Page 33 of Bears Not Included

I have vague, drowsy memories of being bathed, fed a sandwich and chocolate, and given more water. I remember curling my legs up as I lay on the ultra-comfortable bed and being tucked in. I don’t think I even dreamed while I was asleep.

But something feels incredibly strange on my finger. I lift my left hand and almost collapse backward. I don’t know much about jewelry, but it feels as if I’m wearing millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds on my ring finger.

Oh god.

I remove the wedding ring immediately and throw it as far away from me as I can. I never would have imagined my fairytale adventure turning into a nightmare, but it just happened.

The bedroom is so big it could be a house on its own. There’s only one word that springs to mind: luxury.

I’m in their house.

But all I want is to go home. I have to call Faith. My father is going to kill me.

I look around the room for my clothes, hoping they’re here somewhere. But the room is pristine; the only thing out of place is me.

I open the closet doors and reel back. The walk-in closet looks like a luxury department store. Rails and rails of clothing blind me. There are over a hundred pairs of shoes, more, I’m sure many, many more.

Handbags, purses, and jewelry are stored in glass cases. I immediately close the doors. This room clearly belongs to some other girl.

Without a change of clothes, I’m forced to leave the room as I am. Barefoot in a men’s t-shirt that’s stained with breast milk.

My hand flies to my mouth as I’m catapulted back to the basement of the cottage, where, at every turn, my life was at risk. Instead, I was made to leak milk from my breasts, and then I humiliated myself when I orgasmed on a chair that vibrated.

That wasn’t all. I then tried to use the evidence of my uncharacteristic arousal to escape a set of handcuffs that kept me bound to the bed.

My nightmare doesn’t stop there, either.

I’m no longer a virgin. Oh god, I’m married to three men. Not ordinary men. They're the richest men in the world, and I’m married to them. Me.

But I never signed anything, so they don’t own me in any way, and they’re not going to get away with forging my signature. I’ll fight them down to my nails.

The only thing I use is in the bathroom where I find a brand-new toothbrush still in its packaging. I brush my teeth and splash water on my face, but nothing can take away the terrified look entrenched in my features.

Not wasting another moment, I swing open the bedroom door and immediately step back as I’m bombarded by a fresh, bouncy, blond-haired girl with perfectly applied makeup and six-inch shoes. She looks no older than eighteen at that.

“You’re finally awake,” she shrieks, then hugs me. Thank god the blotches on the T-shirt are dry. “I’ve been waiting forever for you. You must be starved.” She snaps her fingers, and a long line of servants push in carts of food covered with cloches.

I have no idea who she is.

She hugs me again. “Celine. I’m Celine Clay. I’m their niece. Deacon’s, Callen’s, and Mason’s niece. I’m so happy you’re here. It’s been very lonely being in the Ursid family recently. But you’re here,” she shrieks again. “And you’re the new Ursid bride and squee.” She bounces from foot to foot, holding her face in pure excitement.

“I’m not married. Not to anyone. Not to your uncles either. I didn’t sign anything. They forged my signature, so it means nothing.”

I can’t believe I’m bypassing all pleasantries and getting right down to the real thing. I don’t belong here. And this poor girl doesn’t deserve me being this way to her when she’s clearly innocent.

“Oh, no. It means everything. You can take them to the highest court in the world, and every single judge or whatever will tell you it’s real, even if they know it’s not. You are so married to them, like, solidly. I don’t know how these things work, but your marriage is like a thing now,” Celine says as she shrugs.

“It’s on record. Filed. That’s the word I’m looking for. It’s been filed and is a public record… is that what they say? Basically, you can’t marry anyone else because you’re already married. They have that much power.”

“No one has—”

“No. You were going to say no one has that much power? You don’t know, do you?” She doesn’t wait for me to answer.

“Oh, but they do have all that power. They may run Ursid Enterprises for the world to see, but they’re also the heads of the Ursid Syndicate, which is basically the biggest organized crime syndicate in the world.”

“What?”

“Truth,” Celine says, nodding enthusiastically.

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