Page 112 of Beauty and the Daddy

A ripple goes through the room. It's gorgeous. The way people lean toward blood.

He lifts his gaze to mine. It hits like a bullet every time, but tonight I let it punch through. "You don't get to make that call," he says softly.

"The hell I don't," I spit. "You bought me."

There it is. The truth we never say in polite company.

Gasps all around. Somewhere, a cousin clutches her pearls so hard they creak.

Luca turns to me, playing his part perfectly. "Belle, not now."

"When, then?" I stand, letting anger I've bottled up for weeks seep into my voice. "When were you planning to actually treat me like family instead of property?"

Declan leans forward, suddenly interested.

"You're making a scene," Luca growls in anger.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is this embarrassing you?" I laugh with spite. "Imagine how embarrassing it is to be traded like a baseball card to cover your daddy's debts."

Luca's eyes flash. "You agreed to this arrangement."

"I didn't have a choice!" I throw my napkin down. "You backed my father into a corner and now you expect me to be grateful?"

The hurt in his eyes looks so real, I almost stop. But I push on, knowing Declan's watching every second.

"I thought I could do this." My voice cracks. "But I can't be the perfect mafia wife. I can't keep pretending."

Luca slams a fist on the table, crystal flying and falling back down. "And what are you pretending exactly, Belle?"

"That this is normal!" I gesture wildly around the room. "I want a simple life, Luca. You stole that dream from me!"

His face hardens, but I see the flicker of real pain. We've hit a nerve.

"You knew what you were getting into," he says quietly.

"Not to this degree, I didn't." For some reason, tears well to my eyes. "I didn't think I'd always be looking over my shoulder. All I wanted… was a family."

"This is a family," he whispers like a warning. "Just a different kind."

"We didn't start this from a place of love… how can that ever be a family?" My voice cracks, every fear I have leaking through the seams.

"Initially," he says, and his voice is a confession dragged over gravel. "Initially, yes. I bought myself a problem so I could solve it. But now—" His throat works. He looks at me like I'm the first sunrise he almost missed. "Now it's no longer that simple."

The ache that lives beneath my ribs flares. "You're a loyal man," I tell him, and my eyes burn. "So loyal you confuse loyalty with love. But can someone like you truly love a woman like me?"

"With all my heart," he whispers, paling in his face.

Fuck, Belle. You're hurting him.

Even though I know this is a game, every word rings true. Every fear, every confession.

And the one thing I know, as I walk out of here, is that Luca Moretti loves me with all his heart.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, letting a tear slide down my cheek. "But love isn't enough in a family that fears one another. I want simple, Luca. I want a house I can sleep in without looking out for monsters in the dark."

I pull the engagement ring off my finger and place it on the table with a soft clink.

"The wedding's off," I announce to the room. "I'm done being collateral goods."