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I freeze in my spot.

“That and he made it very clear I would have to marry someone to further his work.”

“He made all that clear to you atthirteen?” I ask as I we finally walk into the room.

“Yes. It was never a reality while my mom was alive, but the second she was gone, he made his decision about what my life would entail.”

I can hear her speaking, and I’m sure the sentence she just said makes perfect sense, but all I can focus on is the empty room in front of me, devoid of a bed.

“Cazzo,” I breathe, walking out into the hall and towards the next door.

A king-size bed sit perfectly in the centre of the room. These idiots hadonejob, and it was to make sure we had two roomswith two beds. Somehow, of course, they found a way to fuck it up.

“Antonio…” Theresa calls out from down the hall, and I sigh, running a hand through my hair before stepping into the hallway.

I crash straight into her, and my senses are invaded by her sweet scent and the warmth of her body. I try to stabilise us both before we go crashing to the floor.

“Sorry,” I breathe, taking a giant step back. “There’s only one bed. You can sleep there. I’ll take the couch and order another bed for delivery tomorrow.” I gesture into the room, and she just stands awkwardly.

“You don’t have to sleep on the couch; the bed is huge enough, we won’t even touch.”

“No, you’re drunk, I don’t want you to wake up in the morning thinking I took advantage of you.” I shake my head and walk past her.

She grabs my shirt. “Stay with me.”

“Theresa…”

“Please. I don’t want to be alone on my wedding night.”

Her words hold a weight I wasn’t prepared for. In all honesty, being alone on my wedding night was not something I had planned for, either. Then again—neither was marrying a stranger.

“Please,” she says again, and the pleading tone goes straight to my heart.

I sigh, heavily contemplating every scenario. I really don’t want to spend my first night here on the couch, but I also don’t want her waking up thinking more happened when it didn’t.

“Fine, go change then,” I cave in, against my better judgment. At my core, I’m still a man, and why would I turn down a chance to share a bed with a woman as beautiful as Theresa?

“Wait, what about my things?”

“They’re all here, don’t worry, Theresa.” I nod towards the other room, and she pads down the hall to the room.

My brother’s words from earlier ring through my head as I step into my room.

“Don’t get caught up in this. It is not real,” Adriano says.

“We have a plan. It’s already in motion, just keep your head down,” Gus adds.

I need to remember that this is all pretend. That no matter what my heart tries to convince me, nothing can happen with Theresa.

I swear this is all some fucked up karma I get for killing Mattheo. Fate sends me a beyond gorgeous woman, and all I can do is sit here and do nothing about it. To be fair, my horrible luck started long before Mattheo even showed up. The day we got news of my father dying was the day it all started.

That was when Ambrose came home. It was when my father’s will announced that Ambrose was to be CEO even after his year-long absence from the company. Even after all the work I had done.

“It’s about what you do when the world is throwing shit at you that matters.”

Ambrose’s words ring through my ears as I unbutton my shirt.

I must’ve committed mass murder in my past life because fuck knows what I did to deserve all of this.