Two weeks passed in no time at all. I had been buried under work with Darren, trying to figure out who the fuck was setting us up against each other, but so far, we hadn’t come across anything.
Whoever was planning this had their ducks in a row, and they were being extremely careful to keep their identity hidden.
Darren huffed as he buttoned up his jacket. “Fuck you for getting married,” he muttered.
I snorted, highly amused at his discomfort. “Not all of us have the option to drag our bride to the courthouse,” I reminded him. That was exactly what he’d done with his wife, Julianna. She couldn’t handle large crowds and being the center of attention, but she wanted to be his wife. Lucky bastard didn’t have to go through all this shit.
He huffed. “Maybe you fucking should so I wouldn’t have to wear one of these fucking constricting monkey suits.”
I barked out a laugh. Juliana leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, soothing him. He sighed and wrapped her up in his arms, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek. My chest ached at the sight of them. They were happy. They would forever have each other and have a happy, loving marriage.
I was trapped into a fucking contract marriage. Granted, I had agreed to it because of family, but it didn’t make this shit suck any fucking less. But I would never voice that out loud. I knew if I did, Darren and James would put a stop to this wedding, and that would cause more trouble than we needed.
James appeared in the doorway. “Time to come down,” he told me. “Wedding is starting soon.”
Darren clapped a hand to my back and left the room after his brother. Shaking my head, I followed them down and took my place at the altar.
Here, my freedom ended.
Today, I would become shackled by a wife.
I watched as Inessa’s bridesmaids came down the aisle, and then finally, she emerged on her grandfather’s arm, her parents once again mysteriously missing. She was wearing a white dress in the same style her ball gown had been. A veil covered her face, keeping me from seeing her reaction to getting married, to being tied to me.
Her grandfather placed her hand in mine, nodding once at me in respect. I did the same as Inessa stepped up beside me. She was sniffling, barely audible over the sound of the minister speaking.
“You’re a monster,” she whispered, her voice breaking.
I shrugged at her, not giving a fuck how she felt about all of this. I would do whatever I could to protect my family. Nothing else mattered.
“I don’t give a fuck how anyone looks at me,” I whispered to her. She sniffled again. The minister announced I could kiss my bride, and I lifted her veil, noting the tears in her eyes that she never let spill. I cupped the side of her neck and used my thumb to tilt her head back. With my lips brushing hers, I added in a soft voice, “and I won’t be starting with my contract wife.”
Then, I kissed her, officially sealing the deal and making Inessa my wife.