Page 56 of Pain and Pleasure

"Because I didn't have time to get you a wedding ring, but don't worry. The paperwork we signed at the chapel last night has already been sent off to be processed."

Paperwork? Chapel?

"What paperwork, Dante?" My face is so hot, I feel flames coming out from the side of my head.

He moves his hands from his lap, crawling to me to hold my hand in his, his finger tracing the massive rock on my finger.

"Our marriage certificate, mi amor."

I rip my hand away from his, jumping from the bed. I'm still in my lingerie from yesterday so I take a sheet and wrap it around me, feeling vulnerable, confused and enraged.

The bastard married me without my consent.

"You mean to tell me, that while I was incapacitated last night, you decided to take matters into your hands and marry me without my consent?" I'm near screaming at him, my voice is raised and loud and sounds so foreign to me.

He gets up from the bed, his hands raised in defense.

"You consented. You told me you couldn't wait to marry me. You're the one that picked the chapel. Your signature is on that certificate too." He gets in my face, towering over me.

"I was drunk for fuck’s sake, Dante! I don't remember any of that! My wedding night was not supposed to be a blackout! I never even got a proper proposal from you!" I yell in his face, my hands shooting up in the air.

I catch the reflection of my wedding ring in the light and pause. When did he have time to get a wedding ring of this size? I've been with him every minute since we've gotten into Vegas.

"Is this ring...was this someone else's?" My voice is quiet, but it is laced with venom.

He better fucking not have.

"Is this the wedding ring of your dead wife?" My voice cracks and I try my best not to crumple to the floor.

His hands immediately shoot out and grab my shoulders, gripping me tightly as he shakes me while he speaks.

"It is yours, Esmeralda. I picked this ring out just for you. For only you. I would never do such a thing." His voice is so low, but I can't focus on it.

If he got this for me, then that means that he's had it since before we got to Vegas. Which means he's been plotting this. Another secretive plot that he's not informed me about. Once again, I am left in the dark except this time, I am irrevocably bound to him.

"You've...you've planned this?" My voice is shaking, and he hangs his head, his nose rubbing against mine.

I'm shaking so hard that my teeth chatter. He's not denying me. He's not saying anything and it's making me tremble with rage.

"It's the only way I could keep you safe," he murmurs quietly.

I step away from him, tears forming in my eyes. He did this because of my father's plan. He did this so that the other man couldn't marry me. He didn't do this because he loved me so much that he wanted me to be his wife. I should feel thankful that he thought of something brilliant, but instead I feel dejected because it isn't genuine. This giant inexpensive ring on my finger is nothing but a safety net when all I wanted was pure, genuine love.

"You didn't do this because you wanted me to be your wife. You did this so that I couldn't be forced into another marriage. You did this for yourself." My voice cracks and I cover my eyes, unable to look at him.

"I did this so that I could keep you safe! Everything I do is for you!" His voice is raised, but he's not denying my claim. Which means it's completely true.

This wasn't for genuine love. For a lifetime partnership that I've dreamed of. This is just another result of this fucking war between him and my father. I wipe at my eyes, feeling the wall I had once between us come right back up again. My heart breaks behind it.

"He can still get me, you know. Just because he can't force his men to marry me, he can still take me and have them use me." I narrow my eyes, but I can see his anger rise.

His face is so mad, filled with rage as he reaches for me. I step back and away from his touch, clutching the sheet to my cold body.

"He will never get to you. He will never touch you. You're mine, Emmie. Forever."

Usually those words would melt me to my core, but they are empty words now. The only thing they do is make my heart crack a little more.

"Yeah well, you made sure of that now didn't you, husband?" I hiss the words at him before I walk to the bathroom.

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