My stomach grew heavy with dread as my worst suspicions were confirmed.
“You have to let me leave,” I implored. “Mateo won’t let you keep me here. He’ll come for me, and a lot of people will die.”
If Mateo was willing to conspire to kill Pedro to prevent me from marrying him, I shuddered to think what he might do to anyone who stood between us now.
“You’re scared of him,” Carmen surmised, her tense posture easing. “Don’t worry. This place is a fortress. No one can hurt you here.”
“I’m scared for you,” I corrected her. “I’m not sure what my father has told you, but he refuses to accept that I don’t want to marry Pedro. I never agreed to the marriage, and I never will. I love Mateo.”
Carmen crossed her arms over her chest, her features pinched with uncertainty. After a few seconds of consideration, she shook her head, dismissing my assertions.
“You’re young, and you’ve been in a distressing situation with Ignazio. Your perceptions are clouded by what he wants you to see, and whatever he told you was no more than a means to control you. I guarantee it.
“Love is a lie that men use to trap you and destroy you. I understand that you’ve been sheltered from the truth about our business dealings, so the concept of an arranged marriage might seem odd to you. But I promise that our family will provide for you and protect you. That’s what matters. Love isn’t real. Safety and stability are.”
“You have to listen to me,” I begged. “This will not end well for you if you don’t send me back to Mateo right now. Please, I—”
The bedroom door opened, and Daddy cut through my desperate plea. “Princesa.” He beamed, as though thrilled to see me after a long vacation. He walked toward me with open arms, seeking my embrace.
I scrambled back, getting to my feet and using the four-poster bed as a defensive barrier between us.
His jaw went slack, his bright green eyes clouding with hurt.
“What have you done, Daddy?” I demanded, a rush of rage clearing the last of the cobwebs from my mind.
“I coordinated your rescue, of course,” he said, baffled by my reaction. “After Ignazio got violent with me at the wedding and dragged you away, I knew I had to save you from him. I’ve been working to arrange your extraction ever since. Adrián will be furious, but I couldn’t leave my little girl with that animal. My good friend Pedro has agreed to help me push Adrián out of power. You’ll be safe here from now on.”
“Mateo didn’t drag me away,” I shot back, unable to wrap my mind around Daddy’s delusion. “I asked him to take me home. He only pushed you out of the way because you’d cornered me and wouldn’t listen to me when I told you I don’t want to marry Pedro.” I turned my attention on Carmen, reinforcing my assertion. “I don’t want to marry your brother.”
Daddy fixed me with his deepest, most disapproving frown. “You’re acting very foolish, Sofia. It’s past time I separated you from Ignazio. He’s dangerous.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to my bride?” a new voice drawled.
A strange man stepped across the threshold, his cold gray eyes fixed on me. He was short in stature—maybe an inch taller than me—but he was broad, his bulk evident beneath his tailored slacks and blue dress shirt. His lips pressed together, all but disappearing beneath his thick, black mustache.
“Sofia, this is Pedro,” Daddy said firmly. “The wedding is tomorrow. It’s all been set up for your arrival.”
“My arrival?” I choked. “More like abduction. I don’t consent to any of this.” I met Pedro Ronaldo squarely in the eye. If Daddy wouldn’t listen, maybe this stranger would. “I don’t want to marry you. I love Mateo.”
“No, you don’t!” Daddy barked, his face going red with rage.
My fists curled at my sides, my own fury riding me hard. “Denying it doesn’t make it any less true,” I hissed. “I love Mateo, and I won’t marry anyone else. You can’t make me.”
Pedro scowled at Daddy. “You didn’t tell me she was infatuated with Ignazio. You said he was holding her hostage.”
“He was,” Daddy insisted. “Sofia is just confused. She’s an impressionable young girl, and she thinks the best of everyone.”
“Not anymore,” I seethed. “I definitely don’t think highly of you, Daddy.”
“You also told me she was respectful and meek,” Pedro accused, his mounting anger fixed on my father, discussing my character traits as though I wasn’t even in the room with them.
“She can speak for herself,” I insisted. “Let me leave and get back to Mateo before he does something drastic. He’s not going to allow you to keep me here.”
Pedro sneered. “If Ignazio is foolish enough to try to attack me in my own home, he’ll find that it’s well-defended. He’ll be dead before he can get anywhere near me. If he possesses more than two brain cells, he’ll focus on protecting Adrián instead of coming here to die.”