Page 60 of Brutal Husband

I sit forward, my whisky tumbler grasped in both my hands. “No. Listen. This marriage is about both of us, not you. Every time you’ve seen Rieta, you’ve upset her, and I’ve had to deal with the fallout. When I’ve been the one to charm her, she’s happy. The first date? That was me. Putting the ring on her finger? That was me. Putting the ring back on her finger after the disaster of an engagement party that you attended? Me.”

Finger-fucking her ass and pussy in the back of my car and then taking her to one of our clubs and fucking her raw? Me.

“Everything was fine after the second engagement party thatIhosted,” he points out.

“Did she smile?” I know Rieta didn’t smile. I would have heard it in her beautiful voice.

“It doesn’t matter if she smiles.”

I pinch my brow. Jesus fucking Christ.

Luca gets to his feet. “I don’t know why you can’t let this go. Rieta will live in the comfort that she has always enjoyed. Most women would kill for an existence such as the one I can provide her.”

That may be true, but being comfortable and being happy are different things.

I stand up as well. “What about the wedding day?”

“Whataboutthe wedding day?”

“Hundreds of people gawping at you. You’ll be exchanging vows out loud. Rieta will expect you to smile, kiss her, make her feel beautiful. Hours and hours of the reception with people and loud music. You’ll hate that.”

“You want the wedding day?” he asks with a sigh.

“I don’t care about the wedding day. I care if Rieta enjoys her wedding day. I want her to have a happy memory to look back on, and you’re just going to fuck it up.”

Luca grits his jaw. “Fine. You do the wedding day. I’ll take over that night at the reception. Ten o’clock. It should be winding down by then. The honeymoon will be fine as she’ll be distracted by Paris, and then things will get back to normal around here, thank fucking Christ.”

A bitter taste fills my mouth. I want the wedding night. I want all the nights. I don’t want Luca touching my woman.

“Why don’t we renegotiate this marriage plan?”

Luca’s eyes narrow. “After all this time we’ve invested in Rieta, and you want to call it off?”

“I meant renegotiate it between you and me. I’ll be Rieta’s husband.”

“We’re not changing things now.”

“Do you love Rieta?”

My twin brother gazes back at me, a cold expression in his eyes. I’ve tried to mimic that expression while staring into the mirror, and I haven’t even come close. I don’t even know what muscles he’s using, or if there’s something messed up going on inside his head that I can’t fathom. Luca and I might look identical, but inside, I think we’re completely different. Apart from one important thing.

Apparently, we both want the same woman.

“We already agreed. She’s going to be my wife,” he says.

“But do youloveher?” I ask, louder and angrier than before. As I keep talking, I start to shout. “It’s a simple question. Do you love her? Will you grow to love her after you’re married? Is this woman going to be everything to you? You should have felt something for her by now. You should know one way or another whether you want to spend the rest of your life with her.” I’m breathing hard after my rant, and I can feel sweat breaking out on my brow.

I’m falling in love with her, I want to yell at the top of my lungs.Don’t fucking touch her.

The silence goes on, and a strange expression comes into Luca’s eyes.

Pity.

He shakes his head. “Get a grip. Rieta is just a woman, and women are not that important. She’s my fiancée, and how I feel about her is my business. You’re going to be comfortable for the rest of your life, and so is she. That’s all that matters.”

“Rieta and I are going to be comfortable? Like Rieta and I are your pets? Is that how you see us?”

Luca sighs and turns away. “I can’t talk to you when you’re being ridiculous like this.”

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