Page 125 of Bride By Initiation

Sean's face hardens. He tugs me closer. "What's done is done. Zara and I are married. We branded my father's mark on us as a tribute to him. That's it. It's a private moment between Zara and me, and it's not a big deal. Unless there's something else all of you aren't telling us?"

Fiona, Sean, and I stare at our parents.

My pulse skyrockets.

The longer they take to reply, the more I'm convinced they know something.

"You've made a bad mistake," Dante states.

Sean arrogantly replies, "Yeah? Why is that? You know something about my father you want to tell me?"

Dante gives Sean his challenging stare, then adds, "If your mother didn't want you to have that on you, then you should have respected her wishes."

Sean spouts, "Easy for you to say. Your dad didn't die when you were a kid. He's still alive and in his nineties."

Dante clenches his jaw.

My father accuses, "What did you pull my daughter into?"

"He hasn't pulled me into anything, Dad. We chose this. Together."

"You chose to destroy your body? To get married without your mother and me present and exchange vows with a man who didn't have the balls to ask for my permission?" he seethes.

"Okay, maybe we didn't do it the right way. But Sean's right, it's done," I insist.

Dad snarls, "So that's it? We're all expected to act like this is normal? And you two…" He points at us. "You broke your mothers' hearts. Now we're supposed to look the other way?"

I sigh.

Sean grips me tighter to him. He answers, "Unfortunately, that's how it's going to have to be, unless you want to have nothing to do with us again."

I gasp. "Sean, don't say that."

"You think you can take my daughter out of my life now?" Dad growls.

"No. But you're acting like this is an unforgivable event. As if Zara and I marrying each other is the worst thing that could have happened. I mean, there are a lot worse guys out there than me, Luca."

My father booms, "Don't you dare talk to me about whether you're worthy of my daughter's hand!"

"Dad! Sean! Please," I scold.

Fiona interjects, "Why did Sean put that skull on you, Zara? What's the real reason? He was my father too. I want to know."

"Fiona, it's nothing. It was a mark on your dad's hand. He designed it and was obsessed with it. It's just a gothic drawing," Bridget insists.

Fiona spins to face her mother. "If it's nothing, then why did you tell Sean not to put it on him?"

Anger flares in Bridget's eyes. She points at us. "Look how nasty their skin is now. Do you think I want my son branded? And Zara! Your beautiful neck. How did you even handle that kind of pain?"

Sean proudly states, "She took it like a champ! Way better than I did."

I glance at him, and my lips twitch. I blurt out, "You were a bit of a baby."

He winks at me.

Bridget roars, "You two think this is funny?"

My face falls. "No, but..." I glance back at Sean. "Well, he was way more of a wimp than me." I bite on my smile.

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