Page 85 of Bride By Initiation

I obey.

She threatens, "Maybe this should be your last full moon."

"I won't warn you again about threatening Zara," Sean snarls.

Two men race across the stage and step next to Valentina. One barks, "Do you dare make a threat against our high empress?"

I repeat, "I have proof we're not lying!"

Valentina licks her lips and asks, "What proof is this you have?"

"A contract. We signed a contract."

She laughs. "A contract? I would've known about a contract."

"I have it. It's in my jewelry box. Under the lid, there's a removable compartment. It's in there. I can get it and show you."

A new wave of gasps rolls through the crowd.

Valentina questions, "How would I not know about this?"

I continue, "I don't know. But I was twenty-one. We were coming back from the club. Fiona passed out in the car, and Sean helped me upstairs. I got sick. I had just broken up with my boyfriend and drank too much. I cried to Sean and told him I didn't think I would ever get married. He said he wasn't going to either. Then we made a pact that when we were older, we would marry each other."

Valentina's face goes pale. She's as silent as the crowd.

Sean interjects, "I wrote the contract. Zara said we needed to sign it in blood for it to be real. So I pricked her finger with my pocket knife and then my own."

Valentina hisses, "Stop lying! I would know about this!"

My chest tightens. I cry out, "It's in my apartment. In the jewelry box. His signature is in blood on top of mine! I swear to you."

The silence is deafening. The moon seems to shine brighter, and my heart beats faster. I reach for Sean's hand and grasp it as tightly as possible. He puts his other arm around me, and I put my hand on the front of his thigh to steady myself.

Valentina turns and snaps her fingers in the air.

Another man comes on stage. He hands her a phone.

She hits a few buttons and holds the cell to her ear. After a few seconds, she orders, "Go into Zara's apartment. There's a jewelry box. I'm told there's a contract there. Call me back." She hits a button and turns back to us. "If this contract is real, we should have known about it."

Sean scoffs. "Your problems aren't our fault, are they?"

Her eyes turn to slits. "This is not the time for you to get smart, Mr. O'Malley."

He stands taller. "Well, it seems to me like you have some issues with your surveillance, doesn't it?"

She opens her mouth, but the phone rings in her hand. She puts the cell to her ear, staring at Sean as if she wants to kill him, and fear runs through me.

She demands, "Did you find it? Is it true?"

Time seems to stand still as the blood drains from her face. "Send me a photo."

She holds the phone away from her and stares at the screen. Several minutes pass as the last of the color drains from her cheeks.

She snaps back into the phone, "I'll deal with you later." She hands the phone back to the man who gave it to her.

He scurries off the stage.

She faces the crowd. "It seems we have a contract we didn't know about."

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