Page 47 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

“I will handle my husband.” Her eyes fill with love at the mention of him. “Pinna,” she calls for the woman who opened the door for us and is now in the process of sewing the hem of a wedding dress.

“I’m here.” Pinna nods.

“Is Donata still in the study with the others?” Caterina asks. “How much time do you think we have?”

“I don’t know. I don’t eavesdrop behind doors.” She shrugs.

“Pinna. I know you do.” Caterina rolls her eyes. “She needs our help. I just need to know what’s the hold up so we can gauge how much time we have.”

“Okay.” She drops the dress on the bed. “So, first Mr. Rex says, why the fuck did you invite them here? Why not your house? Then Mr. Santino says, because the twins are sleeping. Right?” She beams. “But then Mr. Rex says, I told you not to get involved. What were you thinking?”

“Pinna.” Caterina puts her arm around Pinna’s shoulders. “Get to the part where we find out why they haven’t come for her.”

“Oh yes, the priest is not here yet. He’s sleeping.” She looks to me. “But he’s on his way. Father Esposito is the best. He will do a good ceremony for you.”

“A priest?” I shoot to my feet. “I’m not even religious. This can’t be happening.”

“It won’t.” Caterina puts up her hands. “There’s a secret door we can use. No one will know we’re gone. Crap, you need clothes. Pinna?”

“Yes, here.” She hands me a pair of pants, a chunky sweater that’s super soft then sets a pair of tall boots by my feet. “Maybe you need a pair of bedroom slippers instead. Oh that looks painful.” She grabs a tube of ointment from her pocket. “Mr. Archer said you needed an antibiotic for your feet.” She happily dabs my toes. “You’re a real live ballerina,” she exclaims when she’s finished.

“Get dressed so we can get of here before they send for you.” Caterina hands me the sweater.

I take it, then I blow out a breath, feeling deflated. Even though marriage wasn’t my plan, I still did agree to give myself to a buyer. Tonight, that’s Archer. What I feel or don’t feel for him doesn’t matter. If I leave now, Dad won’t receive the money he needs. Our family will be ruined. I can’t do that to him.

“I can’t leave.” I shake my head.

“Why not?” She places her hand over mine. “I can help you. Once I explain to Rex what happened, he’ll help you too.”

“I’m not the one who needs help,” I say mostly to myself. I’m here to help Dad. I have to marry Archer to save Dad. It’s as simple as that. “Do you love your husband?” I ask.

“Very much. He can be a total grump. But underneath his all-powerful, arrogant exterior, there’s a man who would take a bullet for me.” She flashes me a bright smile. “I don’t know if that should be a requirement for marrying someone, but for what it’s worth, I don’t think Mr. Archer intends to hurt you. He strikes me as someone who has suffered a lot. I recognize the pain in his eyes. I get why he’s so intense.”

“It’s not that.” I can’t tell her I’m a virgin. That the only reason Archer bought me is because he wants me, because once, I promised him sex and then didn’t deliver. How embarrassing is that?

“Then what is it?” She takes my hand in hers. “You can tell me.”

“If I don’t marry him, my father won’t get the money he needs,” I confess.

“Hm, well, I wish I could say I’ve never heard such a thing.” Her gaze flicks to Pinna then back to me. “What do you want to do?”

“I have no choice. I have to go through with it.” I turn to Pinna who’s once again working on the dress. “Do I have to wear that?”

“I’m afraid so.” Caterina bites her lower lip. “Archer had the dress delivered here for you and said you must wear it.”

“Okay,” I concede.

The real humiliation happened back on the stage. Wearing a wedding dress is the least of my worries at this point. It doesn’t matter that now Archer can dictate what I wear or where I live. What matters is that Dad is safe. Archer might’ve paid for my body, but I get to keep my heart and soul. I imagine them safely tucked away in the music box that belonged to my mother. Those are two things I will never give to Archer.

All he’ll ever get from me is hate.

CHAPTER12

I DIDN'T WANT TO MARRY HER

Archer

“What is this?” I glance up at Santino. For the last hour, I’ve been mindlessly staring at my whiskey.