Page 45 of Forbidden Sins

A murmur of approval sweeps through the room.

I catch a glimpse of Dimitri Yashkov, his eyes narrowed as he watches, but he doesn’t look displeased, only as if he’s listening carefully.

Vito is known to the other heads of families in the city, of course, and I can’t imagine that my father would have chosen him if there was bad blood.

He picked him to help the transition forward, not to hinder it.

“Estella Gallo—” Vito turns to face me, slipping one hand into his suit jacket to pull out a velvet box. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

He doesn’t go down on one knee. I didn’t expect him to. A man like Vito Bianchi doesn’t put himself in a subservient position to a woman, even to ask her to marry him. The question is for show only anyway, a gesture that everyone here must know has a foregone conclusion.

The papers are signed already, in front of a priest. There’s no going back. I watch numbly as he opens the box, revealing a glittering oval solitaire diamond on a platinum band, and I wonder for one brief, rebellious moment what would happen if I said no .

I hold out my hand, seeing it tremble under the bright light of the chandelier. “Yes,” I whisper hollowly.

My eyes burn as Vito smiles victoriously, sliding the ring onto my left hand as the crowd of guests cheer and clap.

The diamond sparkles with a thousand shards of sparkling light as he slips it onto my finger, large and ostentatious, a show of the wealth and power that he’s offered my father in exchange for me.

I feel like I’m outside my body as I go through the motions of what comes next—clinking my glass against his as he toasts to our future, taking a bitter sip of champagne as I look over the gathered crowd and see the smiles.

It all feels so fake. Everyone here knows they aren’t celebrating love; they’re celebrating a successful business transaction, a shift in power that everyone around me has decided is for the greater good.

I catch one single glimpse of Sebastian standing at the edge of the crowd, his jaw tense and his eyes dark. Even from here, I can see an emotion in them that I can’t—won’t put a name to. If I did, right now, I feel like I might shatter into a thousand pieces.

Vito’s hand wraps around mine tightly, demanding my attention. I snap my gaze back to him, wondering how much he saw of where my eyes wandered, and he looks at me with an expression of possessive satisfaction that makes my stomach churn.

The orchestra strikes up again, and the crowd parts as Vito leads me out to the middle of the dance floor.

“Our first dance as an engaged couple,” he murmurs as he pulls me in, his hands making my skin crawl as the space between our bodies shrinks to nothing.

I want to pull away, to run from him, but I can’t. I can’t fight off his touch forever.

His hand on my waist is firm, the other wrapped around my hand tightly enough that his grip makes me think of a shackle.

He moves confidently across the dance floor with me, leading with the self-assuredness of a man accustomed to commanding every room that he enters.

This space is no different; it might still belong to my father, but he’s well aware that eventually, it will belong to him.

Just as I do, now.

The dance feels as if it goes on forever.

I feel Vito’s fingers slide across my waist to the small of my back, his hand moving to just above my ass as he guides me across the ballroom floor.

I want desperately to look for Sebastian, but I know better.

Vito is demanding all of my attention right now, and he’ll notice if he loses even a shred of it.

The room feels hot, too crowded, closing in on me. I feel a wave of dizziness wash over me, and the ring on my finger suddenly feels as if it’s weighing my hand down. As if the rock sitting there is around my neck instead, dragging me into the deepest water to drown.

I pull free of Vito’s grip, my chest tightening until I feel like I can’t breathe. I’m going to have a panic attack if I don’t get out of this room, I know that.

“I need some air,” I murmur, stepping back unsteadily. “I’ll just—I’ll just be a minute, I promise. Please excuse me.”

Vito opens his mouth, but whether he’s going to refuse me or not, I don’t wait to find out. I spin on my heel, making my way through the crowd as quickly as I can toward the garden doors.

The fresh air outside, warm as it is on a summer night, feels like heaven.

I suck in gulps of it, one hand pressed just below my ribs as I walk down the garden path, my heart beating hard behind my ribs.

The thought of going back into that room feels impossible, but I know I’ll have to.

In a minute… just a minute, I tell myself.

I can have a moment out here, alone, where I feel like I can breathe again.

Without thinking about it, my feet lead me down the path to the rose lattices.

I pause in front of them, my chest tightening as I stare at the spot where Sebastian kissed me for the first time.

The crushed roses have been clipped away, the vines once again pristine.

Their scent fills the air, and I close my eyes, breathing them in.

Tears prick the corners of my eyes as I wonder if Sebastian has slipped away yet, if he’s already driving away from here, putting mile after mile between us with every rose-scented breath that I take.

The sound of footsteps on the stone makes me spin around, my eyes flying open. For one desperate moment, I think it might be Sebastian, and my heart drops when I see Vito walking toward me, his eyes gleaming with intent.

“I thought we could use a moment alone, bella .” He closes the distance between us too rapidly, his hands on my arms before I can gather myself enough to move away. “There are so many people inside, aren’t there? I want you all to myself, for a little while.”

His grip on my arms is firm, and he turns me before I can try to stop him, moving me back into the shadows.

Not here , is my first thought, my senses swimming with the scent of the roses and the panic that Vito being this close makes me feel.

He can’t have this. He can’t take this memory away from me.

But I can’t fight, even though I desperately want to. I feel his fingers pressing into my upper arms, the promise of strength there if I tried to get away, and I wonder what the point is. If I fight, he’ll force what he wants, and he’ll take it anyway.

I don’t want him to destroy this. Not this spot, where Sebastian and I ? —

“No.” I try to twist away, reaching up to push at his chest. “No, Vito, please—I want to go back inside.”

“You wanted to come out here so badly a few minutes ago.” His breath is hot, scented with alcohol, and I can’t stop myself from cringing away as he brushes his lips against my jaw. “Why is that, bella ? Were you hoping you’d find your guard out here waiting for you?”

“No.” I shake my head desperately as he slides one hand down my arm, gripping my wrist as he moves my hand to his groin. “No, I just was overwhelmed. I wanted to be alone for a minute, Vito— please ?—”

“I told you that I planned to teach you how to please me, bella . And what would please me right now is my fiancée showing me how badly she wants to touch me.”

He presses my hand against his erection, trapping it there. He pulls back just enough to look into my eyes, his dark with lust and a warning too. “You should try to please me, Estella. If you keep disobeying, it will only get worse for you.”

I close my eyes, tears burning behind the lids as Vito starts to move my hand against him, on the outside of his suit trousers. I know it will only be a moment before he escalates things, and I don’t know how to get out of this, how to stop this nightmare that I’m trapped in?—

“Get your fucking hands off of her, you piece of shit.”