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“Answer me.”
“Three doubles and one single. Satisfied?”
“For fuck’s sake, Juliana. No wonder you’re so jittery. You’re in such a state you may as well have knocked back a few shots of tequila.”
“I’m not old enough to drink, remember? I’m only old enough to be kidnapped and forced to marry,” I snapped back, fed up with his lecturing tone. I was expected to be an adult and honor the contract, but I was treated like a child and kept locked in a room.
I heard Marco order someone to bring a glass of water, and a minute later, one appeared in front of me. “Drink,” he ordered me.
I just looked at the water with disinterest. I wasn’t really thirsty; in all honesty, my nerves were making me feel nauseous.
“Juliana, for the love of God, drink the fucking water.”
I looked again at the water in my hand and decided that it might help me feel better, so I took a cautious sip and then slowly drank most of the rest of it.
“You’re feeling shaky and jittery after all that caffeine you’ve knocked back on an empty stomach.”
“Are you kidding me? Maybe I’m feeling jittery because I’m being forced to marry a brutal killer.”
He clenched his jaw and didn’t answer me. Seeing that I was done, he took the glass from my hands, brushing his fingertips against mine, and then set the glass down on a side table.
He crouched down in front of me, so that he was at eye level with me. “You know that you already agreed to all this when you signed the contract and that this is just a formalization of the agreement?”
“Yes, I know,” I whispered.
“So, what’s the problem?”
I didn’t reply. There was nothing to say.
He sighed. “This wedding was always going to take place eventually. One way or another. It doesn’t matter whether it’s taking place this week or last week. The outcome is the same. You belong to me now.”
I reluctantly met his eyes. “I know. It’s just this isn’t how I imagined it would be.”
“Don’t tell me that you imagined a fairytale wedding?” he mocked me.
“No, of course not,” I whispered.
“In our world, we don’t get a choice in who we marry. We marry for alliances, to strengthen the ties of our families. What does it matter whether you marry me, or it was someone else that you were promised to? In either case, you would have had no choice. It was always going to be a business deal.”
“But I didn’t think I would have to marry someone who nearly killed my sister and tortured my brother!” I still couldn’t get over what had happened to my sister and my brother, all because of some stupid alliance the Fratellanza and Società had planned. I still hadn’t been able to talk to my family and those worries kept playing on my mind, kept niggling away in the background, unsettling me and wreaking havoc with my emotions. How many more people I loved would get hurt because of this man?
He stood back up, his stance tense and rigid. “Your brother knew the consequences of entering our territory uninvited. And it’s your own family that nearly killed Jessica. It was their bullet that shot her. I’m protecting you from your family.” His voice was a rough growl. “They had no regard for your safety. When will you understand that? You are merely a pawn in their twisted plans.”
“What does it matter? You’re all the same,” I spat back at him.
“We’ve been through all this already. This is the end of the conversation,” he said, his tone harsh with its finality. He held out his hand. “You had no choice then, and you have no choice now.”
And I looked at him for a long moment, before reluctantly putting my hand in his and letting him lead me back to the ceremony.
JULIANA
Marco handed me back to Danio and made his way to the front of the hall. Everyone was waiting for us, but the guests knew better than to stare at their Capo and his reluctant bride.
Instead, they contrived to talk among themselves, pretending they hadn’t noticed that the bride was not ecstatic to be marrying into the Fratellanza. Most of the men were trying not to show their boredom, while their wives looked at me with either sympathy or curiosity.
Several of the guests looked at me with barely concealed hatred, no doubt holding me accountable for the sins of the Società and the deaths of the Fratellanza soldiers on my first wedding day.
The music started up again, and this time Danio and I walked together down the aisle. I was on autopilot and just kept walking until we reached Marco.
