AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gross.
He arches one dark brow in that mocking way of his. God, Ihateit when he does that.
“Get the hell away from me,” I snap as I shove him away while simultaneously struggling to get out of the limousine. My gaze momentarily catches the sexy tattoo creeping up his neck from underneath the collar of his tux, and then I get more enraged for having slipped like that. You’d think I’d be used to it, that I’d have somehow learned to wrangle and control andcrushthis damn reaction to him after what he’s done to me. But no. I’ve never had much luck in life.
He tsks me with that perpetual smirk on his face. I loathe his smile. “What language out of such a pretty mouth.”
“Best not to antagonize her,” comes a voice I know only too well.
I narrow my eyes at Lucian. About as tolerable a monster as Marku.
He gives me a grin and I itch to smack it right off his face.
Seeing my expression, he takes a step back.
Smart man.
My father finally pushes through them. “Take a step back, boys. I’ll take care of her.”
I throw myself out of the car, taking the opportunity to sharply elbow as many of the men circling around the open door as possible while lunging toward the pseudo-safety of my father. It’s as if a part of me still hasn’t realize that this man also betrayed me, even if he thinks he’s saving me.
Looping my arm in his, I hiss, “How could you?” as I’ve repeated ad nauseum since he broke the news to me.
“There was no other way,” he insists, reciting the same answer. And looking up at him—seeing the paleness of his skin and the tightness around his mouth—a wrenching pain tears through me. I don’t know what hurts more, the fact that he thinks he’s protecting me or the fact that he’s suffering so much.
“And you let Marku’s buddies come along to watch my humiliation, but you won’t even let me tell my twobestfriends.”
He sighs wearily. “They’re made men, Crina. You know that.”
“Ugh,” is my disgusted reply.
Marku retrieves the veil and says, “You’ll need this.”
I pierce him with a vicious look and snarl, “Why? I don’t expect to be a virgin when you finally force me to the marriage bed.”
The cool expression on his face morphs into fury.
A vision of a white sheet streaked with blood scrunched in his hand pops into the forefront of my mind, but I brutally thrust that vision away as I stomp away from him. Damn me and my visions. I inherited this foresight from my mother. I shudder with revulsion. There is no way I will ever allow that one to come to pass.
Marku charges up to me, whips me away from my father, and drags me into the church. He stalks down the center of the nave with me in tow, swings left, and yanks open a side door. He backs me up against the nearest wall of the small, tidy office, and slaps a hand on either side of me.
“The fuck you say to me,” he seethes.
“Oh, is that your worry? My virginity. Mypurity. But forcing me into this sham of a marriage, that’s okay for you. That’s just peachy keen for you.”
Regret flashes across his face. “Fuck, baby, you know if there was any other way, I’d have taken it. I’m as much of a victim here as you are.”
I shove him hard. “I doubt you’ll stop fucking Luminita or Nadia or whoever your little fuck buddy of the month is.”
“I’m not going to fuck anyone but you from this day forward,” he grinds out, crowding closer and smacking his palm against the wall beside me for emphasis.
That makes me pause for a second.
It didn’t occur to me that he’d take our vows seriously. A sudden flurry of conflicting emotions I refuse to acknowledge floods through me, leaving my heart palpitating. I’d assumed we’d both go on as we had before. It’s not like we’ll be living together. I’ll be going back to my family and he’ll go back to his, at least until after graduation.
Wait a minute… Did he have the audacity to call himself a victim?
My rage rushes back tenfold. After what he’s done to me, he has the nerve to call himself a victim. As if forcing me into this sham marriage isn’t bad enough, there’s his past betrayal.
