Vincenzo
“So, to safe our family, I need to marry this spoiled brat who fell in love with me at first sight?” I shook my head in disbelief.
This situation required a meeting with my brother, but Christian, who could not stop making fun of me, had also invited himself over for a good laugh.
If anything, this alliance would not be good for the Lambertis as it would potentially challenge their power.
“I thought I’d let her down gently,” I whispered, befuddled. I knew she had a thing for me because she had been stalking me at the wedding, I tried to keep my distance when Stella introduced her to me, and I told her I wasn’t looking for a relationship, but still…
“I always told you to stop flirting with everyone.” Christian shrugged, smiling. “I called it.”
He did.
Christian always told me that my flirtatious ways would one day backfire, and he was right. To be honest, I had expected something more scandalous like a secret baby—but an unwanted marriage?
“Call Oscar and tell him the deal’s off.” I turned to Nic. I would rather drink toilet water than marry the Morales daughter, especially after all those nasty rumors surrounding her.
Nic furrowed his brows. “Vince!”
“No, I won’t do it,” I stated. “From what I’ve heard, she’s an entitled, spoiled brat who believes the world revolves around her.”
“And after begging her daddy to arrange a marriage with me, she has exactly proven that point.”
“You need to give us another reason.” Christian laughed.
“She’s twenty.” I cracked my brains. She was too young and immature to be my wife. It was a surprise she didn’t ask me to marry her on the spot that evening. “She’s not even allowed to drink, I mean come on—I’m twenty-six!”
“She’ll be twenty-one next week—so that won’t be a problem!” Nic added. “We got an invitation in the mail, by the way.” He spoke. “Christian, I assume you received one as well?”
“Yes, we sure did,” Christian confirmed. “It looks like I’ll have to up my game for Siena’s birthday.”
“Guys!”
“Oh, right—the girl.” Nic facepalmed. “Christian, you’ve met her. What do you think?”
Christian shrugged nonchalantly. “She didn’t seem all that bad to me.”
“Oh, please—you can’t remember a thing after saying I do.” I jumped in. “You couldn’t even walk in a straight line.”
I did remember. I couldn’t forget the way those dangerous eyes shot daggers at Serena, who had nothing but kindness in her soft heart.
“Because he can’t hold his liquor,” Nic called out Christian, smacking his shoulder.
“That’s not true!” Christian denied. “It’s because I hadn’t had a solid drink in over two years.”
“I’ll not marry her and let her have her way. I won’t.” I interrupted their conversation yet again. The girl was gorgeous. I’d give her that. I was sure the Morales girl would have no issue finding someone else to marry—but one thing was certain, that someone wouldn’t be me.
“Don’t you care about this family?” Nic pulled a sad face. He was doing this on purpose because he knew I cared. Bringing us back on top where we belonged and showing others they could trust us again was my only goal.
“I do, a lot.” I sighed. “But I won’t marry that girl.”
Christian shrugged. “Maybe she’s not that bad once you get to know her.” His tone was doubtful enough for me to almost fall for it.
“I don’t care if she’ll turn out to be the fucking nicest human being on this planet.” I came back to my senses. “I already told you a long time ago that I won’t marry anyone, and I mean it.”
I could not put my all into someone in fear of losing them one day like dad lost mom, and I could not forget about her.
Serena, the same woman who belonged to my best friend. To Christian.
“Was this what I used to sound like?” Christian cackled, shooting me a dirty look.
“Yes.”
“Vince, you don’t even have to love her. You only need to say, I do—that’s it.” Christian tried convincing me. “Just let her life in her delusional little fantasy and become the hero of the Garcia family.”
“I never thought I’d hear something like that from your mouth ever again.” I rolled my eyes. “Especially now that you’re a married man and all.”
“Nic and his wife would like to go back home as well, Vince.”
I turned to my brother, Nic—who had yet to say a word. By the look on his face, I could tell those were the actual words he wanted to say, but he couldn’t.
Vince, if you won’t do it for yourself—at least do it for me. He was dying to say those words.
I felt guilty.
Had I not been such a failure son and had the strength and courage to be there for dad, things wouldn’t have turned out this way. If I had been there for him when he needed me the most, he would’ve never lost his humanity and turned into a monster.
“Christian,” I spoke. “I don’t want to stand behind my wife and watch as she leads not only her family but also mine—because that’s what will happen.” I shared my feelings. “The plan was to restore what we’d lost, not to become the Morales’ puppet.”
“Then you’ll have to make them believe,” Christian spoke. “Make them believe you’re their puppet—and as for your wife, if that girl is so in love with you, she wouldn’t mind you pulling the strings behind the scenes.”
Putting together our forces would only hurt his family, which was why I couldn’t believe my ears. Wasn’t he supposed to be against all of this?
“Christian, we shouldn’t force him.” Nic gave up all hope. “It’s okay. I’ll tell Oscar that the deal is off.”
What he meant to say was—it’s okay, I’ll tell my wife and daughter that we can’t go home yet.
I felt sorry for my brother. He was only here because he felt like he owed it to us after leaving us behind with our twisted father. As the eldest, he was merely trying to fix the issue he felt responsible for.
But could I marry the Morales girl?
What if she would expect something crazy, such as my love, in return? I couldn’t love her. I would never be able to love her.
Especially not after learning she had pulled every little string for me to put a ring on her finger, even after I rejected her. That, to me, was not someone worthy of getting what she wanted.
That was a coward.
A loser.
A pathetic and hopeless case.
Still, this union would not only be good for the Garcias, but also for Nic and Luis. Nic and his wife could finally go home, and Luis would not have to worry about me anymore.
