Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 48585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“Fitting that you should bring such a Saint into the church,” he chides, referring to my reputation that remains elusive from my cousin.
I quickly dismiss his taunt before it raises any suspicions from Vincent that I might have my agenda within the family hierarchy and treat the remark as a benign compliment.
“We can’t all be as Godlike as you now, can we, Leo?” I ask with a smirk.
I can see in his eyes how much offense he takes at my calling him “Leo”, and I catch a look of warning from Vincent. Leonardo is driven by an insatiable hunger for respect and absolute power, so offending him at his own wedding is a bad idea as far as Vincent is concerned.
“I think I’ll catch a moment of fresh air before the ceremony begins,” I say as I stand to excuse myself before tensions rise further.
“Good idea,” Vincent says beneath his breath as he lets me out of the pew.
As I walk out of the church, I glimpse Leonardo walking toward his place at the altar, showing that there isn’t much longer before the ceremony will commence. It’s at that exact moment that I get a strange feeling—a hunch, or a sixth sense perhaps — that Valentina might do something reckless.
I step outside the church and walk around the side of the building, noting that Leonardo’s men guard only the front of the church since there is no back exit to the building. But there are windows all along the sides of the building. I peer into a few of them, and then I see the one window that Valentina is in. She’s standing there inside the small room, staring at her stunning reflection in the mirror. But there’s a look of rash determination in her eyes, one that hints at her doing something unexpected, something that might get her in a whole hell of a lot of trouble.
I thought previously that this entire situation was hopeless, that she would devoutly go through with this arranged marriage in allegiance to her familial duties, whatever they may be. But now, as I catch a small glimpse of her through the window, I’m not so sure about that.
As the music inside the church plays, and the doors at the entrance close, I make the choice not to go back inside. Instead, I head to my car, start the engine, and pull up alongside the narrow street that buttresses the cathedral. I don’t know why I’m sitting here in my car waiting for something to happen with no clear sign that anything will, but it beats seeing Valentina walk miserably down the aisle looking beautifully tortured in her gown as she marries a man that deserves far less than her. As much as I want to see her, I don’t think I can stand seeing her marry that man.
So, I sit in my car staring at the street up ahead and the side of the church building and wait. I’m not sure if I’m waiting for the ceremony to be over and for Vincent to scold me for having rudely missed it, or for something else to happen. It isn’t until I see a window at the side of the building open and a wad of white wedding dress being shoved through it that I realize exactly what I’m waiting for.
As soon as Valentina clears the window, kicks off her heels, and takes off running down the street, I know that she’s in danger.
“What the hell are you thinking?” I murmur to myself as I put the car in drive, knowing that in a matter of seconds, she will turn the edge of the building and step straight into the line of sight of Leonardo’s guards. And when she does—I will be there.
There’s a split second of time between when the guards see her and when Valentina takes off running towards my car down the street, that I almost instantly deliberate on the consequences of what I’m about to do. There are immense personal and political risks in intervening here. If I swoop in to rescue her from Leonardo’s men, who are in hot pursuit of the runaway bride, it will start a war, not just between the Moretti and the Conti family, but likely also between me and Vincent since my cousin won’t take fondly to me crossing this line. But that deliberation takes less than a second before I slam on the gas and speed toward Valentina, because I already knew in my heart that I’m willing to protect her fiercely from anyone that she runs from.
She steps out in front of my car without looking, making a frenzied last-ditch attempt to cross the street and outrun these guys. Immediately, I roll down my window and shout for her to get in.
For a split second, she looks like a deer in headlights, frozen in shock and fear.