Page 38 of Bound in Debt

“You can’t be serious. I’m not involved in this!”

“You are now that Liam claimed you publicly. Plus, you’re a socialite with ties to money. I guess this is when your status bites you in the ass.”

“But I haven’t married him!”

“You’re a liability. People normally marry each other because they have some sort of emotional attachment. The kind of attachment Angelo figures he can exploit. You’re in this now.”

“This isn’t even my debt. It has nothing to do with me.”

I rise to my feet. Begging her to do this is out of the question. I have my escape plan. I don’t want to use it, but I will. I don’t even have to go back to Portofino. Not if I’m willing to give up my life as Dante Moretti, violinist and composer. It’ll take a minute to gather up fake passports and identification, but I can work on disappearing and making something new.

“And what do you think I did to deserve this?” I ask, peering down at her. “Liam might be a jackass, but he didn’t do anything either. My brother got us into this mess, but he’s dead and I can’t beat his ass for it. If you think I’m just trying to drain your trust for myself, I can assure you, I’m not. In fact, I don’t plan on spending a dime of it.”

Victoria searches my face in disbelief. “Then what’s the point?”

“Agree to marry me and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Her nose scrunches up and now it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “It’s nothing to do with you, specifically. I don’t want anyone to control me.”

“We’ll be divorced in a few weeks,” I claim. “Then you’ll be rid of me. And, in the meantime, I’m not going to tell you what to do. You’re a big girl, right?”

“You won’t be a controlling dick?”

“No.”

“Truly?”

“Absolutely.”

Her chin slowly lifts. “I want that in writing.”

“You’re a pain in the ass,” I growl, taking a step toward her. “And the answer to that is fuck no. We are not creating a paper trail. I don’t want anyone finding out about this.”

“What about Liam?”

I raise a brow. Since when does she give a shit about that kid? “Do you want to marry him instead?”

“No,” she immediately replies. “But I don’t think he’ll make it easy. If I marry you, then what?”

“Active listening, princess. Practice. I already told you I won’t tell you shit until I know we’re in this together.”

“Liam will never let this happen. He’ll make a huge deal about it. You saw what he did with the engagement.’

“I’m not afraid of my nephew.”

“I am, though,” she finally admits, and finally, I catch a glimpse of an actual reason why she’s not totally on board yet. “He can be petty and vindictive and he knows my schedule, my routine. I have plans, but they’re becoming bleaker every passing second.”

I can see how passionate she is about keeping to the path she’s chosen for herself. I mean, the girl climbed out of a window and dangled from a tree to avoid her own engagement party. It may have been stupid, but it was also courageous. Especially for a woman born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

“My goal isn’t to keep you from living those dreams, Victoria. It’s for you to be able to still have them.”

She gapes at me as if I’ve announced that I’m a vigilante swooping in to save her. Really, though, I’m saving myself.

“How are you related to Liam?”

I frown. “I’m his uncle.”

“No,” she says, shaking her head back and forth, “you’re either an incredible actor or you’re genuinely nothing like him. It doesn’t make sense.”