Page 111 of The Arrogant's Surrender

The first time I called her Shelley, when I captured her breaking into Brooklyn Foster’s family home, she looked stunned. But in the end, she understood there was no point in protesting or pretending her name wasn’t Shelley. I knew who she was, and nothing she said would convince me to change her fate. One monster recognizes another.

"If you’re not going to kill me, what’s your plan? I have a lot of money."

"Then we have that in common, Shelley. I don’t need your money."

The fear returns. "I don’t understand."

"There are fates worse than death. You should know that by now. When my friends asked me to find you, when they told me what you did to Brooklyn, my first thought was: fuck . . .this idiot is going to be the first woman I kill."

"You said you don’t kill women."

"Exactly. Besides, there’s something you need to know about me. I’m vindictive, Shelley. I believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." I step closer to her. "I took my time studying a way to destroy you without killing you."

I point the gun at her head, and seconds before pulling the trigger, I warn her, "It requires precision, calculation. I’m a meticulous guy. Everything I do is perfect."

"What are you talking about?"

"Say goodbye to the world you know, Shelley Edward. I hope you enjoy your eternal sleep."

Brooklyn

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Athanasios and Brooklyn's Wedding Day

Months Later

"My God,I should’ve waited until the baby was born! I look like a barrel."

"What an exaggeration!" my mother-in-law says. "But you’ll probably have to go on a serious diet afterward, especially if our boy takes after his father. I gained almost sixty pounds during my pregnancy with Athanasios."

"Sixty?" Madison and I ask almost at the same time.

"Yes, he was born weighing almost nine pounds."

"Lord, by the end of this pregnancy, I’m going to need to be carried around. My feet are already killing me at six months."

"But you’ll lose the weight quickly. You’re young," my mom reassures me. "Now, enough talking, or we risk Silas, Soraya, and Joseph getting themselves dirty and walking down the aisle covered in filth."

The two boys are ring bearers, and Soraya is a flower girl. They look adorable in their formal outfits, but Eleanor is right:all that cuteness won’t last long if we’re not careful. It rained yesterday, and there are still small puddles in the garden.

The wedding will be outdoors, at the house Athanasios bought for us in New Canaan, near his parents.

Eleanor considered moving closer to us as well, but both Madison and the Kostanidis family protested, and I’m fine with that. I think it’s only fair that, just as I have Medeia, my sister should also have the support of our mom.

My mother-in-law will never be the sweetest person, but she is loyal and incredibly helpful, and to my surprise, the twins adore her.

We decided on a mixed ceremony, with a Catholic celebrant from my side and an Orthodox one from Athanasios’s family. He told me he’s doing it mostly for his mother, as he’s actually an atheist.

I don’t have any issues with blessings—the more, the better. What I truly want is to marry the man I love and leave the past behind.

He hasn’t mentioned Shelley Edward again, and once, when I asked, he simply said:You’re safe.It was both terrifying and comforting.

"Ready?" my father-in-law asks.

"As ready as I’ll ever be."

Five minutes later, I’m walking down the red carpet, focusing on not crying because I feel like a fairy tale princess.

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