Page 26 of Stolen Vows

Because I doubt it will matter enough for me to pull back, anyway.

"You really want to know?”

His words are careful, almost calculating. I can tell that he doesn’t want to tell me what’s really going on here, either because it makes him look that bad, or because he thinks it will hurt me that deeply. I have no idea which it is, which to expect, but I nod.

"Yes," I whisper. "Yes, I really want to know."

He draws his gaze away from me a moment, the flames flickering against his handsome face. I can see a furrow in his brows and tension in his jaw, as though he is trying to think of any way he can get out of this.

"Your father," he murmurs, finally, turning his attention back to me. "Your father is involved in stuff that’s way darker than anything the rest of your family has ever been in."

My heart flips.

"Darker like how?” I demand. My voice is shaking slightly, and I pray that he doesn’t notice it, though I doubt that I am going to get that lucky. He pushes a hand through his hair.

"Darker like... like he buys and sells people. Women. Uses them."

I frown. This still isn’t making sense to me.

"I don’t get it..."

He grits his teeth slightly.

"For sex," he snarls out, at last. "He buys and sells people for sex."

My heart stops. The words just sit there between us for a moment, and I stare back at him, waiting for him to admit this is all a joke, waiting for him to grin and tell me that this is nothing more than his twisted attempt at lightening the mood. But he doesn’t. He just stares back at me, waiting for me to respond, as though there is anything I can say to an accusation like that.

I whip my hand back from him.

"What are you talking about?” I fire back. "Selling people? For sex? You’re crazy."

"I’m not," he mutters. "I wish I was, but I’m not. My family has been keeping watch on him for a long time. A few of the girls he forced to work for him, they got out and came to us. As soon as my father found out what he had been doing, he vowed to put a stop to it. He doesn’t take kindly to men like that, men who use and abuse other people’s bodies..."

My head is spinning, the corners of my eyes fluttering with clouds. I can’t make sense of this. I can’t believe this, not a word that is coming out of his mouth. My father might be into some dark things, sure, but sex trafficking... that’s insane. He would never—there is no way that he would have been able to do something like that without me knowing about it.

"You’re lying," I spit at him, as I take a step back from him, shaking my head. "You really think he’s involved in that? That he would do that?"

"Yes, Cara," he replies, his eyes narrowing as they lock on to mine. "You really think we would have done all of this if it wasn’t something serious? If we didn’t have any choice but to go through with it? We can’t just stand aside and let a monster like that?—"

"Don’t call my father a monster!” I exclaim. I’m not even sure why I’m defending him. It’s not like he’s exactly been on my side, but he is still my dad. I can’t help but wonder if Max sees some part of him in me, sees that same evil that he so clearly wants to destroy.

"If he doesn’t want to be called a monster, he shouldn’t act like one," he contests hotly. "I know what he’s done. And I know he’s tried to keep you out of that part of his life, but you must be able to see now what he’s capable of, everything that he’s?—"

"You’re talking about my father!” I blurt out, and my voice cracks, giving away the intensity of my emotion before I can stop it. I realize tears have sprung to my eyes, and I whip my hands up, wiping them away before he can see them. I am not going to let him see me like this. I refuse to allow him to know that he’s managed to get under my skin in such a way. I want to scream, to batter my fists against his chest, but I know that it wouldn’t change anything...

"You really don’t believe me?” he demands, lifting his chin and staring down at me. "Even after he was willing to hand you over to Mario in marriage? You can’t tell me you wanted that..."

I bite my lip hard. I wish there was some way that I could counter him, but there isn’t. Because he’s right. My father was willing to basically sell me off to the highest bidder. And while I might have done it in a beautiful dress, I would still have been expected to sleep with him, there’s no getting around that part.

But that doesn’t mean this is some long-running scheme of his to exploit women and God knows who else. I barely know Max. I am not going to let him speak to me like this, I am not going to just roll over and trust every word that comes out of his mouth.

"You’re the one who took me," I shoot back at him. "You really expect me to believe you? To trust what you say about my family?”

"And you’re the one who asked about him," he reminds me. He is speaking almost gently, and there’s something about that which pisses me off even more—hearing him talk to me like that, as though he doesn’t want me upset, as though he doesn’t want to hurt me, when he has just laid out that information in front of me.

"I’m not going to just... just believe your lies," I tell him, but my voice cracks into a sob even as I speak. I hate this. I hate feeling so emotional. I came here with the intention of giving myself to him, and now, I am more confused than ever, more confused than I know what to do with. Is he telling the truth? If he’s not, why would he try to spin this kind of lie to me? None of it makes sense. None of it. I feel like I might fall apart on the spot. I don’t know where to start, what to say, how to take this.

"Cara—"

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