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“If she was mafie, and he had sex with a virgin out of wedlock, he’d be forced to marry her. That’s what the blood bond is for,” I divulged.
“The blood whaa?” she asked, turning onto her side, and propping her head in her hand, her attention completely on me.
I shifted in my seat, suddenly feeling self-conscious. While I had told Jewel that I was Romanian early on in our friendship, it took me years to trust her with the more sensitive information about my family. If her father hadn’t been incarcerated for a Ponzi scheme that went bust, I would’ve never told her at all. But her father lost everything and was still in jail. It was only because of her mother’s independent trust fund that she and her mom were financially secure. Everything else had to be liquidated. They lived in these cavernous Park Avenue family apartments that both she and her mother hated. It had been a painful time, and the central reason her mother sent her off to boarding school.
Despite having told her about my family, I kept things very vague. And I hadn’t confided about my engagement until Jewel threatened to go to the school psychologist because my grades were slipping. It was her alarm that finally made me break. Jewel came from a world so different from mine, and while I knew she’d never judge me, I was embarrassed.
Fidgeting enough that she had to lay a calming hand on my knee, I peered at her and said, “It’s really barbaric, I’m warning you now.” I took a deep breath. “Blood is how bonds are formed between people inside a clan. Men are inducted in a ceremony where they cut themselves and make a blood oath. For women, a blood bond is formed when she loses her virginity. That’s why it’s so important that a woman remain a virgin until marriage.”
A look of horror quickly passed over her face before she snuffed it out. “So, what happens if a woman loses her virginity before marriage? Is she killed or something to avenge the stain on her family’s reputation?”
“No,” I replied with a laugh. “If she had sex with a mafie guy, then she has to marry him. No exceptions. If he’s not mafie, then it depends. Is he close to a family? Does he know about the blood bond? Obviously, if it’s some random American bro she hooks up with in a bar bathroom, then no, no one’s going to force him into marriage. But the more he’s associated with us, the more he’s expected to conform to the rules. God knows, men are constantly warning each other to protect themselves and the women. If a man is caught checking out a Romanian girl, his friend will tell him right away that he can’t tap that unless he wants to put a ring on it. That usually shuts them down immediately. There’s strict protocol around marriage, and girls live very confined, protected lives.”
Jewel turned over and flopped on her tummy, processing what she’d learned.
“Very interesting,” she mused in a cryptic tone.
A prickle started on the back of my neck.
Uh-oh.
Jewel’s face spun toward me, a determined look on her face.
“What?” I asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Becaaause, all you have to do to get out of your marriage is get Luca to blood bond with you,” she exclaimed, jolting upright on her bed.
“What? No, I couldn’t do that!”
A notch developed between her brows. “Why not? It’s simple. You seduce him, he pops your cherry, and voila! You’re married to the guy you’re crushing on. It’s a perfect solution.”
My heart began pounding against my ribcage. That was quite inspired of Jewel, I had to admit. The idea that I could have Luca…it was…incredible. But…things weren’t as simple as she made them out to be. Or were they? God, this tilted my world on its axis.
I shook my head. “No, no, it’s not a solution at all. My family will be disappointed—”
“Why? You said your mother would be disappointed if the wedding was called off. It won’t be, you’ll just be marrying a different guy. The right guy. Your family had already picked him as the first choice, so why should they care that you managed to marry the guy they wanted,” she elaborated.
“Actually, their first choice was the oldest son and sef of the Lupu family, Alex, but he fell in love with an outsider. Luca was the runner up.”
“But Nicu was the last choice, so they’ll be happy you moved on up. Isn’t it a better sign of prestige or something like that?” she queried, tucking her luxurious dark hair behind her ear as she tilted her head to the side.
Hope unfurled in my chest.
Huh, what she suggested was scary but logical. My mother would have her wedding and I know my father would prefer Luca. He’d never said anything outright, but I could tell that he was peeved that I was marrying the youngest son. Unlike Simu, Cristo’s hatred was concentrated on Nicu, whom he always claimed was the cockiest of the Lupu men. Mafie custom dictated that after Alex was off the market, Luca should get married before Nicu. While Luca clearly didn’t care, people grumbled about the break in tradition, so this solution might be welcomed by his clan.
Yet, a blood bond was nothing to sneeze at.
“But Luca didn’t want to marry me,” I insisted.
“He’d never met you, though. You were away at school with me, and you’d never been introduced to him whenever you were home, right? Anyway, he knows you now and he wants you. There’s no doubt in my mind about that,” she argued. “And that’s what counts, not what happened in the past.”
“It would be a scandal,” I countered.
“Scandal shmandal. Sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. Do you want to eat an omelet or do you want to marry a rotten egg?” she asked, one eyebrow raised, her mouth wobbly from holding back a laugh.
“Okay, again, not making sense!” I cried, throwing my hands up.
She laughed. “You know what I’m saying, Cat. You’ll still marry a mafie man. Sheesh, you’ll be marrying in the same family, only with someone better. You’ll fulfill your obligation to your family, but more importantly, you’ll be doing what’s right for you. What’s wrong with that? Why not give it a chance if you can have your cake and eat it, too? You already told me that Nicu doesn’t pay any attention to you. Why tie yourself to a man who isn’t even interested in getting to know his fiancée when you can marry a man you care for and you know cares for you? I don’t even understand why you’re hesitating,” she said, looking at me perplexed. “It’s a no-brainer.”
Oh, that logical brain of hers. It got me every time, and even more so when it aligned with my own desire. Hope fluttered in my chest, joining the jangling of my nerves. Nerves is right, because this plan will require nerves of steel. But now that the solution slapped me in the face, I couldn’t turn away from it. That would show me to be a coward, and I was a Popescu, dammit. We went after what we wanted. That’s how we clawed our way up to become the second most powerful family in New York City. A Popescu would never shy away from a challenge, and I’d call on that Popescu pluck. Would I be able to seduce Luca? Good question. There was only one way to find out. Luckily, I had a pretty good idea where to go to find him on a Saturday night.
I turned to Jewel and declared, “Let’s do it.”
