Page 14 of Forgive Me, Father

Nico nodded once and instructed Camilla to follow him.

A part of me couldn’t wait for the consummation ceremony, and I considered amending her responsibilities too.I did have my needs.

Imagining that I could mold her into whatever sex slave I needed would be a true fantasy.But I knew it was inevitable.Still, Camilla and I might have something real.Something I never could see with Simi.

I called Mica and instructed him to make the necessary amendments.We’d already discussed the merger, and I knew her father would have no problem aligning with us.I was exactly what he was working toward.

After I got off the call with Mica, I phoned Evangeline, my secretary.Told her to get the invitations ready for my consummation ceremony.

There was a brief period of silence when I told her it was to a Camilla Santore and not Simi Deluca.

“Do we have a problem?”

“No, sir.How do you spell her name?”

I gave her the spelling of all her names—Camilla Elisabeth Katarina Santore, as it was on the contract.

“Who do I send the invitations to?”

“Oh, everyone who is important and needs to be at the ritual, and one to Noah Santore.”I cut the call as Nico entered.

“It’s moving fast.”He brushed his hand through his hair.

“Usually when something is meant to be, that is the only pace, Nico.”

He nodded.

“Thank you.She’s perfect, like you said,” I added.

“I didn’t do much; fate brought her to me.And I knew she was yours.”

I smiled.“Reason I trust you the way I do.”

He smiled and bowed, then asked if I needed anything else.

“Just the priest.”

“He’s on his way.You need a suit.”

“I have plenty in my closet.I’ll find something to match her.”

He laughed as he walked out and closed the door.

My family was not going to like this, but then again, I didn’t give a flying fuck anymore.

* * *

Two hours later, I stood in the foyer with the priest awaiting my bride.

The door creaked open, and she walked in, the vision of her wedding dress stealing the very air from my lungs.Her makeup, freshly redone, enhanced her beauty, and if I had been breathless before, now I felt like my very soul was being pulled from me.

She was perfection, an embodiment of everything I’d ever wanted, and feared.Her eyes met mine for a fleeting moment, and I saw the hesitation there, the fight to keep her composure.She swallowed hard, as if trying to choke down the fear threatening to surface.If she could have turned and fled, I was certain she would’ve done it without a second thought.But instead, she kept moving, step by slow step, her determination almost palpable.

She came to a standstill beside me, and for a moment, the weight of the room hung heavy between us.

The priest’s voice broke the silence, beginning the ceremony.It was sweet and short.

“Today, you have come together to give each other your hearts, your trust, and your futures.You see each other fully and choose each other fully.’