Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Tempting. So fucking tempting.
My cock hardened at the sight of her savage wrath. I imagined how fucking good her nails would feel clawing at my back as I fucked that rage out of her, until she was a pleading, wet mess underneath my body, dripping with my cum.
Goddamn it.
I was fucked.
“I did no such thing,” I said calmly. “You came to me.”
“I would never!”
“But you did.”
“I hate you.” Serafina wrenched her wrists from my grip and punched me in the chest again, the force of it almost pushing me back. My wife was strong.
“I hate you,” she said again, raising her hand as if to slap me. I caught her wrist again before her palm could connect with my face. “I hate you!” she screeched this time. “Let me go! Let. Me. Go.”
Serafina struggled against my hold, twisting and hissing, a hysteria I had never seen before until her strength waned and her cries turned into wretched sobs.
“I won’t let you use me.” Her voice was raw, desperate.
“Oh, but you already have.” I released her wrists, stepping back.
She stumbled back and angrily wiped her tears. Her cheeks were flushed and stained with her mascara, her lips curled with hate and disgust. Violence simmered beneath her skin.
Silly her. Did she really think she had a choice? That she ever had a choice?
This was war and there would be a bloodbath… there would be casualties. And Serafina was merely collateral damage in a battle that had begun long before she entered our lives.
“This is just the beginning,” I announced, my voice rough and almost unrecognizable to my own ears. “Welcome to your new life, wife.”
I turned and walked toward the door, feeling her gaze burning into my back. I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to. I could feel her devastation radiating through the room, the walls stained with her desolation, the floors tarnished with the ashes of her broken heart.
Behind me, I heard her ragged breathing, the sound of fabric rustling as she sank to her knees.
I closed the door behind me and I leaned against it, listening. For a moment, there was only silence. Then—
A scream tore through the room. A primal, guttural sound that seemed to tear from the depths of her soul. It was followed by the crash of something breaking, likely one of the expensive vases that decorated the room.
I smiled, a dark chuckle rumbling in my chest as I walked down the hallway.
This was going to be fun. I hadn’t expected her to be this feisty, to hold such rage in her soul, such ruthless inferno.
Serafina had been prim and proper for too long. And I had broken something inside her. If remained unchecked, she would be a wildfire. Untamed. Ruinous. Devastating. Lethal.
Serafina surprised me more and more. What an interesting start to our married life.
The house was quiet as I descended the stairs, the only sound was the soft click of my dress shoes against the marble floor. Edmund appeared in the foyer, his expression carefully neutral.
“Would you like me to bring you anything, sir?” he asked.
I rolled my neck side to side, chasing the tension that clung to me like a vise. “Whiskey to my office. I’ve run out.”
“Will Mrs. Salvatore be joining you? Should I have the chef prepare something light for her to eat or tea perhaps?”
“No.” I adjusted my cufflinks. “She’s... settling in.”
It was going to be a long night for her.
Let’s see how long you last, wife.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Serafina
I stared at the ceiling, counting the tiny flowers in the crown molding for what felt like the hundredth time.
My heart ached.
Two days had passed since my wedding, since Adrian had shattered my world with his cruel confession. Misery choked me every morning I woke up in this unfamiliar, dreadful place.
He never loved me.
The weight of that reality pressed down on my chest, making it difficult to breathe.
He never loved me.
“You’re my wife and it’s till death do us part.”
The words echoed in my mind, a relentless mantra that had kept me prisoner in this bed for two endless days.
He never loved me.
My husband was a despicable man and I was trapped with him until my miserable death. Indeed, how lucky of me to have such a fortunate fate.
I laughed, humorlessly and then I sobbed, brokenly.
I hadn’t moved except to use the bathroom, to splash water on my face when the tears became too much. My stomach growled, a painful reminder that I hadn’t eaten since... I couldn’t remember when.
My wedding day. The day I’d lost everything.
He never loved me.
I couldn’t even ask my father for help. He hated me for betraying our family, for ruining his alliance, and all of his carefully curated plans.
I was supposed to marry the Salvatore heir…
And I was supposed to give birth to the next heir.
That was my purpose.