Chapter 14
Luca
* * *
When the bride steps inside the room, the smile that I was wearing for my parents dissipates. The small gathering gasps in unison at the beauty marching down the aisle. She looks beautiful in that semi-white, laced dress that tightly fits her body.
Beautiful. Perfect in every way.
But it’s not enough to make me smile.
I adjust my bow tie as everybody watches her step forward in those pristine pretty shoes she’ll only wear once.
All of it is fleeting, just like this wedding, just like any kind of feelings I once felt.
None of it matters.
The only thing that does is the fact that this is my wedding day. And Jasmine Baas will now officially become Jasmine De Vos.
My wife. My little pet.
A girl simply there to mend the broken relationship between our families. A girl here to satisfy all my wicked needs.
But when I look at her, I feel … nothing.
No excitement. No rage. No lust pulsing through my veins.
None of the things I desire.
This girl isn’t the girl I wanted.
But I have her now, so I’ll make do.
After all, our families need to keep their dealings going, and I’m the only son left standing to carry the weight of this business on my shoulders. I’m merely a means to an end, just like she is. A gesture of peace, to put a looming war to an end.
But to look at her and know that I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with a girl who never wanted to be here, who can’t even stand the fucking air I breathe, makes me grumble out loud. In front of everyone. And I don’t even care.
She rolls her eyes, obviously not interested in whatever it is I’m thinking. The feeling is mutual. She despises me as much as I despise her, but I don’t fucking care.
If I can’t fucking have what I want, I will take the next best thing.
So I straighten my back and wait until Jasmine is at the altar. She reluctantly offers her hand, and I take it and own it as we step to the front and wait for the moment we say our vows.
I’m hyperaware of the ring in my pocket waiting to be put on her finger.
And when the man who is making our marriage a fact is finally done speaking, we turn to face each other. Her eyes are filled with tears as I lift her veil, but she doesn’t even look at me.
It doesn’t matter. Once this is all over and she is my wife, I’ll make her look at me.
“Are you ready to say your vows?” the man in front of the altar asks.
I nod. “We are.”
Jasmine doesn’t say anything, like a pretty little doll told to shut up.
Exactly what’s needed for an exchange like this.
If only my dark heart didn’t hunger for more.
More defiance, more hatred, more rage. Because an eager to please submissive like Jasmine is never going to fulfill my depraved needs.
There is only one girl on this entire fucking planet who could …
But she ran and vanished off the face of the earth.
And now that our families have finally come to an agreement, I have to honor my side of the deal, no matter how bitter it makes me.
At least I’ll have the fucking crown.
I clear my throat and take out the ring holding out her hand.
Suddenly, the door in the back bursts open, and everyone turns their head, including me.
But when I see who steps inside, I’m the only one whose smile grows bigger and bigger.
Out of all the people to show up to my wedding … I never expected it to be her.
Jill.
“Stop!” she yells, her breathing as ragged as the clothes she’s wearing. But her voice … even after all these years, it still lights the fire in my heart.
And the second her eyes connect with mine, I know this is going to be the most amazing wedding I have ever witnessed.
“Jill Baas … how nice of you to finally show your face again,” I say, grinning because I can’t contain the ecstasy flurrying through my body. “I’ve missed you.”
“Jill?” Jasmine mutters with confusion. Maybe she didn’t know Jill was going to show up either. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving you,” Jill replies. She steps forward, undeterred by the shocked audience as she looks me dead in the eyes. “Let. Jasmine. Go.”
My nostrils twitch from annoyance.
She thinks she can just barge in here and decide what’s going to happen? Wrong.
“Give me one good reason,” I sneer.
Jasmine throws Jill some looks with her eyes. These sisters have always communicated without saying a single word, and it makes me want to lash out.
I grab Jasmine’s arm and push her back so she’s behind me, and Jill can no longer speak with her.
“She doesn’t deserve this,” Jill says.