vibrating with anger as I climb the stairs to the second floor of the house.
I look in the open doors, finding a massive room with my bags sitting near the doors to a large balcony.
Slamming the door shut, I take a minute to try and gather myself.
I want to scream and shout, but it’s not going to do any good. This is what my life looks like now.
Let yourself be angry for once. Ava’s words echo through my head as I look around my new room.
There is too much going through my mind to take any of it in. The anger bubbles to the surface as I allow myself to truly feel it for once.
