Page 35 of Midnight Wedding

I’ve done stupid things. Crawled through broken glass to poke my head into the boiler room of a falling-down abandoned factory. Climbed to the top of a cellphone tower just to say I did. But having unprotected sex with a murderer is by far the dumbest shit I’ve ever gotten into.

And now he’s going out totake care of it.

I know what that means. He’s going to come back with pills. Plan B, but no, it’s too late for that. Abortion pills then. Or maybe a doctor to do something to me. I put my hands on my belly and feel chilly and sick all over. I haven’t stopped shaking since he left.

Can I let him do this to me? Can I let him force me to have an abortion?

I should want one, honestly. I can’t have a baby right now, much less with a total freaking stranger. Much less with a stranger that killed someone. Whoever Arsen really is, he’s dangerous as hell and involved with some really shady stuff.

I should want totake careof this baby and move the hell on with my life.

Except I don’t. It’s sickening, but I don’t. The idea makes my heart feel like it’s going to sink into my guts and decompose in my colon. I never really imagined myself as a mother before, but there’s a baby in me, whether I like it or not, and I can’t justtake careof anything.

I yelp when there’s a noise at the door. I look around for a weapon, but what the heck am I going to do? A full five-foot-four with a bush of auburn hair and my stupid little nose ring? I’ll run at them screaming like a banshee only to get knocked on my ass.

But it doesn’t come to that.

Arsen enters the apartment. He’s carrying a big black garment bag and he kicks the door shut again behind him. He barely glances at me as he stomps back into the bedroom. I follow after, feeling like he’s about to zip me up and drag my corpse back out.

“Those are for you,” he says and gestures at the bed.

It takes a second to process. The garment bag’s unzipped and lying open. Inside is a simple white wedding dress. It looks like it’ll fit me, more or less, and it’s actually very pretty. Some lace, a little conservative, but with a nice satiny sheen.

Beside the dress is a black ring box.

“What the fuck is all this?” I blurt out, mouth hanging open.

He turns to me, shoulders hunched slightly like he’s got a headache. “Don’t make this hard.”

“Makewhathard?” I gesture wildly. “That’s a wedding dress. And that better not be a fuckingringnext to it.”

He rubs the bridge of his nose. “I already got lectured for this once.”

“Forwhat?”

“Tigran’s on the way over with the priest. None of this stuff was easy to find at this hour, by the way.”

“Priest?” I nearly choke on the word. I storm over to the ring box and flip open the lid.

I scream and throw it at the pillows.

Diamond. Big-ass diamond. Princess cut and glittery, with other little diamonds all around it. A beautiful engagement ring and probably cost a small fortune, especially at this hour.

I whirl around to find Arsen glaring at me like somehow, I’m the one in the wrong here.

“I am absolutely god damnnotgoing to marry you,” I yell.

His lip twitches and he lowers his chin. “Yes, you are.”

“Like fucking hell I am. Are you crazy? We don’t know each other. I watched you kill a guy!”

“All the more reason,” he says, smirking now.

Fucking hell. The blood drains from my face. “Are you forcing me to marry you right now? Are you threatening me? That’s freaking… that’s blackmail.”

He’s grinning huge like this is some amusing joke. “I’m offering you a choice. That’s all.”

“Some fucking choice.Marry me or die.” I do my best impression of his deep voice. It comes across a bit mocking, which is the point. “What is wrong with you?”

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