Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 117176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
I sucked in a shuddering breath. Killian stepped away from the window and bent forward, bringing his face closer to mine. I couldn’t even move. My wheelchair kept me in place. His breath feathered over my veil, right over my lips. “Listen to me very carefully. You will marry me; you will pay for your sins and you will die at my hands.”
He didn’t see that I was already paying for my mistakes.
Just like everyone else, Killian didn’t see me. They saw my veil. They saw my sin.
No one saw Julianna Romano anymore.
They didn’t see my remorse– or that my sister’s ghost haunted me.
My nails dug deeper into my palm, drawing blood. I lifted my chin up, matching his cold stare. “You’ve made yourself very clear, Killian Spencer.”
He chuckled at my show of I’m-not-scared-of-you-do-your-worst. It was a weak attempt at bravery, but I didn’t want him to think I was as powerless as he thought I was.
My life was already hell. But I still had some kind of control over what Killian could do to me, even though I deserved everything he said.
I should pay for my sin.
I should suffer.
I should die at his hands.
It was his right. After all, I killed his heart.
It would have been easy to say that Killian was the villain. But it was far from the truth. He was just another casualty of my mistakes and the end result of my sins.
I was the villain in this messy fairy tale.
His hand came up to my face and I flinched, expecting him to strike me, but he didn’t. Killian curled a finger around a strand of black hair and then pulled. Hard enough to burn my scalp. “I will break you, Julianna Romano.”
You can’t break what’s already broken.
I turned my face away, no longer able to look into his dark eyes. There was just something in them. Something that made me ache.
“You’ve said what you came here to say. You can leave now.”
Killian pulled back and strode away. I clutched my chest, bearing the pain that seemed to dig itself deeper under my flesh. It wasn’t just my heart that ached. It was my soul that was tormented.
“Oh right, I forgot to give you this.” He fished something out of his pocket and then carelessly threw it my way. It skidded on the shiny floor, a few feet away from my wheelchair.
“Your ring,” Killian said coldly, his voice dripping with venom. “Wear it. Happy engagement to us.”
After he was long gone, Selene came back. Without a word, she lifted the ring from the floor and handed it to me. I took it from her, staring at the extravagant diamond ring. The rock was huge and nothing like my personal taste. But then again, this wedding wasn’t about me and Killian could care less about my preferences.
It was heavy in my palm, but the weight was more than just the shiny diamond itself.
I loathed it.
And yet, I still wore it on my ring finger.
When my father came into my room much later, he smiled approvingly at the sight of my ring, patted me on the hand and then walked away without a word.
It was official.
Two years from now, I would be Killian’s wife.
This marriage was his vengeance – the vows would not be of love, but of hatred.
His retaliation. My atonement. One imperfect marriage.
CHAPTER TWO
Julianna
Two years later
A wedding is supposed to be a joyous occasion, a day to be celebrated, where two souls come together. Joined in holy matrimony. Bonded by vows – to love and to cherish.
I always imagined something romantic. A grand wedding; the prettiest, most expensive gowns; gorgeous heels that many brides would envy; a lovely veil to put any other veils to shame, and my handsome Prince Charming – my own little fairy tale.
But it was just that. A fantasy. A lovely one to dream of, but a fantasy nonetheless.
Because my wedding was nothing short of a cruel reality. In the last two years, Killian and I only crossed paths twice.
Once – on our engagement day. The very same day he threw me the ring, so carelessly, so heartlessly.
And the second time was yesterday, when I arrived on Isle Rosa-Maria.
He had barely spared me a glance as he walked past me to greet my father. As if I wasn’t even there. As if I wasn’t his wife-to-be. As if we weren’t about to get married in less than twenty-four hours.
Killian, without a single spoken word, had reminded me that Julianna Romano was forgotten. Even while I was still alive, my existence had been rendered to the life of a ghost.
Killian Spencer wasn’t just cruel. He was vindictive.
“Julianna,” Selene said, bringing my attention to her. “How about you switch your black veil–”
“No.” I eyed the twelve-foot-long white veil she was holding in her hands; the end of the train was laced up with crystals that matched my wedding dress.