I hear a click and face the door.
“It’s time to go, Rosa.” I turn to face the man standing there. He’s similar looking to Dante with jet black hair, just a smaller build.
I clutch hold of my bouquet as if it will offer me some sort of protection. My feet are planted in the spot.
Tossing the shawl onto the chair, the man’s eyes go wide as he spots the marks scattered on my arms.
“Put that back on,” he says gruffly.
I shake my head. “It will ruin my dress. Dante won’t want that. He picked this out for me. He put these marks here, it must mean he wants me to show them off.”
He narrows his eyes. “Fine, just pull your hair over or something. We can’t have the priest seeing these.”
I do as he says, letting my curls fall over my shoulders and down my arms.
He holds open the door, his suit opens, and I catch the silver glimmer from his gun and my mouth goes dry.
Giving me a knowing glare, he says, “Move.”
I shuffle past him, the cold air beating against my skin. The parking lot is nearly empty. I don’t know why I expected Luca to bring an army. It was the hope I was clutching on to. Disappointment consumes me. Maybe I was wrong. I’m not his family. He made clear he would do anything to keep them out of harm’s way.
I was grasping onto the idea that our love might come close.
Not that it matters now. I’ve failed them all.
He walks me towards the entrance, my heels clicking against the floor as we reach the double doors.
They open, but I can’t move. Every single person turns in their seat to gawk at me, like some sort of animal in the zoo. The crowd is a haze, a blur of color. All I can focus on is the monster grinning at me. In his black tux, his hands in his pockets.
My heart rate spikes as the violins play. My body is screaming at me to turn around, to run away. There isn’t a way out of this. I don’t have a choice. I chose Luca’s life over mine, and I will never regret that decision.
I take my first step through the threshold, my massive dress weighing me down. I hold my head up high, shoving my emotions deep down, keeping my eyes fixed on the gold cross, every step a stab in the chest.
Electricity fizzles in my body, and adrenaline takes over. It’s fight or flight, and this time, I can’t let my body win. I have to fight.
I peer to my left and my feet almost stop as I see the back of Luca’s head, next to his fiancé. I do everything I can to hold in the sob that threatens to erupt from my throat.
I can’t look at him, not when I basically have a gun to my back. I have to do this to save us all.
But he will always own my heart. He is my forever.
A forever I will never have.
I know I won’t survive this marriage.
I keep my gaze on that cross, Dante’s big frame in my peripheral. My arms tense as I grip the flowers, trying to stop the tremble, which only makes it worse, my legs starting to feel heavy with every step.
The tiniest whimper leaves my throat as I pass Luca, leaving him behind me. My past. My eyes locked with Dante’s evil ones.
He grins at me and blows me a kiss.
