Page 10 of The Marriage Contract

I grit my teeth, saying nothing, waiting for him to go on.

“Let me come to the wedding. I want to see your pretty bride walk down the ais?—”

Like a panicked animal, he makes a yelping noise when I dart my hand across the table and haul him over it. I spin and slam him against the wall, holding him off his feet, his legs kicking powerlessly. “Don’t fucking speak about her,” I snarl. “Keep Elena out of your mouth. Keep her out of your head. She has nothing to do with you—nothing to do with this life.” When I shake him, his head bashes against the wall. “Am I clear, motherfucker?”

Slowly, he realizes what’s happening. He grabs my wrists. “Let me go. Now.”

“Have I made myself clear?”

“If you don’t let me go, there’s going to be a gunfight. We both know it. It’ll be a massacre.”

I come to my senses. What the hell am I doing? I’ve never snapped in a business meeting.

Outside, one of Vincenzo’s men calls, “Everything okay in there, Don Romano?”

Quietly, Vincenzo says, “Is it Dario? Are you okay? Or are you as cracked in the head as you seem right now?”

I put him down, taking a few stumbling steps back, my heart pounding in my ears, my head filled with countless images of this bastard doing terrible things to Elena. I need to chill.

“Everything’s fine,” Vincenzo replies. “We’re done here.”

“Don’t forget our terms,” I growl as he walks away.

“Don’t worry, Dario,” he says. “I won’t forget anything about this meeting.”

He leaves me to contemplate what I’ve just done. One comment about my fiancée—myfakefiancée—and I could’ve just started a war.Fuck.

CHAPTER FIVE

ELENA

Isit in the luxurious library in Dario’s townhouse, several wedding-planning magazines open in front of me. When Allessio found me, he told me the wedding would be my responsibility.“It has to be a show. It has to be over the top.”When I first came here, it all seemed like a joke, but as I look at the dresses, it’s almost like something is stirring in me.

It’s nothing, I tell myself. I won’t lose my cool or let my mind go to silly places. Okay, so his eyes are intense. Okay, so he’sphysicallyhot, and I liked sassing him. I like making the corner of his lip twitch, but that’s nothing to obsess about.

The dresses are beautiful. It’s as simple as that. It’s the same as looking at a costume for an acting role and imagining myself wearing one of those, but it’s no big deal.

My cell phone rings. It’s Giulia, my friend, who cares for Aunt Rosa.

“Rosa wants to see you,” she says.

“Is she okay?”

“Physically, she’s doing better now. She’s just having a cloudy day. She thinks you’ve left her to travel and you won’t be back before … before the end. That’s what she said.”

“The end,” I repeat, shaking my head. “That won’t happen now that she’s getting the help she needs.”

“I tried telling her that, but she won’t listen. Can you visit her? Or is that not allowed?”

“I’m not a prisoner,” I cry. “Of course, I can visit my own aunt. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Thanks again, Gee.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me.”

“You dropped your life at a moment’s notice. Idohave to keep thanking you.”

“See you soon.”

Hanging up, I leave the library and walk through the giant house. I find Clara in another of the libraries, sitting at the window with a book in her hand. She stands as I enter, her hands behind her back like I’m royalty or something. It makes me feel icky.

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