My grandfather had said Luca and Bastian were geniuses and that Luca was a master manipulator. Maybe this was his way of breaking me down.
I understood how darkness could rot your insides and poison you to the core. I saw myself in each of the Salvatore brothers. They might have grown up with every luxury, but we were the same, bonded by horrifying traumas and doing our best to survive.
I used to think that all rich people had perfect lives. That money solved everything. But no amount of money could remove emotional pain from the body, pain so intense it made your muscles and joints ache. Pain so horrible it festered inside your heart like a flesh-eating disease.
I rejoined my family and flicked my blonde curls over my shoulder. “They’re so mean,” I whispered to my grandfather. “I tried to be nice. What did I do wrong?”
“Fuck them,” Aiden said. “They need you more than you need them, Lexie.”
“You will marry one of the Salvatore boys,” my grandfather said, his voice stern and cold. “And it’s not up for debate. I saved you from a life of poverty and abuse. Just remember, you owe me, Alexandrea.”
No more Mr. Nice Guy. Aiden was right that it was an act to sweet-talk me into this marriage. With each passing day, Pops became less present in our lives.
“Of course,” I told him. “I’m grateful for everything you have done for us. I won’t let you down.”
My fake smile masked how I really felt. I was so mentally and emotionally beaten down by years of abuse.
But I was a fighter.
A future marriage to one of these beautifully broken boys freed my brother and me from our former lives. I refused to let them steal this opportunity from me. And I had one thing they didn’t have—the power to choose.
CHAPTER 6
ALEX
Living in Devil’s Creek was the polar opposite of my old life. In this small coastal town filled with rich snobs who lived in fancy mansions and drove expensive cars, even teenagers spoke differently. They sounded like kids trapped inside the bodies of well-educated adults.
I felt out of place surrounded by so much wealth and sophistication. Even with my new last name, which drew the attention of everyone at school, I didn’t feel like a Wellington.
I was still an outsider.
Poor white trash.
The students at Astor Prep stared as I walked down the hallway beside Aiden, holding his hand. I wasn’t a little girl anymore, but my brother was protective.
In his mind, we were still gutter rats struggling to survive. Except now, we wore designer labels, had washed hair and pressed clothing. We didn’t have to worry about the source of our next meal.
This was our fresh start.
It was worth the cost.
“Aid, I’ll be okay,” I said to assure him since he was more nervous than I was. “You don’t have to worry about me while we’re apart. I can handle the Salvatore brothers. They’re just boys.”
“No, they’re not. They’re men. I don’t like the way they treated you. And I don’t trust them.”
After our failed meeting, Aiden complained to our grandfather all night about the Salvatore brothers. He begged Pops to let me out of the marriage deal.
He said no.
“Marcello was nice.” I smiled, cheeks flushed. “He’s handsome, don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” Aiden agreed. “Marcello’s hot. So are his brothers. But they’re all fucking dickheads. I don’t want you with any of them.”
My brother was bisexual and never hid it, not even from our homophobic mother. Instead of punishing Aiden when she found out, she tried to beat some sense into me. After that, Aiden never mentioned another boy. He kept his mouth shut to save me from her.
“I need you to be okay with this,” I said, since he was so resistant to the marriage. “If not for Pops, we would still be with Mom and Dad. I can’t go back to Haven. I can’t go back to her.”
Our mother started abusing me when I was old enough to understand that getting locked in a dark closet without food and water for days was not normal. Aiden didn’t care what he had to give up to leave that hellhole, but he hated that, once again, I had to pay the price for our mother’s mistakes.
