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)
I needed to get away.
I needed someone to take me away. From this hell. From this sham of reality.
My lungs clenched and I swallowed back a bitter, dry gasp.
God… I can’t breathe.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I murmured to my father, “I need a moment.”
He frowned slightly but nodded. “Don’t be long. The toast is in fifteen minutes.”
I made my way through the crowd, accepting congratulations with practiced smiles, my lungs burning for a breath of fresh air. The French doors to the garden beckoned, promising escape, if only for a moment.
I rushed toward it in the most elegant way I could.
My heels clacked against the marble floors as I took my first steps outside and finally… finally, the night air hit my face like a caress, cool and sweet after the perfumed heat of the ballroom. I drew it into my lungs greedily, feeling the tightness in my chest ease slightly as I walked deeper into the garden.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
The garden beyond stretched into darkness, moonlight casting silver over sculpted hedges and marble fountains. I descended the stone steps, my white gown reflecting almost luminously in the night.
The cool air caressed my heated skin, offering momentary relief from the suffocating performance inside. I wandered deeper into the garden, following a winding stone path toward the large center fountain. The sound of the falling water called to me, urging me to come closer.
I inhaled deeply, savoring the sweet liberation of solitude and the fragrant roses. The full moon hung low, large in the dark sky.
My fingertips brushed against the cool, dewy leaves as I passed and finally… I could simply just breathe again. I felt human, alive…
God, I didn’t realize how desperately I needed this escape until now. For just a few precious moments, I could be just me. Not the Morelli princess, not Matteo’s fiancée.
The farther I moved from the ballroom, the more the sounds of music and chatter faded, until everything was just quiet. I walked and walked, leaving everything and everyone behind, until I was alone. Until it was just me and the silence of the night that filled me with a kind of peace I had been searching for, for so long.
This was everything I had needed before I lost myself to the insanity of this cruel marital game.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
But even this tranquility didn’t last long.
It was ripped away from me in a single, shattering breath when a strong arm suddenly snaked around my waist from behind, yanking me backward against a solid chest.
CHAPTER SIX
Serafina
It happened so fast, the world spun under my feet, disorienting.
A hand clamped over my mouth, fingers pressing hard against my lips, stifling the scream that tore from my throat. Horror shot through my veins like ice water.
I thrashed violently, my heart hammering against my rib cage like the wings of a gilded bird trying to break free. My elbow connected with something solid, a rib perhaps, but the grip around me only tightened.
I tried to scream again, but it was muffled by his large hand. My pulse thundered in my throat and my vision blurred with black dots.
Was I going to be… killed?
Oh my God.
Why did I come this far? Why did I leave the safety of the ballroom? Why, why, why? Stupid me.
Tears slid down my cheeks when I blinked, gasping for air against his palm. And that was when he laughed… a deep, morbid chuckle… and it sounded like a madman. Straight out of a horror movie.
The pit of my stomach quaked.
Absolute terror filled every cell in my body. I really was going to die tonight.
My whole body shook, a broken cry escaping past my lips. I kicked backward, desperate to escape.
“Such a fighter,” a dark voice whispered directly into my ear, low and dangerous. His hot breath brushed against my skin. The familiar timbre sent a jolt through my body, my spine stiffening in recognition. “I’m impressed, Princess.”
Thud.
Adrian.
Thud.
My body went limp in his arms.
Thud.
My heart stuttered.
How could he?
How dare he?
“Are you scared?” he rasped, dark, amused… taunting. “The perfect princess, all alone in the garden. Away from all the eyes. How reckless of you.”
His scent enveloped me, sandalwood and minty, expensive cologne mingled with whiskey. And something musky, darker, more primal. My struggles intensified, fury replacing fear as I now recognized my captor.
My arms came up and I clawed at his hand that still covered my mouth with my nails. I knew I made him bleed, but he didn’t seem to care. He only laughed again. In that same mocking way he did before. Only this time I didn’t find it horrifying.
No, it was maddening. Rage like nothing before filled me, coursing through my veins like wildfire.
“Careful now,” he murmured, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “You’ll ruin that pretty dress.” His grip tightened, pulling me more firmly against him until I could feel every hard line of his body against my bare back.