Page 22 of Merciless Queen
I shook my head. “Green reminds me of nature, of peace.” Green reminded me of my mom and the life we had before it was taken. We liked going to the park and taking walks in botanical gardens.
I shifted uncomfortably on the couch and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. Serena gave me an inquisitive look, her eyes landing on my hand. I pulled my hand down in front of my face, wondering what she was looking at, before I remembered the diamond ring on my hand. My brows furrowed. The ring wasn’t as heavy as Vincenzo’s was—physically or mentally—but it was still a symbol that I belonged to someone, only Caterina was painted in a different color.
“You’re getting married?” she asked as if she was trying to process the diamond on my finger. It was like she recognized the ring. I nodded. “Caterina?”
I nodded again before taking a deep breath. “S-She said it would keep me safe.”
“She is marrying you as in…she’s using you?” I shrugged. It seemed that was the appropriate word for it, but why did she sound so upset over it? Serena cleared her throat and closed her notebook. “You did great today, Harlow. We will meet again in a couple days. If you need me for any other reason, just reach out to me.”
CHAPTER 16
Caterina
“What dopeople use to paint, and why are there so many options within one hobby?” I asked Elizabeth as we looked at the selection at Michaels.
She laughed at me, grabbing a pack of acrylic paint and watercolors. “There are different aspects of painting. You really need to look at more things on the Internet. She’s going to be so happy when she sees all of this.”
“Get whatever you think she’ll like. What books will she enjoy? Your sex books?”
“It’sromance, thank you very much. And she may, but I also don’t think she wants to think about sex right now. I’ll stay with her and talk tonight. You know, have a girls’ night and prepare for your bachelorette party.”
I groaned. “I don’t know why you want to do that when Harlow probably won’t want to be surrounded by anyone—and I hate parties.”
“Too bad. You should have thought of that before you decided to marry her.”
“I’m helping her.”
“Well, helping her with a fake marriage means you have to deal with all the real things that follow. I’m gonna go get some canvases.”
After we spent two hours buying things for Harlow and spending almost $400, we finally returned to the house. Harlow was in her first therapy session with Serena, and by the looks of it, she was still up there with the woman. I left Elizabeth with the bags so she could set up the surprise for Harlow. She hadn’t shut up about it since we got in the car.
As I was walking back to my office, Malachi called me. He only called me if something was wrong. Normally, he sent me a text if it was about the club or hotel.
“What is it?” I asked as soon as I answered the call.
“Two drug shipments were destroyed on the docks. It looks like Vincenzo.”
“Son of a fucking bitch. Okay. I’ll deal with it, and we’ll get more here ASAP.”
“I’ll deal with the mess out here.”
I threw my phone across the desk, feeling a migraine forming in my temples. Now I was going to deal with angry buyers by the end of the day because I didn’t have their drugs. I would have to pester Roman for another shipment ASAP before someone came for my head or went to someone else. One day, I was going to murder Vincenzo slowly, peel his skin back piece by piece and let the maggots eat him from the inside out.
There was a knock on my office door, and I was tempted to tell whoever the hell it was to kick rocks. Instead, I told them to come in. I was expecting one of my men or even Spencer. What I was not expecting was Dr. Serena Moore. She didn’t look thrilled, but then again, she was never thrilled to see me.
“You’re marrying the girl?”
“It’s none of your business, but yes.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Do you realize that she has CPTSD?”
“What is that?” I knew she wanted to yell at me more, but I wanted to figure out what was wrong with Harlow so I could help her to the best of my ability.
Serena narrowed her eyes. “Complex post trauma stress disorder. It can develop from prolonged exposure to trauma. Traumatic stress can alter our brains chemistry, and Harlow has almost a decade’s worth of trauma to process. You playing with her emotions is not something she needs.”
I arched my brow, leaning on my elbows. “Not something she needs or not something you want to deal with?” She didn’t respond, and that answered my question.
Serena tolerated me, but she didn’t like me. It was probably because of our history, but she was the best goddamn psychiatrist I knew on the eastern seaboard. I couldn’t help it that she fell in love with a mafia boss. I had issues, and corrupting the innocent seemed to be my favorite thing to do. Serena was far from innocent, but she was pure hearted with good intentions. My father had an interest in her, and I nipped that in the bud. My methods weren’t traditional by any means, but I got it done.