Despite his age, Luis was very intelligent and knew all too well that our family wasn’t exactly wanted around here. He also had to experience the physical and mental abuse of our monstrous father but had somehow still managed to create enough space in his heart to worry about his brother’s well-being.
“I’ll do it.” I barely whispered.
Nic blinked. “What did you say?”
“I’ll do it,” I spoke loudly. “I’ll marry the girl and save our family’s honor. I’ll do it.”
“You will?” Christian spoke, shocked.
I smirked. “Yes, I’ll fool her and play pretend until I’ve cleared the Garcia name.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“And after that…I’ll divorce her.”
AriaTiago stepped aside to let me into his apartment."So, what do you think?" he asked, shutting the door behind us.I walked in awkwardly, hesitating my next move as he closed the door behind us. My guts told me to run back to the hotel and see what Vince was up to, but I also knew that was none of my business.After all, he was the one who had left me with his friend.When I didn’t respond, Tiago gently placed his hand behind my back and guided me further into the apartment, where I couldn’t help but admire the sleek, modern vibe of the place. He seemed well-organized."You’ve got a nice house," I commented, impressed. “It looks clean and everything.”"Thanks," he replied, glancing back at me with a smile. “Come on, let me give you a tour.”Tiago led me around the house and was rather talkative, yet my mind was still stuck at Vince. Would he be with her?Livia?I saw the way he looked at her, and I couldn’t blame him. She was gorgeous, kind, smart—normal…I hadn’t even noticed we
AriaI walked up the stairs of a beautiful restaurant, following behind Vince as we were led to a dimly lit hall. Through the glass windows, I could already see a guy standing inside, waving with a bright smile plastered on his lips.One of the waiters opened the door, and the guy immediately pulled Vince into a warm hug. As he looked at me over Vince’s shoulder, I took the opportunity to study his face. He was handsome and toned, with beautiful golden brown curls, but the thing that made him likable without having to say a word was his sincere and kind smile.That was something I could never manage, no matter how hard I tried—because nine out of ten times, my smile was forced.When Vince let go of him, he took a step forward and gave me a polite nod. I tried to smile back, feeling a bit out of place.“Your wife?” he asked, his tone cheerful.Vince nodded and walked over to place his hand behind my back before gently pushing me forward. I stuck out my hand, but instead of shaking it,
VincenzoWe had finally arrived at our hotel in Miami. I guess it was supposed to be a honeymoon, but all I could think about was how long this trip was going to take and what kind of drag it could turn out to be with Aria by my side.To avoid any suspicion or negative comments, I booked a shared suite for Aria and me. It was all for appearances because I had also made sure the suite was big enough for separate rooms, separate beds.Getting too close to her was the last thing I wanted. The idea of being in such a small space with her was already suffocating enough.My focus was on Tiago and persuading him quickly so we could head back as soon as possible. The less time I spent here, the better.I pulled out my phone, expecting to see a text from Livia—but there was nothing. I couldn’t help but wonder what she and Dace were doing at the moment.Would they be okay?Settled in, alright?As I was the one to ask her on the trip, it made perfect sense for me to check up on her. Before doing
VincenzoA belated honeymoon?What the hell was I even thinking?The idea had popped out of my mouth before I could fully think about it, and it was all because of guilt.Aria’s excitement had me regretting the words almost immediately as I did not want to give her the wrong impression. She said she loved me, and here I was—taking her on a honeymoon. It wasn’t helping my case.As much as I appreciated her love, my opinion of her hadn’t changed. She was not someone I could see myself with, and I would never love her. I didn’t even know if I could.I pitied her because she was raised in a mess of a family she didn’t ask for. I pitied her because she didn’t know any better.A deep sigh escaped my lips as I carefully thought about my next steps. I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, be alone with her, and I would pull every string to avoid that from happening.Sprinting down the stairs, I headed to Luis, who was in the back, studying with Livia. His results had been good the past few days. A good rea
Aria"And this is why I've decided we need someone for the tech, someone to drive the truck, someone to go over the numbers, and three people—obviously you and me, to go to the auction," I shared my conclusion. I turned to Vince, who was watching me attentively, taking in every word.No words left his mouth."What do you think?" I asked, awaiting his answer."I think your brains must be hurting from planning it all out," Vince joked.I chuckled nervously. Planning did have a way of making my head spin, but I enjoyed doing it. Better yet, I already had my whole life planned out, including this very moment."I think it's a good idea," Vince admitted. "I just don't know where we can find more people from the outside who aren't afraid to work against the Lambertis." He furrowed his brows, deep in thought.I thought about the first person qualified for the job to drive the truck. Angelo.He was trustworthy, on my side, and as a Marino, knew his way around the business.Vince didn’t really
VincenzoWe sat in utter silence, on the opposite side of each other, without either of us saying a word.Aria had left the scene to give us some privacy. My eyes tried to avoid Serena, mainly because I didn’t want to get bewitched by the woman who held the power to do so.The moment I did look up, I saw Serena carrying the same smile on her lips as she always did, but this time it wasn’t because she was happy to see me. It was because she was unsure of what to say.“Vince?”Before she could say something else, I pulled out the necklace and threw it on the table. “Here,” I spoke, coldly.Her eyes widened as she grabbed the small piece of jewelry and balled it in her fist. “Did you find it?” She asked. “Who took it?”There it was again.Who took it?Where was it?The question added to my irritation. "I'm not doing this again, Serena," I told her. “I’ve already done it with Christian, I’m not doing it with you.”"I... I'm sorry," Serena looked apologetic, shaking her head. "You're right