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“Where did you get those?” I ask him cautiously.
“They were waiting outside your door when we all came back out. Probably Marnix dropping them off quickly so he didn’t see you.” Thiago shrugs, putting the bouquet in my hand.
“Right.” I take them and turn back into the room, knowing exactly who they’re from. It’s not Marnix. I’m holding a bouquet of the most gorgeous black and red dahlias I’ve ever seen—more extravagant than the ones I found outside my apartment a few weeks ago. There’s only one person who would’ve sent these. My heart plummets in my chest as I hesitate, wondering if Zayan is here, wondering how in the hell he knew about this.
Just as I’m about to throw them in the trash, I notice a card. Even though my instincts scream not to look at it, I grab it anyway, opening it to see the handwriting I’m all too familiar with.
Til death do us part. -Z
Five words that are enough to send me over the fucking edge. It’s a warning that he still plans on having me. That he hasn’t given up on being my husband. My stomach begins to roll, thinking about the hell that he put me through. I can feel his fingers digging into my skin, clawing their way into every fiber of my being.
“You’re such a fucking whore. Showing your little cunt off for everyone to see. Is that what you want, huh? You want everyone to think you’re a slut?” He’s yanking my hair back with one hand and squeezing my neck with the other, to the point I can barely breathe.
“Stop Zayan, please. Please stop.” I choke the words out, gasping to take in as much air as possible. He slams my body down on our bed, pressing his weight on top of me.
“No. If you’re going to act like a whore, you’ll be treated like one. You think you can just wear this dress, swinging your hips for every fucking man to see, and get away with it?”
My mind feels muddled, like I’m disoriented. I’m here right now, but I feel like I’m floating, like I’m not me. I can feel his anger seeping into me, but my arms are limp at my sides. I’m trying to fight, but I just... can’t.
“Y-you told me to wear this tonight.” He left this dress for me on the bed, told me to wear it and put on makeup because we had some party to go to. He’s becoming a monster, one I don’t recognize, one who’s so unlike the man I used to know.
“I told you to wear it, not act like a fucking cunt in it.” His words are laced with malice, etched with so much anger that I’m afraid he might really snap my neck right now.
“I didn’t do anything! Please, don’t do this.” I scream as loud as I can, but the sound echoes in my head. I don’t know if I’ve even said the words out loud. Everything is hazy, while my head pounds with pain.
“On your knees. Now.” He releases my neck, allowing me to suck in a mouthful of air. He grabs my hair, yanking me from the bed, slamming my body into the ground until I’m in a ball beneath him.
“Zayan...” A sob wracks through my body, the pain radiating through me where I hit the carpet. I feel like the whore he claims me to be, like nothing but shit beneath his feet.
“Open that pretty mouth. Suck my cock like the filthy little bitch you are.” He begins to unbuckle his belt, getting ready to pull his cock free from his pants. The dizziness overwhelms me. I feel like I’m going to pass out or throw up or both.
I can’t do this. I can’t let him do this to me.
“No.” I muster up as much courage as I can, trying to protect myself. Trying to fight against his wrath.
He grabs onto my hair, yanking me to sit up so I’m on my knees before him while tears stream down my face. “No? You think you can defy me? That’s not how this works, baby—you’re in this with me forever, remember? Til death do us part, right? The only way you’ll ever truly leave me is if one of us is dead.”
The brief memorymakes me feel like I’m going to throw up. Since I got away from him, there have been so many times I’ve tried to remember everything he did to me—so I can try to move past it all—but I just can’t. All I get are brief flashbacks, combined with a permanent sense of terror. Whether it’s because of the drugs he forced upon me or it’s my mind trying to protect myself by blocking the bad memories, I don’t know.
Either way, that brief flash of panic is enough to remind me why I have to do this. Why I have to sell my soul to one devil to avoid another.
“You okay?” Thiago asks cautiously, stepping in behind me. I close the card quickly so he can’t read it, dropping it and the flowers onto the vanity.
I nod my head, trying to regain composure. “Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.” I grab his arm, pulling him out of the room quickly to head downstairs to where Lya and Lainey are waiting for us.
Marnix—or more likely, his mother—decided we should get married at their family manor out in the countryside. It’s quiet, peaceful, and there’s plenty of space. We wanted to keep the wedding relatively small, trying to only invite family and important colleagues. We’re having a large reception later, but his mom thought it would be best to keep the ceremony intimate. Which I’m more than okay with.
The ceremony will take place outside, on the gorgeous lawn, with the stunning hillside as the backdrop. Honestly, it’s the perfect scene; almost everything about today is perfect. The weather, the dress, the location. I just wish this was for two people actually in love.
We finally make it downstairs, and Lya and Lainey line up by the doors to go outside down the aisle. They begin to walk while Thiago waits beside me, a calming presence at my side. Since my parents aren’t here today, Thiago offered to walk me down the aisle. I’ve always felt closest to him so it felt fitting, even if I’ve always joked about jumping his bones.
“Lya hasn’t mentioned much, but I just want you to know that even though we’re right here, you can still back out.”
“Is this an invitation to finally let me join your harem?” I give him a cheeky grin, and he throws his head back, laughing.
“Only you’d make that joke on the day you’re marrying another man.” He chuckles again.
“Can you blame me? Not only would I get three sexy men, but my best friend too? Sounds like a party to me.”
