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)
The night air hit us as we exited the mansion, cool against my heated skin. I pushed her into the waiting car, sliding in beside her into the driver’s seat.
“You humiliated me,” she whispered, her voice shaking with the force of her withheld emotions. “Again.”
I turned to face her, watching the moonlight play across her flushed cheeks. “No, wife. You humiliated yourself the moment you thought you could speak to me that way in front of my family.” I leaned closer, my breath fanning across her face. “But don’t worry. I have all night to teach you exactly what happens when you forget your place.”
The car pulled away from the curb, carrying us back to our secluded home. To my fortress. To her prison.
Serafina sat as far from me as possible, pressed against the door, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
Such beauty.
Such fury.
I watched her from the corner of my eye as the car wound through the dark roads toward our home. I caught the defiant set of her jaw, the angry gleam in those hazel eyes that infuriated me but turned me on at the same time.
“You’re a monster,” she finally said, breaking the tense silence that had stretched between us. Her voice was low, but it cut through me like a blade. “A heartless, soulless monster.”
I was unable to keep the smirk from my lips. “Yes, we’ve established that. How about you come up with another insult? What else do you think of me?”
“I think nothing of you. You’re beneath contempt.”
“That’s too bad,” I said, leaning closer. The scent of her perfume, something floral and expensive, filled my nostrils. “We’re a pair, wife. Whether you like it or not. So, it doesn’t matter what you think of me, I’m your husband, and soon enough, I’ll be the father of your children.”
The words hung in the air between us, a claim I hadn’t realized I wanted to make until they left my lips.
Though we never spoke of it, we both knew what was expected of us… to consummate our marriage in a way that was fruitful. I had to plant the seed, she had to nurture it.
And only then would the alliance be completed.
A child that had both the Morelli and Salvatore blood running through their veins.
Serafina’s eyes widened, her lips parting in shock. For a moment, I thought I’d finally broken through her defenses. The car was filled with only the hum of the engine and the sound of her breathing.
And then she laughed.
It started as a small sound, a choked exhale, before erupting into something wild and unrestrained. It wasn’t the gentle laugh of a woman amused. It was harsh, mocking, devoid of any humor. She threw her head back, the sound filling the confined space of the car, echoing off the windows until it seemed to consume everything.
I stared at her, confused by her reaction.
That reaction wasn’t what I’d expected. This wasn’t fear or anger or even reluctant acceptance. This was something else entirely.
“A father? You?” she finally managed, wiping tears of humorless mirth from her eyes. The cruelty in her voice was sharper than any blade I’d ever used to bring death. “You think I’d bear your child? You think I will bring your child into this world?”
Her laughter died, replaced by a cold and vicious expression of pure hatredness. “You’re not worthy, Adrian Salvatore.” Her voice dripped with such contempt that my jaw tightened. “Not worthy to be a father or to be called one. I can’t even imagine a child of yours in this world, living and breathing. You will never be a father and I will make sure of that.”
Not worthy…
I wasn’t worthy.
I hadn’t been worthy.
I felt something inside me snap. Something real, something tangible.
A loud crack that echoed through my darkened soul.
The darkness that I kept carefully contained, the beast that I fed with blood and violence, surged forward with such force that the world around me seemed to blur.
This wasn’t rage. No, it was all-consuming, destructive, something that had been festering for years, beneath the surface of my carefully constructed facade.
Memories crashed through me like a tidal wave. Memories I had fought so hard to bury. And with those memories came the reminder of promises I had made.
The same promises I couldn’t keep.
My hands shook with the force of emotions I couldn’t control.
I wanted to wring her pretty fucking neck.
Serafina’s smile faltered as she took in my expression, but she didn’t back down. “Does the truth hurt, husband?”
No, the truth didn’t hurt.
Not in the way she thought she did.
The truth had done something far worse than hurt. It had reached into my chest, dug under my flesh with venomous claws, and torn out something I hadn’t known was still there.
The truth had annihilated my sanity.
And my wife…
She was about to pay the price.