Page 81 of Bride By Initiation

"I'm your chosen one, and you know it. Now, take my hand," he orders, holding his out toward her.

Zara gazes at it and then back at me.

The bell rings. I glance around us and realize that the others are all paired up. We're the only three left.

The crowd's deafening roars get louder until Valentina steps forward and puts her hand in the air. Silence fills the arena.

She glares at me, snarling, "You did not choose the redhead."

"No. I choose Zara," I declare.

She snaps, "That is not in the cards for you. I will give you one more chance. Choose wisely."

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14

Zara

It takes everything I have to stay on my feet. My insides tremble as Valentina sears her fiery gaze into Sean.

He grabs my hand, lifts his chin, and confidently announces, "I choose Zara."

Relief and fear hit me at once. I don't want to marry the stranger next to me, even if he did remind me of Sean in the photos.

He isn't anything like Sean.

I clutch Sean's hand as anger floods Valentina's expression.

Tension grows, and the entire arena sits on pins and needles, waiting for her reaction.

She steps closer and murmurs in his ear, "I'll deal with you later." She spins and saunters over to the bald man.

I glance at Sean, and he tugs me closer to him.

Valentina steps beside the redhead. She asks the bald man, "Why did you choose her? Were you not directed to choose Zara?"

He looks nervous. My guess is he's normally a man who'd step into a dark alley with no qualms and come out alive. Right now, he looks scared to death.

He replies, "There were already two men going after her."

Valentina arches her eyebrows. "So? Are you a coward?"

He swallows hard and doesn't speak. She steps forward, takes her ring finger, and lifts his chin higher so he's looking at the sky. She coos, "Do you see the moon?"

"Yes," he replies.

"Good." She releases him, and he looks at her. She states, "It's the last time you'll see it."

Confusion fills his expression. He blurts out, "Why would you say that?"

She points to a man on the side of the stage. Like all the men in the crowd, he's in a tuxedo and wearing the same skull mask. He comes on the stage, steps next to Valentina, and pulls a gun out of his pocket.

The crowd begins to stomp their feet again, chanting, "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

The bald man shakes his head. He holds his hands out in front of him, begging, "Valentina, please."

"You were given a direct order. You were supposed to pick Zara, not a woman who was promised to another man. Instead, you defy your orders and attempt to break the promises our families made. Now look at the mess you created for them," she spouts, and points at the redhead and then me.

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