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When I kiss her again, I’m going to make sure she knows that it means we’re unified forever. My perfect obsession. My lovely mistake. The mother to the heir of the Bratva. Sage is everything to me, and I’ll never let her go.
I can hardly keep a straight face as I straighten my tie in the mirror and slick back my hair. My lip keeps twitching, and I’m pretty sure one of the blood vessels in my eye has popped.
Ivan is standing just a few feet away, watching me prepare for the wedding ceremony. It was supposed to be small, but things quickly got out of hand when Ivan started inviting guests, and now it seems we’re going to have the entire city at the venue. He’s my bodyguard just as much as he is my assistant today.
I turn to him, adjusting my pear cufflinks, feeling the weight of the moment pressing down on my shoulders like a thousand pounds of steel. “Is everything ready?” I ask, my voice steady, masking the nervousness I feel inside.
Ivan nods once, his face emotionless. “Everything is set, sir. The guests are arriving, and Sage is preparing in her room.”
I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Good. Make sure there are no surprises.”
He grunts in acknowledgment, his eyes sweeping over me in the mirror. I know I can trust Ivan to handle the logistics, but the thought of Sage walking down the aisle, looking uncertain and possibly resentful, makes my chest tighten.
I haven’t seen her much since last night. I haven’t been able to tell her what this means for us, only that we’re getting married and that’s the end of it. Part of me wants her father to show up so I can have a distraction.
I need to let out this awful feeling inside of me. This guilt. I want to turn it into anger and beat the living hell out of Mr. Thompson. I want him to try to play the hero and get put down once and for all, even in front of Sage.
But all of this is just a silly fantasy. He doesn’t know when or where the wedding will occur, and even if he did, he’s too much of a coward to show his face. He betrayed Sage, and there’s no coming back from that. I think she might even hate him more than she hates me.
“I’ll be done in a moment,” I say, studying myself a little more closely in the mirror. I can see the wrinkles that have started to appear on my face, deep ones that took a lot of stress to get there.
They’re not going anywhere now, but I do find myself wishing I was a few years younger. Maybe Sage would be more interested in me, but who’s to say she doesn’t like older men? She was obviously turned on by me last night. That was obvious by the sounds she was making in the dark.
I’m overthinking now, but that’s because I have too much time. I’m not used to take this long off work, and I believe it’s driving me insane. It’s been years since I even took a weekend off.
I look over at Ivan, who is still standing like a block of cement behind me. “Can you go check on Sage? Make sure she has everything she needs.”
Ivan nods again and exits the room silently. I take a moment to compose myself, to push down the emotions threatening to surface. This is a business transaction as much as it is anything else, and I can’t afford to let my feelings complicate things.
It’s time to be the man I know I am, and marry Sage. It’s for the better. It’s for the Bratva. I know this is the right thing to do.
But even though it’s right, I feel an odd swirling sensation in my stomach as I step out of the room. It could be nerves, but it’s more like butterflies. My palms are sweaty too, which is unusual. I’m not normally this… off.
We ended up hosting the wedding at a very nice mansion just a few dozen miles from the one I own. It’s not quite as large, but it fits as many people as one could dream of having at their special day.
The reason I didn’t want to have it at home was because I prefer not to reveal my address to everyone. Many people close to me know it, but it’s far from public information. The house isn’t even in my name. It’s in my company’s name, and it’s technically a business asset.
This one is also a business asset, a rental for only the richest people. I’ve heard that it’s mostly used for expensive photoshoots and music videos, but the occasional wedding gets hosted here when the elites are ready to say their vows.
I didn’t think I’d ever be one of them. I mean, I knew that eventually, I was supposed to get a woman pregnant to pass on the role of Bratva boss, but I’m not like most other men. I’m not dying to stick my dick in anything with long legs and red lips. I’m particular about my women, which is why I chose Sage.
It wasn’t about her father, so much as it was about the connection I felt when I first saw her. I knew that I had to get my hands on her, no matter the cost. Threatening Mr. Thompson’s life was just another elaborate tactic to get her into my hands.
It was planned. Rigged. Just like everything else in my life and business. The money, the debt, the roll of the dice. They’re all rigged. Even the roulette wheel spin that finally got Sage out of her panties…
Rigged. I like it better that way. I’m not a loser. I make sure I’m always holding the winning hand or a smoking pistol. That’s the way I play, and it’s why I’m so filthy rich.
I suppose that Sage will eventually discover this, if she hasn’t already. She knows I’m crooked, but I think that’s what intrigues her the most about me. If I was such a terrible person, I doubt she’d even give me the time of day.
Regular guys always get passed up by beautiful women. They’re not the ones tearing off their panties and marrying them the next day on a whim. It’s too brash for the regular Joe, but I’m far from regular.
That’s my talent. I’m screwed up in all the right ways.
The mansion is buzzing with activity, the guests mingling and chatting, their voices a soft hum that grows louder as I approach the main hall. As I enter the main hall, all eyes turn to me, and for the first time since I was young, I feel small.
I swallow hard, puffing out my chest and holding my head high as I walk to the altar. I want to have a few words with my security up there before the ceremony actually begins.
The room is beautifully decorated with roses and lilies, their scent filling the air and relaxing me a bit as I make me way down the aisle. A string quartet plays softly in the corner, setting a serene, almost surreal atmosphere.
