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It’s already been two weeks, and I’m back in London, in the Oliver Messel suite at the Dorchester. Typically, when I come, I get a standard suite that is only a little bit bigger than their regular rooms. But my sisters, Amelia and Emily, talked me into getting a penthouse this time because I’m getting married. They’re so very excited for me, and I don’t know if they understand this isn’t some union created out of love. They’re not idiots, but I think deep down they believe I have some sort of attachment to Santos, only that isn’t true. I’m not even holding my breath that we’ll become something, but I do think we’re on our way to becoming good friends.
When I spoke to him a couple of days after he’d left to go back to Mexico, I ended up telling him about my mother and what she said about her cancer diagnosis. He and I had a good conversation about it, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel very supported and cared about by Santos at that moment. It was a lovely change, and in time, I think we’re only going to be getting closer. Even if we’re friends for our entire marriage, I’ll be happy with that. We can come up with some sort of arrangement for me to provide him heirs and for the two of us to get our sexual needs met elsewhere. However, those conversations will happen in due time.
I’m sitting down at the table directly in front of the massive windows in the living area of the suite. The windows look out onto the spacious rooftop terrace and then give beautiful imagery of the London skyline. The terrace has some potted plants out there, but not too many since it’s the end of November, and it’s been getting rather cold as of late. I’m honestly surprised it isn’t raining yet, but it hasn’t rained since I arrived. Amelia told me that’s a good omen that the wedding will go off without a hitch, and I hope she’s right. Emily, of course, backed her up, and I got a kick out of those two.
My brothers are all staying at the Dorchester as well, and I’m certain Santos is, too, but I haven’t asked him. I’m sure we’ll text each other at some point today since we’re set to get married in two hours at the National Gallery. It feels very much like it’s meant to be, considering the National Gallery is where we had one of our first dates. I can’t wait to see what the museum did to prepare it for a wedding. They asked me a few questions when I made the booking, but other than that, I don’t really know what’s going on.
“When do you want to start getting ready, Eset?” Amelia asks me. Today is one of the few times I’ve seen her without Karim in her arms. She’s usually toting him around with her wherever she goes, but Ruslan must be on full daddy duty since today is my wedding day. It’s hard to believe how much time has passed since he was born. Some days it feels like I blinked, and he got this big, but I guess that’s what happens when you have a little one in your family.
“I don’t know, I already finished my makeup, so the next big thing would be getting in the dress and getting to the venue, right?”
Amelia nods. “Yeah, we probably have another hour before we need to head over there and check things out. I’m dying to see you in your dress, though,” Amelia whines slightly, which causes me to laugh.
I was fortunate enough to find a unique, one-of-a-kind dress in Paris last week. It’s a gorgeous mermaid dress with sparkles and pearl beads across every piece of fabric, and there are two detachable flares that fan out at the hips. I think it gives it a more regal look, and it’s been hanging up in my penthouse suite since I got here. Amelia and Emily are practically drooling over the thing.
There are small sleeves that drape mid-way down my shoulders, attaching to my bust area, which is a nice swoop neck. My waist is nipped in by a corset, and then there’s some ruching around my hip area, causing the sparkling fabric to really pop. It stops just below my butt and then falls into a long, luscious train. I chose this dress because I knew it would look breathtaking under the illumination of lights when we take photos this evening.
“I know you both are, but it will be worth it. I promise. Are you two going to get changed into the gowns I bought for you?” I asked my sisters to be my bridesmaids because there was no one else I could imagine being by my side.
Emily is pregnant, so her dress has a thick strap that goes over one shoulder, and her dress is tight around her stomach, accentuating her growing belly. Amelia, on the other hand, has the same color of forest green dress, but there’s a slight difference in the style. She has a halter dress that slides around her neck, and the fabric covers her breasts well, but there is a small triangle-shaped cutout in that area before the rest of the dress continues. Both of the dresses are longer, going down about an inch before their heels hit the ground.
“Yeah, I’ll go get mine on right now,” Amelia says. Grabbing her dress, she heads into the bathroom while Emily takes a seat across from me.
“How are you feeling about this whole thing?” There’s something in her voice that tells me she’s worried about me, and I’m curious about why she would be worried in the first place.
“I think I’m ready for it to be over with, honestly. I’m not one for large, overdone events.”
“Did you invite many people?” Emily inquires.
“Yes, about two hundred and fifty. We had to invite a lot of Santos’ family, plus allies of our family, friends, you know how it goes.” Emily nods at what I’m saying like she understands, but she doesn’t understand yet. She and Lom aren’t yet married, but I’m certain when she has this baby, they’ll begin planning something.
“Oh, wow. I feel like it’s going to be just as big as mine was to Ruslan’s,” Amelia chimes in. I didn’t even realize she had come back yet, but she did. Emily and I both turn our attention to her, and she looks amazing, better than I thought she’d look in this dress, if I’m being honest.
“Yeah, it probably will be. At least your wedding seemed to go off without a hitch drama-wise. I highly doubt mine is going to be so lucky. There have already been so many obstacles we had to overcome with his allegiance to his father and whatnot.”
“What’s going on with that?” Emily inquires. Emily isn’t involved in the family business, and neither is Amelia, but I know I can trust these women in my life.
“A stipulation to me agreeing to marry Santos in the first place is that he had to agree to be loyal to his great-uncle,” I state, looking between Amelia and Emily.
“His father is the one trying to take over, right?” Amelia inquires, and Emily rises from the chair across from me, heading to snatch her dress off the rack.
“Yes, his father is Julio, the only son of Rafael Ramirez, supposedly.”
“Supposedly? It sounds so scandalous.” Emily giggles lightly, but I know there will be a time when she really understands the magnitude of these things.
“I’m sure there are many children Rafael fathered. He was known as a serial rapist, so Julio being the only child is highly unlikely. In fact, there’s one person I know who is probably his child, but the Skulls Renegade MC have remained hush-hush on the matter.”
Amelia furrows her brows. “What happened?”
“He abducted a woman named Maria, who’s an ol’ lady to Pain and Chaos of the Skulls Renegade MC. Her father had worked for Rafael, and there were quite a few issues between her father and Rafael. It was discovered that her father ultimately gave her and her sister to Rafael as a way to pay a debt. I can’t remember the exact circumstances of how Maria landed with the motorcycle club, but I believe they were getting some women from a human trafficking situation. Years after Maria was with the Skulls Renegade MC, Rafael abducted her. It was said she was raped and beaten. A few months later, she had a child, so everyone thinks Rafael is the father, even though Maria and her men have denied it for many years.”
“God, and you’re probably right, Eset. He was a rapist, so I’m sure he has many other children out there that no one knows about,” Emily says from behind my bedroom wall. She must’ve kept the door open so she could still take part in the conversation.
“What’s going to happen now that he’s said he’s loyal to his great-uncle? I’m sure his father isn’t going to be happy about that,” Amelia adds.
I shake my head. “No, he won’t be. To my knowledge, Julio doesn’t know about what Santos did. If Julio knew, I’m sure Santos wouldn’t be in London right now.”
“Why? You think his father would’ve done something to him?” Emily’s baffled as she comes out of the bedroom, showing us how amazing she looks in her dress. Her baby bump is small and adorable, and I know the choices I made picking out these dresses were perfect.
