Page 7 of Isle of Seduction
I’ve sworn after how my father neglected me and how my ex used me that I’d never get entangled with made men ever again, but Lana needs me and there isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for her.
Pierce takes my hand in both of his, pulling me out of my reverie. The pain and anguish on his features make him look older than thirty-five, but I don’t miss the hope behind the brown irises as well.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
Next to him, Igor watches me with hawk eyes but says nothing.
“I’m sure. Andrea has the information we need.”
We all know I don’t have a choice, and that any one of us would do anything for Lana, but right now, I’m the one who can make a difference. After being my rock for years, it doesn’t feel like such a sacrifice.
Until my fiancé re-enters the comfortable living room of his cottage house that somehow seemed to have been designed exactly for cottage-core sluts like me.
“My conditions for our union are as follows,” I start. “I want my own space, my own room where I can do whatever I want.”
“You’re not a prisoner, Miss Moretti.”
“Are you always in the habit of interrupting others when they speak?”
“Are you always in the habit of assuming the worst in people?”
“You’re a made man so, yes. Now, don’t interrupt me again. That won’t bode well for our marriage. Second condition is the duration of our agreement. You obviously need a wife, otherwise you wouldn’t ask for my hand in marriage…”
“I’m not asking.” He smirks, and I wish looks could kill. He signs with his hand that he’ll keep his lips shut, and I narrow my eyes at him. I don’t trust his mouth for a second.
“As I was saying, you need a wife, but I trust that one year is long enough to…”
“Absolutely not,” he retorts immediately, but his lips are still up as if he’s enjoying the back and forth. “One year is not nearly enough for anyone to believe our marriage is authentic. Like you said, I need a wife. I need a solid marriage, at least to the outside world.”
“Why do you need a wife?” Pierce asks before I can and I’m grateful because curiosity has always been my downfall and right now, I want to pry all of Andrea’s secrets out of his brain. I’d never admit that to him, though. He doesn’t need the ego boost.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, cugino. I want five years. That’s nonnegotiable.”
The doorbell rings and Andrea walks to open it, leaving no room for arguing.
Andrea walks back in with a fair-haired man in a dark blue suit, holding a folder, who introduces himself as Luca DeRossi. He looks more like a surfer cosplaying as a lawyer, but that might be my resentment talking.
Before I know it, the contract is written with my first stipulation and a time-constraint of five years. Pierce’s pleading look and Lana’s situation playing at the back of my mind prevent me from fighting that particular condition. We need to move forward and fast. Every second we wait, argue and negotiate is a second away from saving my cousin but there is one more I absolutely need to establish.
“No sex. Add that in.”
Andrea coughs up and I have to admit, it feels good to unsettle him like this. The other three men in the room follow suit as if they’re precious virgins, and I roll my eyes.
“And you want that written in the contract?” the solicitor asks incredulously.
“Yes. Separate rooms, no sex and the timeline of this agreement. I also won’t spend a dime of my own money during our marriage.”
DeRossi’s mouth hangs open, and he turns to Andrea, whose dark gaze is set on me like he’s found the best opponent he’s ever had in years. My future husband gives a nod and five minutes later, we sign the contract.
Here I am, just married to a man whom I didn’t know two days ago, with a contract signed on the corner of a dining table in an unfamiliar house, and with my cousin’s husband as my witness, who also happens to be his cousin.
What the Hell did I just do?
FOUR
STARVE TO DEATH OR DINE WITH YOUR FAKE HUSBAND, THAT IS THE QUESTION
After we sign the marriage licence, everything moves at the speed of light. I’m barely present in my own body, working on autopilot as I guide the rescue team through cameras.