Wife (Betrothed 1)

Damien gave me the most perplexed look I’d ever seen. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

I shrugged.

“You’ve known this girl for like two months.”

I shrugged again. “It felt right.”

“Felt right?” he asked incredulously. “Then ask her to move in with you. Tell her you love her. Start off small. I don’t blame her for being freaked out.”

If I’d asked her for any of those things, her reaction would have been the same. “That’s not what bothers me the most.”

“I figured there had to be something else for you to freak out like that. I almost drove you to the hospital. Your blood-alcohol level must still be high right now. It takes a lot for a grown man to be wasted. But with you…it takes a lot more than that. So I’m surprised you’re alive right now.”

A part of me wished I weren’t. “She said she would never love me.”

He sighed. “That’s rough…”

She didn’t say she didn’t love me. She said she never would…as in, there was no chance of that happening. “It makes me wonder if the gypsy was right…she said I would love a woman, and she would never love me back.”

“Hades, come on. You know that’s bullshit.”

“Is it?” I asked. “Because I’ve never felt anything like this before in my life. I’ve never given a damn about anyone besides the two of us. Then Sofia comes along…and I lose my mind. I can have any woman I could possibly want…except her. You think that’s just a coincidence?”

“I think you’re upset right now, so you’re jumping to ridiculous conclusions.” Damien was usually the impulsive one, and it was my job to calm him down. But perhaps seeing me lose my mind made him the calmer one. “There’s no way that’s true. I’ll prove it. Did the gypsy say anything else about your future?”

“Yeah…that I would marry the woman.”

“Really?” he asked. “Well, there you go. You aren’t married, so it’s bullshit.”

“She said the woman still wouldn’t love me even if we were married. She would give me two sons but still wouldn’t love me. So it sounds like this will happen sometime in the future…”

Damien shook his head slightly. “That’s never going to happen. I promise you. It’s shitty that this happened to you, but it’s her loss. You’ll find someone else who won’t play games.”

That was the problem…I didn’t want anyone else. I wanted to fuck beautiful women and get back to my life, but actually feeling something for someone…that was never going to happen. Whether that gypsy was full of shit or not, that was something she was right about.

I would never love another woman.

“I know what will cheer you up. I got tickets to the Barsetti Lingerie show. Conway Barsetti said he would take us backstage to meet the girls.” He waggled his eyebrows. “What do you say? How about we get back on the horse?”

I had nothing else to do, and I wasn’t keeping my dick in my pants. Sofia wasn’t coming back, and even if she did, I wouldn’t take her back. She humiliated me. I’d warned her not to cross me again, but she did it anyway.

It was over…and I wouldn’t waste another second on her.

20

Sofia

It was a lonely week.

There were so many times I thought about calling…but what good would that do? The man asked me to marry him, and I said no. Not only did I break his heart, but I wounded his pride. Even if I changed my mind, I knew he wouldn’t take me back.

Not that I had.

He hated me…and I hated him a bit too.

I hated him for ruining what we had. Everything was perfect, easy. He was the first man I’d ever met that I wanted so much. He was the best lover I’d ever had. No other man could replace what I’d just lost. I knew it wouldn’t last forever, but by the time it ended, we would be sick of each other.

Now it had turned into a bitter breakup.

He hated me…I knew he did.

Why didn’t he listen to me? Why didn’t he do what I asked? Why did he have to destroy us?

Why?

I cradled the bottle of wine on the couch and kept drinking…because I had nothing else to do.

I showed up at Gustavo’s office the next morning.

“Surprised to see you here. Everything alright?” He rose from his desk to give me a hug.

“I was wondering if I could have my old job back.” After careful consideration, I realized that my fantasies about the future were all bullshit. If I wanted this hotel, I had to fight for it. Once it was mine, I could make all the changes I wanted. I could cut ties to the criminals that used this place as a meeting location. I could divorce the man my mother forced me to marry once everything was mine.