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Word must have spread like wildfire about my renewed vocal abilities because the church wasn’t engulfed in a sea of whispers when it came time for my vows.
“Noemi, do you take Conner to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to him, for as long as you both shall live?”
I forced air into my lungs.
“I do.”
Three letters. Two words. One life forever forfeited.
As a man, Conner was given freedoms in this world that a woman could only dream of. He was committing himself, but not to the same degree as me because he’d already accepted a life in the criminal underworld. By walking down that aisle, I’d sealed my fate in more ways than one. I swore to myself at that moment that I wouldn’t let it be in vain. I would use whatever power I could acquire from my marriage to take down my father.
That was what I focused on when I said I do.
The silent vow may not have been spoken aloud, but it felt just as monumental as the oath to my new husband.
“You may kiss the bride.” The priest’s jovial proclamation yanked my attention back to the present just as Conner’s lips descended upon mine, one hand pulling me close against him, the other cupping the back of my neck firmly as though he thought I might bolt.
Running was the last thing on my mind. I was too busy trying to comprehend how a chaste kiss in front of an audience could feel so damn erotic. The firmness of his demanding lips. The gentle way he bent me beneath him, keeping me slightly off balance.
But the coup de grâce came at the end of the kiss.
Keeping our lips together, he whispered a single word.
The celebratory quartet launched into a joyful song, filling the church with music. The crowd rose to their feet and clapped while the priest announced us as man and wife. All the while, my head spun with disbelief as that one word echoed in my head.
Mine.
We exitedthe cathedral hand in hand. I kept a smile on my face hoping it concealed the anxiety swarming inside me like an angry hive of bees.
Conner and I were married.
I was now Mrs. Noemi Reid.
The words strung together sounded foreign in my head. Nothing about my life was recognizable.
Come on, Em. Not the time for an existential crisis.
I repeatedly blinked, shooing away the cobwebs and realizing we’d finally escaped the curious stares of the congregation.
Conner led us down a hallway toward one of the rooms we’d used to prepare prior to the ceremony. The guests would be walking a short distance down the street to the reception while we took a few portraits. Afterward, we would take a limo to the reception for our grand entrance. Until then, we waited. Alone.
He released my hand once we entered the small Sunday school room. The window shades were drawn closed, only allowing tiny slivers of light inside. I felt like I’d wandered into the den of a hungry lion, everything inside me screaming to get out.
We should have talked in the days leading up to the wedding, but he didn’t call, so neither did I. It made this moment infinitely more awkward.
“You went through with it,” he said quietly, slicing through the tension in the room.
“Did you doubt?”
“I wouldn’t have been shocked if I’d been stood up.” He leaned against the wall, his thumb slowly gliding along his bottom lip.
“I prefer to keep breathing,” I murmured.
Conner’s eyes went menacingly dark. He was upset at my insinuation—though I wasn’t sure if my father’s abuse or my reluctance to marry him bothered him more. Either way, I didn’t explain myself. I already felt vulnerable. Giving him any more of myself would flay me wide open. If I bent to the pressure and confessed that a part of me wanted him, only to discover his reaction was purely a reflection of his dislike toward my father, I would have been embarrassed beyond measure. There was only so much emotional strain I could take in one day.
Unfortunately, Conner didn’t get that memo.
He stalked closer, eyes lowering at the last second to my wrist. He snaked his finger under the bracelet Sante had given me and lifted my hand until he could read the engraving.
