Page 7 of Ruthless God

I blinked away, trying hard not to wallow in self-pity, and returned to the problem.

The dress was pretty and expensive. Lina undoubtedly received a new dress for the occasion, but that isn’t what I should focus on.

The fact that I would be wearing this to meet my husband-to-be.

They were coming to dinner tonight, along with Emilio.

My hands shook as I brought them up to my face, trying to calm myself down. What would I do if he lived up to his reputation? What if he was mean? No one would stop him if he decided to do…

I didn’t know what he would do to me, but it wouldn’t matter. It would be a full house, and I knew for a fact that no one would stop him if he decided to carry me back up to my room and…break me.

My eyes burned at the thought.

I had to get ready soon. There wasn’t much time between now and when ourguestswould arrive. I was told Massimo would be coming with two of his brothers and a handful of men. The rest of his family—one other brother, a younger sister who was older than me by a year, his uncle and cousin, and all the higher-ranking men—would come either a day before Saturday or on Saturday, the day of the wedding.

My stomach hollowed at the thought.

Getting up on shaky legs, I moved over to where the dress, along with nude pumps with red soles—the epitome of luxury—lay. Slowly, I began to get ready.

Mom and Linachatted quietly as they stood beside me on the staircase. If I didn’t already feel like an unwelcome guest in this house, standing next to Mom and Lina usually did the trick.

I tuned out most of their conversations, catching some words here and there, then quiet laughter. I blinked, pushing down the hurt.

Did she even care that I was going to get married to a man she deemed was too… rough, too mean for Lina?

It didn’t seem like it.

Mom’s phone vibrated, and she pulled it out of her pocket.

“Oh, they’re here. Why don’t Lina and I go down first? Luna, wait here for a few minutes, okay? You should make an entrance for Massimo.”

Like a staged pig getting picked to be slaughtered. I grimaced at the thought.

Mom rolled her eyes. “And for Christ’s sake. Can you plaster a smile on your face? You’re getting married, dear. You should be happy.”

Beside Mom, Lina smiled nastily at me. “Yeah. Be happy, Luna.”

With that, they walked down the stairs, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I ran my hands down the silky fabric of my pink dress. Pink, like innocence.

The Lombardi Famiglia were filled with traditionalist men who possessively guarded thepurityof their women. Especially their daughters. I went to an all-girls school, an all-girls collegethat was heavily guarded by Andre’s men. Lina was expecting to start her first year of college this year. I thought about what I saw that night in the kitchen. She would no doubt have Andre’s men going with her. I didn’t think they would help keep her out of trouble. More likely, they would get in trouble with her. And although I sometimes wished I was as brave as her, I was just glad I wouldn’t be to blame for her actions this time. Couldn’t blame me if I wasn’t even in Chicago anymore.

I would be in Las Vegas.

With my husband and his family.

I shivered at the thought.

I hadn’t even had my first kiss yet. And the first time it happened, it would be a performance in front of made men in a church. Sounded sacrilegious.

Somehow, the thought of having my first kiss in front of everyone upset me deeply.

I shook it away.

Booming laughter coming from downstairs brought me back to reality—my reality. I could run and hide, but they would eventually catch me, and that would just make things worse.

I took a deep breath, grabbed a hold of the banister to steady myself, and started walking down the stairs.

The voices became louder the closer I got, and the more it seemed like there wasn’t enough air in the room for me to breathe. My vision turned hazy, and it felt like walking around in a fog.