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“What the fuck?” he demanded, throwing an accusatory glance over at Iason. “How did they get in?”
Iason shrugged, drawing his weapon. From behind Leon, I struggled to see what was going on. I peered over his shoulder, cursing.
“Stay back, Cali!” Leon growled, pointing the gun he’d pulled from his boot toward Dominic.
It all happened so quickly and suddenly that we all seemed stunned.
“I can help!” I insisted.
“Stop it!” he hissed. “This fucker is here to harm you, and I’m not about to let that happen. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again.”
His words were sweet but irritating. I wanted to destroy Dominic for ruining my perfect wedding. The fuckingbastard was going to pay for this. Fury raced through my veins.
“Dominic Lucianos, how dare you show up here!” Leon roared, cocking his gun. “Do you have a death wish?”
“I’m not about to let you steal from me again, Boscos!” he shouted.
I frowned, wanting to punch him in the face. As if I were ever his to begin with!
“Nobody is stealing from you,” Leon replied. “As for what happened in the past, if I recall correctly, my sister-in-law ran away from you. She certainly wasn’t stolen.”
“Think whatever you want, but I know the truth!” Dominic spat out his words, pointing his gun toward Leon. “This marriage isn’t going to happen. I’m never letting it happen again.”
“We’re already married, you fucking idiot!” I shouted from behind Leon’s back. I held up my hand, my wedding ring heavy and sparkling on my finger. “We’ve already exchanged vows and rings!”
“I don’t give a fuck about that,” Dominic replied. “It’s not official until the priest blesses it.”
“Are you really that fucking stupid?” I shouted, spotting Avra and Laya standing together, both of them ready to pounce.
“Cali! Stop!” Leon hissed over his shoulder.
“If anyone had ever agreed to marry your sorry ass, then you’d know that we’ve already signed the marriage certificate this morning! The ceremony is just a formality. My God, whatan ass.”
I was taunting him on purpose. I knew I wasn’t helping the situation at all. But my God, was he really that daft?
“Cali,” Leon growled again.
It seemed as if I’d pushed Dominic over the edge of insanity with my words, because he began walking forward, heading straight for my husband’s gun that was pointed directly at his forehead.
“If that’s the case, then I guess it’s time to make you a widow,” he stated.
His words struck a match, igniting a wildfire of fury within me. Who the hell did this arrogant prick think he was? Did he truly believe he had the right to dictate my existence? As if he alone possessed the authority to shape my destiny.
In an instant, the pent-up rage I had contained erupted like a dam bursting.
Flashes of all the faces of men who had tried to impose their will over me surged in my mind.
Then Vik, his intentions noble yet suffocating, as he tried to shield us from a harsh world.
I saw Ozias Xenos and all the faces of the men who’d raped me while I’d been held captive. I saw the faces of the men who’d beaten me after the rapes.
It dawned on me that they all thought they had control over me, over my sisters, and, in fact, over all women.
And each and every fucking one of them had been sorely mistaken.
We held the power of our own lives.
We would never back down to them.