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In my shock, I'd let my guard down and in a mere moment, he grabbed the gun and wrenched it from my grasp.
He turned the gun on me. "Now sit and I will show you all the proof I have."
Chapter 22
Mira
I stared at my reflection in the cathedral’s restroom mirror, trying to pull myself together after our rehearsal. Usually, I thought that wedding rehearsals were pointless. Who really needs practice walking down the aisle? But for once, I was grateful for it. Standing there at the altar with Stefano, I realized just how hard it was going to be at the actual ceremony. My mind raced with thoughts of the last weeks.
The two months we'd had to plan the wedding had flown by far too fast. After pouring over every piece of evidence Stefano had managed to find, I had no choice but to go ahead with the wedding to protect my family and Luca.
Stefano assured me that, as long as I went along with the wedding, he wouldn't tell anyone about the evidence that he had. He also ordered me to stay away from Luca. He'd seen the way Luca had looked at me and seen the connection we had. He told me that if Luca didn't keep his distance, he would have his men kill him. And I trusted that he meant every word.
I didn't dare tell my family about what was going on with Stefano for fear of what he might do if he found out. And as far as Luca was concerned, I didn't have to work too hard to keep him away. After the news of our wedding and baby, Luca had no trouble staying far away from me. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. I found a sense of abandonment and betrayal that he would stay away but I knew in my mind that it was for the best.
I'd given up on making any of the wedding plans on my own. Stefano and his father had their ideas and their traditions of how things should go and how they should look. They planned everything from the music to the location, the food, color for the wedding and even the flowers. Stefano was traditional so he wouldn't be seeing the wedding dress before I walked down the aisle. He did, however, have two of his female cousins escort me to the bridal boutique so that they could approve the wedding dress based on his specifications. I had no control over the wedding, and deep down I knew that once we were married, Stefano would do whatever he could to take away what little control of my life I had left.
I needed to protect my family, but I also needed to protect myself and my child. It had come to my attention over the past couple of months that Stefano's main concern was for his heir. It wasn't fatherly love or concern for his child. He wasn't being an overprotective parent, controlling more than he should out of fear of a mistake being made. He treated our child like a piece of property that he owned and that I had no rights over. The child would be an heir but not his baby, not a son or daughter. I would have to figure out some way to protect our child from whatever way Stefano would try to use and manipulate him or her.
It was my hope that once we were married, Stefano would relax a bit, feeling as though he had won then. At some point, I might even be able to find a way out, but I had no idea how or when that would be.
A single tear escaped the corner of my eye and rolled down my cheek as I applied a little more lipstick and touched up my makeup. I took a deep breath, refocusing my thoughts as I mentally prepared myself for our rehearsal dinner. Stefano and the rest of the wedding party were waiting in the foyer for me so that we could all leave together for Mia’s family estate where we would have our dinner overlooking their vineyard.
I gripped my clutch tight, giving myself one last glance in the mirror, before pushing open the bathroom door.
“There you are, amor mio. I was just about to send someone in after you.” Stefano cast me a warning look, reminding me of our agreement as if I could have forgotten.
“No need. I’m not going anywhere without you.” I tried to sound as normal as possible as our family and friends joined us.
“Are we ready to go to the villa?” Mia asked with an uncomfortable smile as if she could sense the tension between us.
“Absolutely,” Stefano grinned at her. “Shall I escort you to your limo?”
“That’s very kind of you, but I’m sure your bride would miss you terribly if you did.”
“Of course.” Stefano’s smile toward me was shadowed in some sinister look I couldn’t put a name to. Stefano took my hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow and while it looked suitable from onlookers, his grip was a bit too tight. “Come along, darling.”
The ride to the Monticelli villa was filled with uncomfortable silence for most of the ride until Stefano finally rolled up the privacy window between us and the driver and grabbed my hand. “Could you at least try to act happy when we are in public?” he hissed.
I looked at him in surprise. “I was.”
“You looked miserable while we were practicing for our ceremony.”
“I’m doing the best I can, considering that you are blackmailing me into marrying you,” I snapped.
He raised his hand as if meaning to backhand me and I braced for the blow, but he froze just before striking. “No,” he said more to himself than to me. “Can’t do anything to mar this beautiful face before tomorrow.” He used the back of his fingers to gently stroke my cheek and I trembled, trying not to recoil even though every nerve in my body was screaming to push him away. “You must try harder if you are going to be a believable bride tomorrow, amor mio.”
I hated having to restrain myself with him when all I truly wanted was to attack him, punch, kick, scratch, claw, and shove him out of the moving car. But I couldn’t do any of that. I had to sit there and take his abuse because if I didn’t, it would put my entire family at risk.
Tears sprung to my eyes, but they were not from sadness as much as from anger.
“Don’t cry, my dear. There was a time when you actually wanted to marry me if you can remember back to that.”
“Before I realized what a manipulative, evil bastard you are,” I spat.
He was on me in a second, his hand wrapping firmly around my throat, not cutting off my air but making it a bit more work for me to inhale.
“You are lucky that you carry my heir inside your belly. I can’t hurt you without hurting him or without leaving visible marks but in a few months, you won’t have that protection any longer. I suggest that you learn how to control your tongue before then.”
