Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 67(@200wpm)___ 54(@250wpm)___ 45(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 67(@200wpm)___ 54(@250wpm)___ 45(@300wpm)
She stepped in front of me, her cold, shrew-like expression always in place.
I felt my heart start racing, and panic completely flooded me.
I knew there was tension between her and her Italian family. I didn’t know what had caused the rift, and I was smart enough to not have asked.
“You do what your husband says, and you’ll be fine. You disobey Antonio, and you know what happens.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled.
“There’s only so much a person can take, Mama.” I opened my eyes, hoping to see empathy, maybe a motherly sweetness shining back at me, but her expression was harder than ever.
“We are born and bred to deal with this, and deal with it, you will.” Her voice was stern. Hard and sharp like a whip. “This union is good for both families.” There was this strange tone in her voice, one that spoke of something more personal. “This will help secure our name. It’ll give us more power.” My mother grabbed my chin painfully, and I winced, unable to hide the sting from my expression. “Now say it, Nina.”
Her cloying, too-strong perfume made me sick.
“I’ll be good.”
She let go of me and took hold of the edge of my veil, pulling it over my head and putting it in place, so my face was now shrouded, my vision slightly obscured.
My palms were sweating, my heart racing. I had never seen Antonio Luciano. I didn’t know what he looked like, what kind of man he was inside, how he’d be as a provider or a husband. I’d only heard the horror stories of what he did to his enemies, and those were enough to terrify me.
I didn’t question why the wedding needed to be done so quickly. I just knew this was going to happen, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
With my eyes closed, I thought about what I’d wanted as a child. I wanted to marry a good man, one who would whisk me away from the nightmare my family was.
At twenty, in our world, I was getting too old. I should have been married off years before. I should’ve had one, maybe two, children by now.
Would Antonio hurt me?
Would he take me roughly, harshly, on our wedding night? He’d know I was a virgin, unused and untouched, but I knew if he wanted to fuck me hard… he would without thought.
I will soon be his property.
My hands shook just thinking about it.
My mother exited the room, and I was left alone for long seconds. The wedding was small and intimate with only my sister as my bridesmaid and our closest family and friends in attendance.
I didn’t know how long I stood there, but it was long enough my breathing calmed, and I no longer felt like chaos reigned inside me.
It was the distant sound of heavy footsteps coming up the hallway that had me turning and facing the closed door. I could see two shadows beneath it. Feet. And my heart started racing because I knew… I just knew who stood on the other side. And then there were three hard raps on the door. I jumped back, a soft sound escaping as pure terror filled me to the brim.
When I said nothing, there was a deep, sinister chuckle from the other side of the wood.
“That knock was only a pre-wedding gift, Nina.”
I had never heard Antonio’s voice, but I knew it was him.
I didn’t know why I was moving toward the door, nor why I reached out and opened it. My fear was a huge, living entity inside me. But then there I was, standing right in front of my future husband and knowing he would eat me alive.
He had to be six and a half feet tall. He towered over me. I’d never felt so dainty or small. And despite the tux he wore, I could see the tattoos creeping out from under his cuffs and the collar of his shirt.
My cousin wasn’t classically handsome. He screamed danger and death.
“It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding,” I whispered, and I instantly felt foolish.
He said nothing as he came in, shut the door behind him, and, without taking his gaze off my shielded one, turned the lock. He sealed us in. Caged me in this prison where the only escape was being blocked by a behemoth of a man who was soon to be my forced husband.
“I don’t believe in bad luck,” he murmured, his voice deep and carrying a thick, Italian accent. I found the cadence beautiful, if not a little dangerous, since I knew this man was heir to the head of his—my—Italian mafia crime family.
He moved forward, and I stepped back. We did this dance until the wall stopped me from retreating… escaping. And then he lifted my veil.