Page 131 of Twisted Proposal

"Now," I said.

"You'll need?—"

"The paperwork is being handled." I cut him off. I had already reached out to the family lawyer. This part wasn't for the law, this was for the families. Mine and ones like mine. None of us gave a shit what a piece of paper said.

That wasn't a marriage.

A marriage was before God.

Only a marriage performed by a priest would keep her safe.

"I understand," the priest said. "Would the young lady like to be standing or?—"

"Put me down. I am not doing this. I said no," Viktoria shouted as she beat her fists against my back. Twisting just a little, I had her pounding on the knot I hadn't been able to work out. She got it in three angry strikes.

My wife is the best.

"I think she's good where she is," I said.

The priest nodded and opened his Bible to the pages he needed. Just as he started the ritual, the doors flung open and people began filling the pews.

"Thank god. Help!" Viktoria called out, and I swung her around to see my cousins all in their finest suits, their wives elegantly dressed, shooting Viktoria sympathetic looks.

"They aren't going to help you, princess," I whispered. "Weddings like this have become a tradition in the family."

"No, you can't?—"

"Look at them. Kostya literally dragged Marina down this aisle not too long ago. That was one day. Now they are happy, and tomorrow you will be too."

"Artem, you said you would let me choose. Why did you lie to me?" Her voice was heavy with tears, and for a second it broke my heart.

I wanted to give her a choice. I wanted to lay the entire world at her feet and let her choose absolutely everything. And I would...after this.

There was nothing I wouldn't give her.

But her life was the one thing I wouldn't gamble with.

"Starting tomorrow, you will have a choice. I'll let you decide where we live, within reason, how you want to decorate the house, and how many children you want to fill it with."

She let out a shriek of rage, her pounding on my back growing harder.

The priest watched with wide eyes.

"I think everyone is here," I said as Kostya and Pavel sat in the front row. "Let's do the abridged version, shall we?"

To the priest's credit, he took a three-hour ceremony and completed it in less than five minutes.

"Will you, Artem, have Viktoria as your wife, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of matrimony?" he asked, rushing to the end.

"Yes, I will," I answered firmly.

"Will you, Viktoria, have Artem as your husband, to live together according to God's law in the holy estate of matrimony?" the priest asked.

I set Viktoria on her feet but kept my arm locked like an iron band around her waist, pulling her flush against my side. She trembled against me, but whether from rage or something else, I couldn't tell.

I felt her breath catch as my fingers dug possessively into her hip.

"Never!" she yelled, trying to twist away.