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If I tell him about my brother,Ollie is dead.
I’m a puppet on a string, and my brother holds the string.
“You want me to marry her,” Ollie says, shaking his head.
Lev sighs. “You know you have to be married soon anyway, brother.” He does. He’s the last single man in the Romanovfamily and has a sworn duty to marry within the year. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.
“It’s the perfect move to solidify the alliance between the Romanovs and the cartel,” Isabella continues. “And if Renata is indeed working with Carlos, this will infuriate him beyond all reason and bring him out of hiding.”
“It’s hard to be in contact with a dead man,” I mutter, but I don’t know if anyone believes me.Idon’t even believe me.
A part of me’s so relieved I can hardly breathe. There’s a reason why Carlos believes I’m in love with Ollie.
But I have to protest. “I can’t believe you are doing this to me, Bella. You’re marry me off like I’m cattle. Are you serious?”
Isabella steps over to me. “Deadly serious. This isn’t just about us anymore but the future of the Los Sangre Dorada and the Romanov family. A hundred years from now, we’ll be nothing but rotting bones, but our legacy will live on. This marriage will strengthen our position and force Carlos’s hand… if he’s still here.”
Ollie looks between us, scowling. My God, I half convinced myself I still loved him, but the look of utter disdain he gives me makes me think otherwise.
He will never love me.
I will never love him.
Our marriage will be what every other marriage in my family has ever been and ever will be—nothing more than a manipulation tactic.
“And what if Carlos doesn’t take the bait?” Ollie asks, his gaze on Isabella.
“He will.”
“I told you, he’s dead,” I snap. “Don’t waste your time.”
I might as well be invisible.
Ollie’s lips thin, and he tightens his grip on me, a silent reminder that I belong to him now, whether I want to or not.Goddamn,that hurts. I hiss in a breath, and he loosens his hands as if he didn’t really mean to do that, but he doesn’t look at me.
“He will,” Isabella says with certainty. “He won’t be able to bear seeing Renata ruin his reputation with such flair. You’ll see.”
Oh, they’ll see, alright. They’ll watch as Carlos murders Ollie, then me, in succession. I shiver and turn away from all of them. This marriage is a death sentence.
My shoulders slump as I process the gravity of all of this. For the first time, Isabella softens. “Just do your part. We’ll do the rest, Renata. If what you say is true, that you haven’t betrayed us and you’re not in league with our enemies… time will prove that to be true.” She sighs and swallows hard. “I sincerely hope it is.”
She places a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I meet her steely gaze. “If this is what it takes to prove myself to you all, then I’ll do it.” I don’t have a choice, of course, but at least it makes me feel a bit better.
Ollie shoves me off his lap. “Let’s go.” His voice is rough when he doesn’t look in my eyes.
I was mistaken. If I ever thought I loved this man, I was a fool. How could someone like me ever love a man as cold and heartless as Ollie Romanov?
“Your ride awaits you,” Isabella says. “Go. We’ll meet when Lev and I return to The Cove for your wedding.”
Our wedding… which istomorrow.
As we drive toward the airport, the silence in the car is suffocating. Finally, he turns to me. “Are you hungry?”
“No, those huge servings of humiliation and disbelief have me pretty well satisfied.” I roll my eyes and look away.
He grips the steering wheel, his knuckles white. I fold my arms across my chest and wince, remembering my damn bruises. I turn away from him and look out the window, my heart beating faster.
When will Carlos realize I’m marrying Ollie?
