Page 120 of Maddening Fixation

Romeo Flynn.

There was no greeting.

“I trust you’ve received the notification,” he had said, his voice calm and unwavering. “Keegan will contact you with the details. He’ll oversee every aspect of the wedding. You won’t have to concern yourself with a thing.”

I opened my mouth to object.

He didn’t let me.

“If you refuse,” he had continued in that same frighteningly composed tone, “your family pays the price. I buried my own family in a single day. Don’t make me show you I can do it twice.”

The line went dead.

I had stared at my phone, frozen, dozens of questions crashing through my mind.

Why the sudden urgency?

Had he even spoken to my sister—the one person whose opinion had always mattered to him?

None of those questions were answered.

When Keegan called later that day, he ignored every one of them. His only concern was preparing me for the wedding.

Under any other circumstances, I would’ve refused.

I would’ve fought Romeo.

But then my father disappeared.

And with him gone, I couldn’t afford to challenge Romeo Flynn.

Besides...

The marriage would last only two years.

And buried beneath all my fear was a truth I’d never dared admit.

I’d wanted this.

Not like this. Never like this.

A week ago, I was living my life as though tomorrow belonged to me.

Today, I was walking down the aisle to marry the most feared man in Florida.

As I climbed the flower-lined steps toward the altar, each measured step felt less like walking into a marriage and more like surrendering to a destiny that had been chosen long before I was ever given a voice.

My eyes remained fixed ahead, but my thoughts drifted back.

Back to Yarina.

She had warned me not to go through with this marriage. She’d said the consequences would be severe.

It wasn’t that I feared her—or her threats.

The truth was, this marriage had never really been my choice.

Besides, Yarina wasn’t the one holding the advantage.