Page 21 of Devilish King (Valentino Empire 1)

“You’re not getting an Uber. I’ll drive you.” I take a step back and hold the door open. Returning to the living area—and to Lana and Neo’s bickeringas per usual—I clear my throat. “I’m giving Holly a ride home. You two can see yourselves out.”

Lana stands, shocking us both as she approaches and throws her arms around Holly. “I’m so glad Theo found you. Give him a chance; he’s not so bad once you get to know him.”

Holly’s eyebrows draw down. “Didn’t you just say you’d slit your wrists before you’d marry him?”

“Well, yeah, because eww. I mean, that’s just gross. It’d be like incest or something.”

“Thank you,” Holly says. I can tell she’s not feeling all that comfortable. I need to get her out of here.

“Come on, let’s go.” I lead her to the elevator and wait for the doors to close before asking, “What are you thinking right now?”

“I’m thinking… I… I’m so bloody confused I don’t know what to think.”

“What are you confused about?”

“Everything. You. Why I feel like this. I don’t even know you. Why your family is arranging marriages in the twenty-first century? The list is endless, really.”

“My family has traditions that extend way back. The kind that won’t ever go away.”

“You act like your family’s the mafia, Theo. What’s really going to happen if you say no to this engagement?”

Fuck, I can’t answer that. I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t want to tell her the truth either. The doors open to the garage, and I walk us over to the blacked-out Lamborghini.

Holly gets into the passenger’s side. She’s silently watching me, dissecting my every move. It’s not until we’re out on the road that she asks again, “Theo, tell me your family isn’t the bloody mafia. What’s going to happen if you say no to this engagement?”

“I can’t tell you that, dolcezza.”

“That you’re not in the mafia, or the part about what will happen?”

“If I say no, it will either start a war, or end with a bullet between my eyes.”

“Just my bloody luck. Move to New York, Holly. It’ll be agreatplace to start over,” she mumbles to herself.

“Holly, I will find a way out of this marriage. You and I will get our chance.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re the fucking mafia, Theo. I’m not stupid, and you just said you either have to start a war, or end up dead. And both are options I’m very fucking opposed to. I think it’s best if we just call it what it is: we’re not going to work out.”

“I’m not giving you up, Holly.”

“You don’t have a choice, Theo. You have to.”

“There’s always a choice, and I fucking choose you. I choose us.”

ChapterTwelve

Ifucking choose you.Theo’s words run wild through my head. I’m not sure if he was intending to mess me up the way he has or not. But, either way, I’m more conflicted now than I was before. I’d love to believe his pretty words. In my heart, I do believe them. In my head, however, I’m telling myself not to be so bloody naïve. To run while I still can. I should take Bray up on that offer to have a jet ready for me to fly home. That would be the smart thing to do.

Instead, I let Theo escort me down the hallway. I turn the key in the lock and open the door, placing a hand on his chest to stop him from following me inside. I can’t let him come in. I have to distance myself from him, to clear my head and come to my senses. “I need you to give me time and space.”

“Why?”

“Because in my head, I’m messed up. I need to process things. Alone.”

“You’re not alone in this, Holly. We are in this thing together. You don’t have to process anything alone.”

“I just… I can’t right now. I’m sorry.” I close the door and lock it, remembering to slide the chain in place too.

I’m so bloody exhausted, both physically and mentally. All I want to do is curl up in bed. I head for a shower. And as soon as I’m under the water, I let the tears fall. I’m so frustrated right now. I can’t do this. I can’t handle the ache that’s forming in my heart. It makes absolutely no sense. I don’t know anything about this man other than his name’s Theo, and he apparently has an arranged fiancée who he’s refusing to marry. Oh, yeah, and he’s in the bloody mafia.

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