Page 8 of His to Break

That’s probably the best I can hope for right now. I’ll push for it again later.

“Okay, what else?”

“In our marriage, there is no equal partnership. I expect you to remember your place.”

There’s no point in challenging him on that either, so I simply nod.

Leo picks up the envelope John brought to him and pulls a sheaf of paper from it. He holds it out to me. “Look this over, sign, and I’ll have a judge brought over to officiate.”

“Tonight?” My response comes out as a surprised squeak.

“Tonight,” Leo confirms.

I take the document from him and start to read over it. The legalese at the start makes my head spin, but I slow my thoughts and see it’s just a standard contract. He’s making me agree to conduct the marriage on his terms, specifying where we’ll live, that I will be his wife in every way. Then I read something that makes my jaw drop.

“You want a child?”

Though I thought it was a possibility, I imagined it would happen organically once we’re settled into the marriage, I never envisioned it being part of a contract.

“I want three, but one will suffice.”

I can’t help smiling. “I want three kids too.”

Leo rolls his eyes. “Oh, good, we’re soulmates.”

He’s an asshole and I’m about to tell him as much when my eye lands on something that surprises me more than the stipulation we have a child. I have to read the clause three times, and even then I’m not sure I have it right.

“This says our assets remain the property of the party who brings them to the marriage.”

“That’s right.”

I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s straightforward, principessa. I don’t want your money because I’m not for sale. We marry on my terms. You will not for one minute imagine you bought me.”

Well, fuck me sideways, I did not expect that. “So I can do whatever I please with my money?”

“Within reason.”

I sense there’s a catch. “What would you consider unreasonable?”

“Hiring a hitman to bump off your husband,” Leo says wryly.

I smile, liking it when he jokes. “What if I need a hitman to bump off someone else?”

“Then you come to me. I’ll get you a good deal.”

“Wow, okay. So I can do what I want with my inheritance, but otherwise I have to obey you in all things?”

He nods. I sigh heavily. I knew this deal would mean marrying a man with a traditional view of marriage, but it’s still hard to reconcile myself with the idea of submitting. Leo reaches into his jacket pocket and takes out a pen, which he hands to me. Poised to add my signature to the document, I hesitate.

“Sign,” Leo commands.

“It’s hard.” I scrawl my name across the page. “I’m giving up my independence.”

“You never had independence, principessa. You only thought you were taking control when you came to us.”

My eye twitches in annoyance. It’s something I knew but didn’t want to admit to myself. “Yes, thank you for pointing that out.”

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