Page 66 of Malicious Wedding

“He fell in love. That’s not the same thing.”

“That’s right, your brother fell in love, but he fell in love with the one girl he knew he could never have. The one girl he knew would ruin everything. Jan Minda couldn’t accept that his precious little baby girl slept with a dirty Irishman, much less got pregnant by him.”

She sits back, jaw working. “You don’t think falling in love is a better reason than most?”

“I think love needs to be controlled.”

“Iain was always such a romantic, but what you’re saying—”

“Your brother was stupid,” I say, voice hard. “He knew what it meant to get involved with Minda’s daughter. He should’ve at least worn a fucking condom.”

“Like you wore one with me?”

“You’re my wife. I’m not trying to be safe with you.”

“That’s—” She looks annoyed. “You know, I’m happy it’s love and not something else.”

“Why?”

“All my life, I looked up to Iain.” She stares down at the tablecloth. “He was my big brother. Strong, fast, smart. Charming. I felt safe with him, you know? And he protected me from the bullies in the neighborhood as best he could. Iain was a good brother, and it broke my heart when he decided to follow my father’s path in life even though I begged him not to. I kept having these awful dreams where my brother would sell drugs and murder people, and it killed me, how the boy that used to keep me safe from bullies became the bully himself.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her that’s exactly what he did.

“So you think that falling in love is a good reason to get people killed?” I ask her, wondering if she understands what she’s saying to me. If she realizes she’s giving me an excuse.

To take her, to have her, against my better judgement.

“Better than something worse. Like, drugs or revenge.”

I shake my head. “I think love is selfish. It’s the most selfish thing we can do.”

She crosses her arms, glaring at me now. “Says the man that claims to be obsessed with me.”

“Obsessed, not in love, those are different things.”

Her jaw works. “How?”

“Love doesn’t last.” She wants to protest, but I keep going. “Love is heat and flame and sizzle. Love feels good for a short time, but love grows cold and stale after a while. Obsession is something more. It’s solid, it’s steel. Love is flame, but flames always burn themselves out. Metal can last forever.”

She stares at me, face softening slightly. I don’t care if she agrees with me or not. I’ve seen what love does, what it means, and love to me has always been a small thing, a worthless thing.

What I feel is more than love. It’s consuming in a way that love could never replicate. Love is gentle and soft. My obsession is hard, dominant, unyielding.

It has lasted for longer than she realizes, and it’ll continue until the day that I’m dead.

“I’m still happy this all happened for something decent. Even if you think love is cheap, I don’t agree.”

I push my chair back, standing. “Let’s go.”

“Where? We’re done, just like that?”

I hold out my hand, staring at her. “I want to show you what I mean.”

She pauses, looking uncertain, until a fire lights in her expression. She grins at me, standing, and accepts my offered palm. We walk to the door like husband and wife, and it’s the happiest I’ve felt in a long time. Having her by my side, looking at her across a table as we share a good meal, talking about our lives like we’ve known each other forever—that’s all I’ve ever wanted.

Simple things. Good, solid thing. The foundation of a relationship.

I drag her into the back of the limo we took here. “Circle the block,” I instruct Fitz before putting up the barrier between us.

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