Page 56 of Corrupted Heir (Mafia Kings: Corrupted 1)

She leaned in closer and tipped my chin up to meet her gaze.

“It will be over soon,” she said in a tone that somehow managed to banish the sliver of the loneliness that was threatening to crush me.

She understood what I was feeling. This woman knew what it was like to be bartered, to be a mere pawn in a transaction. But she’d survived, and more than that, she hadn’t lost herself. No one could convince me that Maria Luca wasn’t her own woman.

“Thank you,” I said then forced myself to my feet. There was no way out of this. All I could do was move forward.

She nodded, looking me in the eyes for one long steadying moment. Then she left, leaving the door open behind her like she knew the monumental effort it would have taken me to turn that handle.

Still, it took me a few seconds to muster the strength to walk through the open doorway. The music started.Wagner’s Bridal Chorus. I’d always imagined I’d walk up the aisle to the chords ofSongbirdbyFleetwood Mac, just like my mother had done. But it didn’t matter. No part of this was the wedding I’d imagined.

I took a step. My legs felt wobbly, and out of nowhere, my father’s face flashed through my mind. I’d been so angry with him, I hadn’t even asked about having him here with me, but now I regretted it. He was supposed to be here, with his hand around my arm, keeping me steady. He was supposed to walk me down the aisle and kiss my cheek.

But instead, I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other. In all the movies I’d seen, the bride’s movements were fluid and graceful, every step in perfect harmony with the music. My movements felt stilted and uncoordinated. I could feel every eye in the pews turn toward me. Eyes that belonged to people I didn’t know, I’d never met. All strangers, staring at me as I marched to my doom.

I kept my head down, but out of the corner of my eye, I spied Leandro near the back. It surprised me to find comfort in his gaze. He smiled, just a quick quirk of his lips, but it felt like I almost had a friend amid this crowd of strangers.That’s my maid of honor.

It was enough to bolster my courage, and I looked up. Right away, my eyes found Dominic. He stood at the front of the church, dressed to the nines like he’d just walked off the runway. He was looking right at me with storm gray eyes. He was beautiful, though there was nothing feminine about him, but to have said he washandsomewouldn’t have done the man justice.

I couldn’t interpret the expression on his face since he had it arranged in his unreadable mask, but what was he thinking? Feeling? He didn’t want this any more than I did, but his shoulders weren’t slumped dejectedly, he wasn’t staring at the ground pretending he was anywhere but here. He stood unmoving, unwavering.

While I still cursed him for making me do this, his strength bolstered me. It carried me to the front of the church where a tall, gangly priest stood just behind him with a Bible clutched tightly in his hands. He had a full head of short, gray hair. It looked like a bristly mop on the top of his head.

Dominic held out his hand to me, and I took it, staring at our joined hands while he led me a few steps forward. His hand was bare, but it wouldn’t be for much longer. In a few moments, there would be a noose around both our fingers.Both. Not just mine. He was just as trapped as me, even if he’d accepted his captivity more gracefully than I had.

I clutched his hand tighter, for the first time feeling like we were both victims in this game. He squeezed back for just a moment then released me and turned his attention to the priest.

The priest spoke. His voice was deep and clear, which surprised me. I’d expected a higher pitched voice for some reason. But though his words came out clearly, I couldn’t seem to take them in. It was just noise, and with every passing second, the noise grew blurrier like it was coming to me through a tin can.

The occasional word slipped through. “Sanctity… Marriage… Lifelong commitment…” But they might as well have been gibberish. There was nothing sacred about this union. There was no commitment. Only coercion.

The priest took hold of my hand and placed it in Dominic’s.

“Dominic Luca,” the priest said.

A knot in my stomach grew tighter, but my hearing cleared. Every sound was suddenly magnified.

“Do you take Fallon Moore to be your lawfully wedded wife…” The priest’s voice resonated inside my head. “…to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

“I do,” Dominic said without hesitation. There was no quiver in his voice. His words came out just as clear, just as strong as ever.

It hadn’t escaped my attention there had been one part of the vow missing. “To love and to cherish…” It should have been in there somewhere, but I had a feeling it hadn’t been omitted by accident.

“Fallon Moore,” the priest said, turning his light brown eyes on me.

In his gaze, I could see the truth reflected back at me. He knew, and yet, here he was, playing his part in binding me to a man against my will.

“Do you take Dominic Luca to be your lawfully wedded husband…”—Every word he spoke slammed into my chest, knocking the air out of my lungs—“…to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

My lungs were empty. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak.

Dominic squeezed my hand. It was gentle, not demanding. He was lending me his strength. I grabbed hold of it and clung to it.

“I do,” I said. It came out too quiet to carry throughout the church. Would he make me say it again? I wasn’t sure I could do it.

But the priest nodded, and two rings appeared in his deeply lined hand. Two nooses. Would they squeeze the life out of Dominic too?

He picked up the smaller one, took my left hand, and slipped it onto my finger. The priest was speaking, but I paid no attention. All that existed was a pale gold band, now wrapped around my ring finger. It didn’t look like an ordinary wedding ring. It was made of two different metals that had been molded together in some way that made it look handcrafted. It was… perfect, but that made it worse, not better.

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