Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 11
“No,” I say as the world spins around me. “They found me after demons attacked and killed my family. My real mom died while trying to protect me.”
“That’s what you believe?”
“That’s what I know to be true,” I press, getting angry. “You’re wrong.” I expect Xavier to get angry too, but his face softens and he looks at me with pity. And that makes everything worse.
“A car just pulled in,” he tells me, shifting his attention from my face to the house. His eyes narrow and he listens for a few seconds. “It’s the jeweler. You can pick out your ring.”
“How generous and romantic,” I retort, but my mind is spinning. I couldn’t have been kidnapped. Because that would mean—no—it just doesn’t make sense. You can’t kidnap a baby whose parents are already dead. Vivian told me the story many times. She was in Italy, hunting monsters. They found me hidden in a secret room. I was the same age as her twins back home and she couldn’t bear the thought of me ending up in the system, especially if the monsters realized one of the witches they attempted to kill lived.
I was safe with them. They provided me with a home and a family and the ability to learn how to fight monsters too so in a way, I could avenge my parents’ death.
“This may not be the most traditional way of doing things,” Xavier starts, “but it is more than transactional, Wren. You will be my wife, and you will be treated as such.”
“As long as I act like it, right?”
He fixes the collar on his suit jacket. “Once you are family, you will be under my protection.” Our eyes meet, and for a fleeting second, I think I can hear something unspoken between us. I can pick up on what humans are thinking and feeling but I have no idea about vampires.
I’ve never been this close before.
“Come on,” he says after I don’t move.
“It kills you that you can’t control me, doesn’t it?” I whisper, feeling a chill run down my spine as I look at this ancient man.
“I find it…peculiar.” He holds out his hand and I wait for him to say something back. But he doesn’t, so I get up. We walk back into the house in silence.
The jeweler, an older man who is familiar with the Malus family, sets several loose diamonds and preset rings on a velvet cloth. Everything is surreal as I try on rings, looking at a gem on my finger knowing it cost more than I can ever imagine.
“That looks lovely on you,” Mabel says, sneaking into the room without a sound. The jeweler startles but then smiles when he sees her. She must be a good customer.
“It does, doesn’t it?” I hold up my hand, looking at a ridiculously large oval cut diamond in a temporary setting. “I want this one, but with a rose gold band.” I might have something similar on my Pinterest board. Not this big, of course, because holy shit.
Xavier’s hand lands on the small of my back. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get.”
I know this is all for show. We need to act like a happy couple to appease the VC and whoever else Xavier wants to impress. If I play my part, I’ll be okay—for now. Being married to the rich, vampire mob boss who has to act as if he is completely in love with his human wife might not be such a bad hand, but it’s not sustainable.
I’ll age. He won’t. My body will deal with the aftermath of pregnancy and birth, and at some point, I won’t be able to keep popping out babies.
The jeweler packs up the diamonds and shows Mabel some other things he brought. She loops her arm through mine, asking me for my thoughts on different necklaces she’s trying on. In the end, she decides that we both need matching pink sapphire and diamond tennis bracelets. She puts our arms together and takes a photo, uploading it to her TikTok stories for her half-a-million followers to see.
“Do you have socials?” she asks.
“Yeah, but I don’t post.”
“No worries. I’ll tag you,” she tells me with a smile and I’m left feeling like I’m in some sort of alternate reality. “We can talk about strategies for building your following later.”
In a way, it’s everything I ever wanted: a husband who accepts that I’m a witch, a big house, financial security, a protective family, a sister who wants to be my friend and doesn’t view me as competition, posting on social media, shopping, decorating, hell…normal stuff.
But none of this is real, and when I hold my hand up next to Mabel’s and smile for a photo, part of me wishes this was real and not for show. The scariest part is, there’s a part of me that hopes in time, it will be.