Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
She’s casually reading paperwork, but I’ve caught her attention and she lifts her head. “Come again?” she asks. “Crue!” She screams for her husband.
Marco stands behind me, almost bemused, as we hear Crue grumble down the hallway before he comes out dressed in a towel. I avert my eyes as she turns to him. “Did you know Dawson owns Peche?”
“Yes. He owns that and many other businesses,” Crue says matter-of-factly as he picks up Rya’s coffee and sips. He glances at Marco but doesn’t say anything. He’s made it clear he’s offended my bodyguard thinks I’m not safe in his home. But Marco’s always been diligent in his role, perhaps too much at times, but I get it, so I say nothing.
“What else does he own?” Rya asks.
“You said no business talk at home.” He raises a brow at her.
Rya puts her hand on her hip.
I don’t think it’s such a big deal that I’m working at Dawson’s store, but I’m too curious for the answer to stop her questioning Crue.
“Dawson owns multiple businesses, both legal and illegal, including escort companies, lingerie stores… fuck, he even auctions off virgins. And that’s just a small part of his reach.” He takes one of the cookies I baked from the tray and walks away.
“Did he just say virgins?” I ask, baffled. She looks away, and I ask her again. “Rya, did he just say Dawson auctions off virgins?”
Well shit! Who is Dawson, really?
I knew being connected with Crue, Dawson must have been some type of trouble. The suits and his aura scream danger, power, and mystery. But auctioning virgins?
I absentmindedly offer Marco a cookie as I stare down my sister. I know he’ll decline; he always does. I always make far too much, and back home, I offered them to the servants to take to their families. At least then, I knew they were being enjoyed.
“Crue doesn’t lie,” Rya states, and I can tell there’s a hint of concern in her tone as she looks back at her papers.
“How much?” I ask.
“What?” She looks up at me.
“What does a virgin go for?”
“I don’t know, Honey! But don’t you even think for a second about doing that.”
I continue kneading the dough and shrug. “I wasn’t. I’m just curious. Seems pretty crazy, huh?”
Rya huffs out a laugh. “Tell me about it. I married one of the crazies.” And I know Crue is dangerous, but I’ve never had the guts to ask how bad. If I can just accept him as my brother-in-law, I’m fine with that. It’s enough that I know my dad is one of the “bad guys.” But never to us, not his girls. I understand I was sheltered from that part of our life.
Rya is different in the way she pursued her job and wouldn’t back down from anyone.
And I envy her for that.
I wonder if I could ever be that strong.
Or if I’ll only ever be a coddled woman.
That is, after all, what I was raised to be—the perfect daughter and housewife.
As if picking up on my subtle mood change, Marco leans over, picks up a cookie, and takes a bite. I offer him a small smile, guilt still driving me hard. He should be with his family. It should have never been Marco who came with me, but I am grateful and selfish that he is. He is a piece of the famiglia and home I knew.
“Maybe you should wait until you’re married, like you planned,” Rya suggests, noticing the mood change.
I want to smile and brush it off, but I simply can’t. I’m sick of keeping my wants and feelings inside to please others. And if I can’t talk to my sister, then who can I talk to? “What if I don’t want marriage?”
“That’s fine. You don’t have to marry anyone any longer.” Because she did it for both of us, and our families’ contract is now fulfilled. The Monti got their Ricci. Rya was always meant to marry Crue, but she refused. So, as the contract stated, a Monti had to marry a Ricci daughter, and I was next in line. And I was going to do it. Not because I wanted to but because I had to. I couldn’t risk my father being killed. But, thankfully, Rya realized how much she loves Crue despite the contract.
And here we are.
I’m a free woman.
But I’m still figuring out exactly what that means. Especially as I was always told I had to marry, but did I want that myself?
I now live freely in a whole new country and earn my own money. And that’s a big thing, considering I grew up with the idea that I would never be free and that a man would always control me.
“It’s just all new here, you know? I really want to figure out what I want for myself. And I know that sounds stupid because I’m twenty-seven, but it wasn’t easy for me after you left.”