Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 86325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86325 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
The captive girl, Marzia, is none too pleased with me, though. I wish I could get the opportunity to tell her the truth – that I have absolutely no interest in the man she's in love with, and I'm only interacting with him to keep up pretenses and make Ryder jealous. But we never get any time alone, and Marzia seems to have decided she hates me already.
Deep down, I know she's done far more with Adrian than I ever will. But I can't explain that to her, not under the watchful eyes of everyone in this house.
"Aren't you going to eat something?" Adrian asks the captive, and she shakes her head, sullen and stubborn as hell. "You need to eat, Marzia. You've gotten even thinner during the past few months."
She shakes her head again and I watch them bicker with jealousy flickering in my eyes.
It's not like I care about Adrian, but he's making me look bad in front of everyone in this room.
Eager to stop what's happening, I tap Adrian on the shoulder and he turns to face me. Batting my lashes as innocently as I can, I ask, "Adrian, I hoped we could spend some time alone together, maybe later today?"
The table falls silent and the room is filled with so much tension you could cut it with a knife. But I'm not giving up, not now. I can feel Ryder's stare on me, but I refuse to acknowledge him. Let this be a lesson to him so he won't fuck with me again.
"Oh," Adrian nods thoughtfully. "I suppose that would be only appropriate. Father?"
The whole table turns to face Bruno Bernardi who gives us all a jovial smile before nodding himself. "Yes, that would be perfectly acceptable. Why don't you go to my office now? You'll have privacy there."
If looks could kill, Marzia's would have turned me to stone already. I feel Ryder's eyes on me too, painfully following me across the room and reminding me with every step I take who I really belong to.
Adrian follows me out of the room, but we don't speak until we've reached his father's office. There, Adrian pours himself a stiff drink before glancing at me, saying, "You want one too?"
"I don't think I should," I laugh.
"It won't kill you."
I shrug, nodding. "Okay, then."
He brings over two tumblers. I take a long sip of the amber liquid and grimace when it burns the back of my throat. "What is this?"
"Marzia's famiglia's grappa," Adrian mutters.
Great. Even when I'm alone with him, I can't escape the girl.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I look directly at Adrian and ask the question I've been meaning to hit him with for months. "Do you love Marzia?"
He avoids my gaze and the answer, downing his drink. "It doesn't matter, Nicoletta. After all, I'm supposed to marry you. It's been decided."
"But maybe I don't want to marry you."
Adrian's eyes are filled with surprise as he meets my gaze. "You don't?"
I shake my head. "I want to marry someone else."
"Well, I'm afraid that's impossible." With some force, Adrian sets his glass down. "Our wedding has already been decided."
"It's not too late for either of us to change our minds." I urge him to listen to me, my eyes pleading with him to understand my plight. "Please, Adrian. I don't think we'll be happy together."
"I can't talk about this now," he mutters. "It's too close to the wedding. We shouldn't even be broaching this topic."
"Fine," I spit out before remembering something – something Adrian Bernardi might be able to help me with. "There's something else."
He narrows his eyes at me. "What's that?"
"There is a woman..." I bite my bottom lip nervously. I can't reveal too much. "A woman Ryder told me about. Someone that meant a lot to him. A brunette?"
"Ah," Adrian nods thoughtfully. My heart beats into overdrive, eagerly anticipating his explanation. "You must be talking about Livia."
"Yes, I believe that was her name," I say smoothly. "Can you tell me more about her? Ryder's only told me bits and pieces."
Adrian nods. My heart skips a beat. I can't believe it's so freaking easy to get this information out of him. I should've taken advantage of him earlier.
"They were engaged," he says, his voice heavy and serious. "Ryder thought he loved her. She was older than him by a couple of years. All my brothers, and Father, we all tried to tell him it wouldn't work out. There was something not quite right about the woman, something that made us all suspicious of her. But Ryder wouldn't listen. We all knew it would end in disaster one way or another."
"And did it?" I feel breathless as the question slips from my lips and I stare at Adrian expectantly. "Did it end in disaster?"
"Oh, it did," he nods gravely. "That woman was trouble, and we all knew it, except for Ryder. I could never quite put my finger on it, but she was bad news. Until their wedding day."