Despite the morbid and sad ending, I wanted that for myself. The once in a lifetime love.
But I never thought love wouldn’t find me. That instead, I’d take part in an arranged marriage.
Never thought I might have a morbid ending of my very own.
Yet here I am.
“Don’t do this, Lana. Please, I beg you.” Belle clasps my shoulder and looks at me through the mirror. Tears gather in her eyes.
“I have to.” My throat prickles. I look away. “There’s no other choice.”
And there isn’t, and the bastard knows. He listed my choices—going to the cops or fleeing. But he’s right. With what I know about The Association and how powerful they are, running might send us straight to our deaths. And with my siblings, my nieces and nephews, can we hide forever?
How can I guarantee their safety?
I’m turning thirty-five in a few months. I can do this for a few months. And the day I turn thirty-five and they get whatever it is they’re after, I can put this behind us.
“There is. We’ll go into hiding. Change our names,” Belle pleads. “Heck, I’ll get a bad spray tan, dye my hair blond, and wear gray contacts for the rest of my life. Don’t marry the bastard.”
An inappropriate snort tumbles out of me.
“You’d look ridiculous, Belle.” She’s half-Chinese, half-white, and her jet black hair and ivory skin are utterly gorgeous.
“We’ll think of something. I’ll call the others. All of us together—we’ll figure it out.”
I pat her hand and give it a squeeze. “Don’t. Maxwell and Rex already promised me they wouldn’t tell the others, and I need you to do the same.”
A crow caws in the distance as I turn and face her. “They can’t change anything. Don’t make them worry. They’re already scared enough with the vault heist and Maxwell getting shot. Let them think it was all a misunderstanding, that criminals broke in and kidnapped me, but Elias came to our rescue. Like he did before. Many times.”
I force out my next words. “Tell them we’ve been…in love this entire time. That this brush with death caused us to elope. That I’m doing something I’ve never done before. Uproot what’s expected of me to live my life. Tell them I’m happy. You saw happy tears in my eyes. Don’t make them worry when they can’t do anything about it. Please, Belle. Promise me.”
My good friend and sister-in-law wraps me in her arms. “You don’t deserve this.”
“No one does.” I pat her back, hating how my voice wobbles. “But I’ll survive. That asshole thinks he’s won for now, but I won’t go down easily. I’ll get out of this. This isn’t over.”
Far from it. That’s the one thought keeping me sane right now.
We’ll play pretend. Get married. Leave New York and move into his home in Chicago so he could keep his eyes on me. Stay married until I turn thirty-five and wait for whatever’s supposed to happen. In the meantime, I’ll dig around, find leverage, evidence, clues. I’ll gather the troops, and when the right moment strikes, I’ll pull the rug from under the spymaster myself and shoot him in the face.
“Trust me, Belle.” Steel infusing my voice, I grab her arms and pull back. “I’ll make his life a living hell.”
Belle stares at me, the concern in her hazel eyes slowly morphing into strength. She nods.
“Go kick ass. I’m always a call away.”
A new resolve straightens my spine. I look out the window, taking in the overcast skies and the garden of bare thorns and twisted branches. The world is damp and gray, befitting a wedding like this.
Nature can mourn my predicament.
I won’t.
A pity party won’t change anything.
“Zip up my dress, please. Let’s get this show on the road.”
There’ll be a small film crew there. The Berishas want proof we’re getting married.
They want a wedding? I’ll give them one.
