Page 32 of Ruthless Prince

I give Mr. Moore a nod. “This weekend, it is.”

That night, I’m in my bathroom brushing my teeth when someone knocks on the door. Opening it, I see Ellie.

“Vincent, we need to talk.”

I spit out my toothpaste. “Yeah?”

“Are you sure about this? Do you want to marry me?”

“It’s not about what either of us wants. It’s about protecting you, Ellie. If I marry you, I can take you away from your father.”

“But you don’t want to actually marry me.”

“I’m still getting to know you,” I admit.

“You had your face between my legs,” she hisses. “I think you know me pretty well by now.”

“And we can do that again once we’re married. Hell, we can do more than that, Ellie. You’ll be mine.”

“But do you really want to be mine?” she asks. “If you had your way, would you marry me?”

I hesitate and realize too late it’s a mistake.

She turns away from me. “I get it. This isn’t my choice either.”

I grab her hand, stopping her from walking away. “Ellie, neither of us has a choice. But I’ll make the most of it. I’ll protect you. I can promise you that.”

“And I’ll try to do the same. Protect you from my father,” she explains. “But let’s not pretend either of us is exactly happy about being forced into a marriage before we’re ready.” She pulls her hand away and leaves before I can say anything more.

ELLIE

My wedding dress is slightly ill-fitting. My father had me buy one with only a couple of days to spare before my wedding day. It’s not a perfect fit, but it will do.

I try to smile in the mirror. I like Vincent. No. I know I more than like him. I let him touch me when no one else has touched me like that before. A life with him won’t be bad at all.

So … why am I not happy?

Because I’m being forced into this. Once again, my father is dictating my entire life, and I’m powerless to do anything about it.

On my wedding day. he takes me to the church in my ill-fitting wedding dress. Vincent is already there, standing at the end of the aisle next to a reverend. There’s no music playing as Father walks me down the aisle. This isn’t about love and romance. This is for my father to control me. I went against his rules when I let Vincent touch me, so now, he’s trying to regain control of the situation.

He's the only witness. The rest of the church is startlingly empty.

Vincent takes my hand as Father passes me off to him. Once again, I don’t get to choose my own destiny. It’s chosen for me.

I listen to the reverend start his vows and stare into Vincent’s eyes, trying to seek comfort there. But he can’t quite meet my eye.

“Vincent,” I murmur, interrupting the reverend. “Look at me.”

He sighs and looks up, meeting my gaze.

“Are you ok?” I ask.

“I will be,” is his reply.

“Shall I continue?” the reverend asks. We both nod. “Do you, Vincent Antonov, take Ellie Moore to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.” Vincent’s voice is loud and clear in the room. I wish I could sound as confident as him.

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