Page 4 of Vow of Sin

I rush down the staircase, sitting on the last step to put on my black heels that I discarded earlier. When I look up, I see Sofia walking towards me, her light brown and curly hair blowing behind her like some sort of angel. Her figure is short and curvy, contrast to my slender and tall form. Her smile lights up the room, her red lips stretching when she spots me.

“There you are.” her soft voice says, cracking something inside of me.

I start to cry then, like the broken woman that I am. She rushes towards me, sitting on the step and pulling me into her arms as she rocks me and lets me cry it out.

“Do you want me to have Mama make you a plate? It might make you feel better. You’re practically withering away.” she says, a small smile stretching my own lips.

Her mother, Camila also has worked for the Romero’s for decades. I’ve practically grown up with Sofia because of this. Not only does Camila clean all of the houses, but she also insists on being the full time chef as well. So, Sofia is right. Anytime I eat Camila’s cooking, I instantly feel better. It’s that good.

“Sure. Let's go find her. But Sofia?” I ask, pulling away to frown at her.

“What is it, babe?” she asks, tilting her head at me. She really is beautiful. Much more beautiful than I ever could be.

“I need a drink too. Preferably a strong one.” I say and she laughs, throwing her head back before she helps me up and walks us back to the courtyard.

“I know just the thing.” she says.

I can’t help but hope that it’ll be strong enough to erase this whole day from my memory.

ChapterThree

Nico

She leaves the bedroom in a hurry, her perfectly tight ass swaying in her black dress as she closes the door behind her. I shouldn’t be ogling my best friend’s wife’s body, but the fucker’s dead anyway, so what’s it matter right?

Dead.

What a goddamn idiot, falling into a trap like that. He should’ve known it was going to be an ambush from the start. Anyone with half a brain could have seen that coming and if I knew ahead of time, I would’ve stopped him.

But I wasn’t there, and Luis never really had a brain. He just had anger and greed and impulsive tendencies. Hence the reason he married one of his partners' daughters. I get that he was trying to protect Scarlett, but he didn’t have to marry her, didn’t even have to fuck her. But then again, the woman is an temptation few could resist.

For Luis, I mean. I’ve had no trouble resisting this woman. In fact, it's easy for me to forget her. Scarlett Kennedy Romero is definitely the furthest thing from my mind. Or at least has been, until today.

Until she watched me fuck a waitress and then made me share my joint with her after. Maybe she wasn’t such an uptight bitch after all. Maybe, just maybe, Scarlett has a bit of an edge to her. An edge that Luis never let her expose because that was his style. Luis liked to have his fun but when it came to relationships, whether business or family related, he liked things done just so. He liked things cut and dry, so that he could save all the fun for himself. And little Miss Scarlett was the perfect girl to fill that role.

And fill that role she did. As soon as he walked the girl down the aisle, she has been nothing but his good little wife since. Following his every order, wearing the dresses that he bought her, planning his trips and taking his messages like she was his goddamn secretary. While I haven’t been around for much of their marriage, I do know that the start of it wasn’t typical.

There was no honeymoon phase, no intense, disgusting love that many newlyweds love to display and shove down other peoples throats. It was a matter of principle, of duty. He saw a broken girl without any protection, and he took matters into his own hands because that’s who he was, nevermind the fact that he fucked whoever he wanted during the first two years of their marriage. I don’t even think he fucked her during that time. I think little Miss Scarlett has spent her entire marriage longing for a man that took years to love her back.

A man that has done nothing but lie to her. A man that she doesn’t truly know.

But that’s not for me to dwell on. I didn’t marry the woman, he did. That’s his widow and his life. I’m just here to pick up the pieces, to claim this business as my own. Just as he would’ve wanted. Let’s just hope that his red headed princess will allow that to happen without any preamble. However, I know Scarlett. I know her better than she knows herself.

And I know that she won’t go down without a fight.

* * *

Scarlett

I awake the next morning with a pounding headache, still in my dress from yesterday. I remember Sofia and Camila taking me back home, since they live in our mansion as well. I also remember begging Sofia not to take me to my bedroom, not being able to sleep in the bed I shared with my husband for ten years. I haven’t slept in there since the night he died, so I’ve taken up residence in one of the guest rooms upstairs. Sure, I have to pass by our bedroom everyday to get to this room, but at least the doors are shut. I’d lock them too if I could. Trust me.

I sigh and rub at my eyes, my fingers coming away with residual black smears. I need a shower, desperately, but I can’t find the motivation to leave this bed. I just lay here like a mass of flesh and bones, my breathing slow and even as I stare at the arched ceiling. This room is equally as elegant as the rest of the house. I know this because I designed it. I designed everything.

When I first married Luis, he still lived in his parents' castle, but with having a new bride and all, he found it may be more socially acceptable to move into a more suitable place, even though it's still incredibly large. It’s not like we fucked during the first year of our marriage anyway. Luis and I didn’t really start a romantic relationship until our second anniversary, when I told him that I wanted him to take my virginity. He was ten years older than me, but I had been attracted to him as soon as I hit puberty. I suppose he found it weird to like me in that way, since he met me when I was a child, but once I explained that it was just as strange to marry me as it was to fuck me, something snapped.

And fuck we did. Pretty much every night that he was home, which wasn’t often. If I’m being honest, during the first few years of our marriage, I rarely saw my husband. He loved to travel for new trade deals and found it was better for the head of the family to make an appearance when handling large amounts of product or merchandise. Something changed in our fourth year though. It’s almost like the lightbulb that was constantly flickering finally stayed lit. He was home more, and became more attentive to both my physical and emotional needs. He was my husband and although the sex wasn’t incredibly passionate or romantic, it was still nice. It’s not like I have anything to compare it to anyway.

I sigh and finally make my way off of the bed, wandering into the adjacent bathroom. It is expansive with both a tub and a walk in shower, both the floors and the countertops the same marble white as the flooring in the bedroom. When Luis gave me the job of designing this mansion, I decided I wanted it to be everything that my childhood home wasn’t. Not that I didn’t like my childhood home, it was just often messy and eclectic. I live better through a minimal space. I like plants and white and for things to be as they should. Perfect, as my late husband would say.