Page 4 of Wicked Union

Mom is here too, pulling a chair up beside me and taking my hand. We only have half an hour before it's time to walk down the aisle and give my life away to a man who won't cherish me as a husband should. Nothing either of them does can turn back the clock or change the future. I'm the only one with that power, but how do I sentence my father to bankruptcy and losing his power? Not only would that mean losing his home and organization, but it will mean his enemies can move in and harm him physically.

"Aria, I will support whatever choice you make. Seeing my daughter hurt like this is the worst pain imaginable." Mom's hand squeezes mine, and I look at her. "You have your whole life ahead of you. Our lives are almost over. We made the choices that led to our difficulty. You shouldn't pay for this." Even Mom's eyes mist over.

"You're wrong." I firmly square my shoulders and take a deep breath. "You and Papa only want to support me and love me, and Mel and Jasper too. You've done everything to raise us properly, to do the right thing, and now it's our turn to love you. This is how I pay you back."

I know she wants to talk me out of this, but she can't. I won't change my mind. Tito may be a vile pig, but he will be my husband. I may find a way to capitalize on his wealth and remove him from the picture, but in order to do that, the money transfers must go through. Before any money is sent,the wedding must happen. And if I can take him down, and his family too, from the inside out, I will.

"Now, please fix my makeup so I can go marry Mr. Ramiro and serve my family in the only way I know how." I square my shoulders and turn back to the mirror, ignoring the despondent expression on Melody's face.

She is my sister, but she's my best friend. She knows me well enough to know that once I've made up my mind, no matter how I feel about things, there is no changing it. Getting me sloshing drunk last week wasn't enough for me to renege, and her pleading today won't be, either.

As Mom fixes my makeup, she tells me about her arranged marriage to Dad, how her father sold her off as a bargaining chip to stop the warring between his family and my father's. Mom, a Bratva princess in her youth, became thecomareof the Peralta Family. It was a promotion, but not without its drawbacks. I see the love in their eyes though, something I will never have with Tito. I don't even respect the man. How could I ever love him?

"It's time…" I hear a voice and turn to see Mr. Ramiro at the door. His bushy, graying eyebrows are drawn into a line and he scowls unnervingly. His son gets that hateful look from him. "Don Hector is waiting for you, as is my son."

My chest tightens and my throat constricts. I can't respond to him. Melody does it for me. "Thank you,Signore." She stands between me and the door, blocking my view of the older Ramiro as he walks out of the room, and then she pleads with me yet again. "Ari, please don’t do this. Please just call it off."

And just like that, a switch is flipped and I rise, taking the bouquet of roses and baby's breath from my mother. I plastera bold smile on my face and blink slowly.This is my choice, I remind myself.

"Let's get married." I press my lips into the plastic smile that will remain on my face until I am whisked away from the wedding hall later this evening and forced into privacy with my new husband.

Melody's shoulders slump, but she stands aside. Mom hands her the flowers she will carry and falls in line behind us as I move toward the door with Melody in tow. The satin of my dress swishes over the short Berber carpet. I stand aside as Melody opens the door, and the burst of cool air rushes in around me, ruffling my hair.

If I could wear black, I would be. Instead, I've allowed my raven tresses to cloak me in their sorrow. They frame my face and shoulders, thus covering even more skin. I step into the hallway and pause a moment while my mother and sister fold the thick tulle veil across my face. This feels like a funeral and my bridal veil one of mourning. I nod at them and proceed to the double doors that stand open to the crowd of guests from both sides of this alliance.

"Ready?" my father asks as I come to stand next to him. He holds out an elbow, and I hook my hand around it.

"No. But now is the time. Let's save the Peralta name, Papa." With sure steps, I glide the last few paces to the door. My train drags across the marble floors. Melody walks around me and through the double doors. Mom stands on my other side, and I take her arm. I want it this way—for every last Ramiro in attendance to see my arms lovingly wrapped around those of my parents. It will speak to them when they doubt my motives in bringing their entire organization to its knees. Because I will.They put pressure on my father for far too long, and only now that I'm aligning to their desires—to allow them control of our organization in any part—have they backed off.

Well, two can play at this game, and if Tito thinks he's going to have a docile woman who just lies down to take whatever she's dealt, he’s wrong. I'm going to give him a run for his money, and then I'll take that money and spend it on ways to destroy him.

Wait and see…

4

TITO

All the papers are finalized between our businesses, and I watch Aria Peralta's family drive away from the church to head home and collect her things. It's absurd to me that she isn't ready to come straight to my house, but we aren't a typical couple and this isn't an average wedding. Business transactions are concluded in different methods, but that kiss was anything but business. I touch my lips and think of it again, how she didn't even resist me, the suppleness of her skin.

"Let's walk," my father says, and I fall into step next to him. His car awaits us at the curb, his driver having pulled up as the Peraltas left. His agreement with Hector Peralta may be binding, but I am merely playing a role, one that I am more than happy to play.

"She's tart," I tell him, using the best word I can think of to describe my blushing bride. Though I'll be the first to admit that the blush on Aria's cheeks isn't at all embarrassment or flattery. She's outraged and infuriated by this agreement, whether she was forced to participate or came willingly. I've never tasted more venom than on the lips of a coerced lover.

"Play nice and you'll end up owning the city, Tito." Father's driver opens the door for us, and we slide into the back seat side by side. Dad immediately lights a cigar, and the car begins to fill with smoke. I open the window when the door is shut and wait for him to start coughing again. He knows better, but he won't kick the habit.

"Their failure is inevitable. You and I both see that. But I'd like to move things along. I'm not waiting ten years for our agreement to be up to take them hostilely." I fold my hands in my lap and wait out the coughing fit as he dabs his mouth with a handkerchief. My mind has been spinning since he first mentioned the supposed alliance.

The Peraltas offer nothing in the way of help to our family. The Ramiro tribe is strong, boasting four hundred men, dozens of businesses grossing multi-million dollars per year, and dominating in terms of territory. The only thing Hector Peralta's family could begin to supply to us would be frontage, and even then, we could have just taken it.

"What are you thinking?" Dad sighs and then takes a drag of his cigar again, this time without the coughing fit. His lungs take a battering every time he lights up. It's a good example of what not to do.

I peer out the window as the car rolls down the street carrying us toward his house. I have a few hours to prepare myself before Aria arrives at my home, and now that the wedding is complete, I can begin to make moves. Our money will be in their accounts by the end of the day tomorrow, infusing their business with much-needed capital, and Aria will be in my home as a token of good faith. But I want more.

"I don’t know how I'm going to manage it all, but I'm going to drain them one way or another." I turn to him as he blows a stream of smoke out the window and chuckles.

"You're so wise, then? Don Hector is not a fool, Tito. He'll see you coming from a mile away." The cherry on the tip of the cigar glows a bright red as he sucks on it, then coughs a little before continuing. "He has made it very clear that his businesses will remain his. You will get some decision-making power, but he will have the final say. And he's not going to be intimidated or threatened by you. He's been in this game longer than we have. There is a binding contract of business." He pats his chest as he speaks, and indignance rises in my chest.

I've thought of this up one side and down the other relentlessly. Don Hector Peralta is a formidable enemy. That much is certain. But his son is not. If Jasper Peralta takes the helm of his family without being prepared, he will make foolish mistakes, overlook things he should be focused on, and otherwise fail to lead successfully. Taking over their organization will be like taking candy from a baby. Jasper will practically beg me to take the reins.

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