Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
For many years growing up, Aria had fantasized about having a husband she could love, who would love her in return. That hope had faded as day after day, she was reminded it would be impossible for any man to love her. No man loved a plain woman. Men were only interested in beauty, and she had nothing.
Aria wondered not for the first time if she should just leave, or if it would cause too many problems.
She tucked some of her hair behind her ears and waited.
When Isabella gave a light laugh, Aria smiled, but she had stopped paying attention to what her sister was talking about, and instead was more focused on the man a few feet away from her.
Dante was out of her league. He was ten years older than her, and she knew he could have any woman here. They didn’t need to be single. They were completely mismatched.
This was not a happy union. It wasn’t even a business union. This was blackmail, she knew that now.
She heard the whispers about her father. Men feared him because he was able to learn their darkest secrets. Aria wanted to know what he had on Dante, for him to agree to this loveless sham of a marriage. Unlike her sister, she was not going to accept this fate, not anymore.
Her father had ordered her to be a good wife, to do as she was told, but she refused to play by his rules.
****
Dante hated fucking parties.
What was more, he could no longer stand Penelope trying to garner his attention. He’d fucked her over a year ago, before his wedding, and it had been a mistake. The rumors about her had to be true. One taste of the viperous witch, and she considered it a challenge to have her men again.
He was tired of her attempting to proposition him at parties. She didn’t even seem concerned about his wife being in the same room. He’d noticed Aria watching him. Whenever they went to parties, she always found a quiet corner and stayed there. Usually, everyone left her alone, but her sister decided to approach her tonight and not leave. He had no choice but to separate the two.
Isabella would have to wait for her husband to be done having his fun before he took her home.
Dante had been done with the party five minutes after walking into it. He also couldn’t abide being anywhere near Phillip Lewis. The gloating bastard got on his last nerve, and over the past year, he’d nearly killed him multiple times.
His own father had told him to bide his time. They were in the process of trying to locate the evidence that Phillip had on him, but so far to no avail. They had spies in his home, but they’d been unsuccessful in keeping their position, or locating the evidence.
Stepping into his office, he poured himself a large whiskey. According to his calendar, he had a duty to impregnate his wife tonight. They’d been married eight months, and she had been a virgin. Their wedding night hadn’t gone well, and it hadn’t exactly been his finest moment. Every month since, Aria flinched whenever he went near her, so it was much easier to push her to her knees and take her from behind. His instructions were always the same—to keep her pelvis elevated so she could get pregnant.
Dante wasn’t used to failing.
He was expected to have children, and even though Aria hadn’t been his intended bride, he did plan to do everything by the book. She would have his children while they married. Once he had the evidence and could divorce her, he would keep his children. Aria would move on. That was the plan.
There was a knock on his office door. It was soft and not one he was accustomed to.
“What?” he asked.
He was even more surprised to see Aria stepping into his office. She had changed out of her dress. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. She wore a pair of loose pants and a shirt that had seen better days.
Dante was used to women trying to seduce him. Aria wasn’t even trying. It wasn’t like they had conversations. He told her what to do, and she didn’t complain.
Now, she stood in his office, hands clasped in front of her, looking positively terrified.
“What do you want?” he asked, his voice coming out more abrasive than he intended. He didn’t have time to deal with his wife.
Aria looked at him briefly, and then averted her gaze. He knew he had terrified her. A good man, a gentleman, might have considered the pain he caused her, and taken his sweet time. Dante had wanted their wedding night over, and he’d fucked her hard, tearing through her virginity like it meant nothing.
“If there’s nothing you have to say, then fuck off and get ready. It’s that time of the month.”