“You’re a virgin,” I said, as though that would explain everything, as though I wouldn’t have to say more.
“So?” she demanded. “Why does that…”
Her mouth snapped closed, and her eyes began to shine. She was starting to put things together, and the truth was going to be agonizing for her.
“Daddy always said how important it was to wait for marriage.” I wasn’t certain if she was aware that she spoke the disturbing words aloud. “And Mom said no one would want me if they saw my scars. So I never…”
Her eyes narrowed at me, a fresh wave of anger surging in my direction. “Daddy wanted me to be a virgin when I married this Ronaldo guy. But I want you to tell me why that matters if you aren’t intending for me to go through with the marriage.”
“Sofia, I was just trying to protect you.” I attempted to placate her. “Those men who came to the house—the ones you saw me fight—didn’t come to take you away. Your father sent them to deliver a message. Caesar intends to keep his alliance with Ronaldo. He wanted to make sure I don’t take your virginity, so the marriage could still go forward. I was never going to give you to Ronaldo,” I swore before she could even question it. “But Adrián had to promise your father that I wouldn’t… He promised that your virginity would remain intact. That’s why Ronaldo has to die. Once he’s dead, there is no arrangement, and there won’t be anything keeping us apart.”
Her lower lip trembled. “You made a deal with Daddy and Adrián about my virginity? You all traded my body like a bargaining chip between you?”
I took a step toward her, but she threw up her hands to ward me off.
“I didn’t have a choice,” I reasoned, not wanting to acknowledge the lie on my tongue. “If we hadn’t made this agreement, there would have been war. You would have been in danger. I was protecting you.”
“Protecting me?” she shrieked, her eyes wild. “Is that what you call what you just did to me? You couldn’t take my virginity without my father’s permission, but you could put your mouth on me and…”
She couldn’t seem to finish articulating what I’d done to her without being sick. Her features were pale and pinched, her delicate body shaking.
“This doesn’t change anything between us.” If I said it out loud, maybe it would be true.
“There is nothing between us,” she hissed. “Just your lies and my stupidity for blindly trusting you.”
“No.” My refusal was harsh and immediate. I wouldn’t let her pull away from me. I wouldn’t lose her trust.
I closed the distance between us in one long stride, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close to my chest.
“Don’t touch me!” She tried to shove me away, but she didn’t have a chance at physical resistance.
“I won’t let you go,” I ground out, keeping her pinned against me. “I won’t make that mistake again. You need me to touch you.”
“Stop it!” she insisted, breathless from her struggles.
“I’ve got you, Sofia,” I swore, not giving her an inch. “You’re mine.”
She went completely still, and I could practically feel her body solidify to ice. “If you force yourself on me, I will hate you forever.”
My muscles flexed around her, my body rebelling at the prospect of releasing her.
“Let me go.” She bit out each venomous word.
Somehow, I summoned up enough willpower to peel my arms away from her trembling form. As soon as she was freed from my cage, she stumbled back, putting space between us.
She took a deep breath and straightened her spine, finding the strength to present defiance even though tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I will stay here at your house,” she declared coldly. “I’ll be a compliant little hostage, because being trapped with you is a slightly less horrific nightmare than facing Daddy right now.” She lifted her chin, her bright green eyes searing into me. “But I will never make the mistake of trusting you again. I will never let myself forget who you really are.”
“You know who I am.” I rasped the lie.
“I do now,” she agreed. “You’re a criminal. You’re my jailor. And nothing else.”Chapter 16SofiaI touched my thumb to the base of my ring finger, a habit that had become obsessive over the last twenty-four hours. But the absence of a diamond ring didn’t take back the awful revelations about my engagement.
My brain’s default defensive mechanism was to deny what Mateo had told me.
I’m not engaged to a drug lord I’ve never met. Daddy wouldn’t do that to me.
But denial wouldn’t make this go away.
It was agonizing enough to accept that Daddy had arranged this marriage, but thinking about Mateo’s part in the bargain made me want to vomit.
I’d trusted him enough to let him…touch me in ways I’d never considered before. I’d shared my scars with him. My secrets. My body.