Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 86325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
A huge weight falls off my shoulders. Everyone here is happy for me, for us. They want this alliance to happen. Could this be the happily ever after I've been dreaming of my whole life?
"Well then," the priest chuckles heartily. "If there's nobody, we may as well carry on and –"
The double front doors of the chapel open, crashing into the walls on either side. There are gasps and whispers, and the guards point their weapons at the entrance. But there's nobody there save for a woman who must be about fifteen years older than me. She's alone, and she walks inside ignoring the guns all pointed at her as she points at me.
"I have something to say," she spits out as my eyes widen. She's looking directly at me. This won't end well.
Papa gets up and I can tell he's panicking, too. "What is this, Bernardi? Who the hell is this woman?"
"I'm Ryder's fiancée," the woman spits out and my stomach sinks. It's her – Livia, the woman from the framed photograph on Ryder's nightstand. The one everyone thought was dead until we learned of her reappearance. "And I have every right to be here, unlike the woman standing up there."
Bruno furrows his brow and orders the guards to lower their weapons. Ryder glances between me and Livia, deathly pale as the woman advances upon us, retracing my steps down the aisle. I'm so shocked, I can't move or speak, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. I feel utterly helpless right now, as if I'm just watching my life get destroyed as the seconds tick by.
"Remove this woman immediately!" Papa roars, but nobody moves forward to do so.
"Livia," Bruno hisses. "This is not the time nor place."
"It is," she responds, throwing her head back with a laugh. "It certainly is. Because once I tell you what I know, you won't want your son marrying the little liar up there."
She points right at me while the crowd gasps. My knees begin to shake. Is there a chance that she knows the truth? But Papa and I worked so hard to hide it... there's no way. She couldn't possibly know. Could she?
"I'm here to tell everyone that Nicoletta and Gustavo Carlucci are nothing but schemers, liars and actors of the highest order," Livia spits out, smiling venomously at me. "Would you like to do the honors, Nicoletta?"
I feel like I'm about to faint. I feel everyone's eyes on me, but I can't do a thing to stop this. Not now. It's too late. I close my eyes and a silent tear rolls down my powdered cheek while Livia laughs out loud, victorious.
"I thought so. It's time for the truth to come out. There's no running from it anymore," she tells me viciously.
And just like that, my life ends before my very eyes.
20
Ryder
Livia seems determined to ruin my wedding day, but I'm not letting her get away with it that easily. Taking a step forward, I make Nicoletta stand behind me so I can protect her while I address the woman I thought I loved once upon a time. "What are you doing here, Livia? You're not welcome."
"You sure?" she bats her lashes at me just like she used to, and pain sears through my body. "I have something you'll be very interested to hear, and it involves both of these two people. I would call them the Carluccis, but they're not who they say they are."
A gasp takes over the crowd. People whisper and stare at the unfolding action while my knuckles whiten as I form fists with my hands. "If you've got something to say, Livia, you can say it here and now, then get lost."
"Awww." She pouts at me. "I expected a warmer welcome from you, Ryder. Maybe I was just a bed warmer to you after all... all those I love yous meant nothing, did they?"
"Don't make me tell the guards to blow your brains out before you get your lies out," I hiss. She seems to understand I mean it and her expression of pure glee falters, if only for a moment.
"Then I guess it's time for the truth," Livia purrs. "Do you trust your wife-to-be, Ryder?"
"Of course," I bark. "I trust her more than I ever trusted you."
I risk a look at Nicoletta whose head is bowed. Her bottom lip is trembling, so I pull her into a protective embrace to shield her from my ex's poison.
"You gonna spit it out, Livia?" I hiss. "Or do we have to keep waiting for this stunt to be over?"
She gives me a sugary-sweet smile, saying, "You better hold on to your girl, Ryder, because I'm about to ruin everything."
"No!" Gustavo jumps forward, alerting one of his own guards to the situation. "Kill that woman."
Two men push forward and gunshots ring out in the air. Someone screams but our guards stop the Carluccis.