7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Aria
“ I cannot marry you.” I can’t even believe the words that just left my mouth. This is absurd. Finn wants to marry me? That is the last thing on this planet I want.
“You will.” There’s a glee in his voice that frightens me. He means what he says. “It’s smart. If we marry, it will hurt Dante beyond repair. It will be so sweet to see.”
“That’s the only reason to marry me?”
He shoots me an incredulous look. “What other reason is there?”
“Prestige. I want to marry man worthy of me and you, Finn, are most definitely not worthy of me.”
“I’m going to knock you down from your high horse one of these days, princess. Just you wait.”
“People should marry because they want to. Because they’re in…”
“In?”
I flush, feeling stupid. “Love.”
The way he laughs at that makes embarrassment flood through me. “Love? I’m shocked you’d believe in love.”
“Why wouldn’t I believe in love?”
“Because you’re so much more than that. You have a fire in you, Aria, that I haven’t seen in many people. Don’t waste it on love.”
“I’m a girl, you idiot. I want love just as much as the next person. Ideally, I want to be in love with the man I marry.”
“I thought you just wanted a man worthy of you.”
“I do.” I stare out the window into the night sky. The world feels so expansive at night. It makes me feel more alone. “But I also want love. And I definitely do not love you.”
“You could have fooled me, princess.”
“I refuse to marry you. You cannot make me.”
He flashes me a dark grin. “If anyone can make you, it’s me, and you know it.”
“It won’t be seen as legal under the eyes of the law.”
“It won’t be hard to get a marriage certificate. And it won’t be hard to force you down the aisle. We’ll be married, Aria. It will hurt Dante beyond anything else. And being married to you will give me extra power. Your father will have no choice but to work with me.”
“Is that what you want? To work with my father?”
He snorts. “Fuck no. I don’t give a damn about your father.
But anyway I can gain power, I will take it.
And being married to Aria Romano, the daughter of Elio Romano, and close friend to Dante Moretti, gives me more power than I’ve ever had before.
It will cause chaos and destruction and I will laugh as everyone scrambles to find a solution. ”
“The solution will be to kill you and make me a widow.”
“They can try. But the Mafia prides itself on honor. If we’re married, Dante will have to honor it.”
I cross my arms and feel my chest beating erratically. “I am not going to marry you.”
“Enough of this. It’s happening.” His eyes quickly rake over me before turning back to the road. “Now, let’s get you a wedding dress and a ring. I want to make this official.”
“Why do you care if I wear a wedding dress?”
“Because I’m going to ruin this day for you, Aria. Might as well let you wear a wedding dress for it. I’m a little dramatic like that.”
“You are evil,” I whisper.
“I know.”
It’s early morning by the time we reach the bridal boutique.
The doors have just opened and Finn strides right on in, forcing me to walk beside him.
I could cause a scene inside of here. I could scream and beg for help but I know Finn has a gun on him and I know he’s not afraid to use it.
He could gun down everyone in this store and I would be partially responsible.
So, for everyone’s safety, I have no choice but to keep my mouth shut.
A woman walks over to us with a nametag that reads Amanda. “How can I help you today?”
Finn wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close. I try not to flinch. “We’re looking for a wedding dress for my lovely fiancée.”
“Well, I’m sure we can find her one. Though, it’s normally customary for the fiancé to not be here.”
“We’re not traditional.”
I force a smile on my face. “Yep. Not traditional at all.”
Amanda smiles without even noticing I’m in distress. She shows us to a rack of dresses to start looking at while she goes to pick out a few more from the back that apparently I’ll like.
“Do I really get to choose the dress I want?” I ask skeptically.
“Yes. I’m not that evil. I’ll let you wear a dress on our wedding day. And it will be of your choosing.”
“What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch.” The glint in his eyes says otherwise. I don’t believe him one bit.
But this might be my only chance to choose a dress I want and I’m not going to give up on that.
It takes all morning but I finally find the dress that looks perfect on me. It’s simple and classic. A little bit of lace on the bodice and sleeves but other than that, it’s satin white. It fits my body perfectly without any modifications.
Amanda, who helped me get into the dress, stands back in the small changing room. “You look beautiful. Your fiancé is going to love it.”
“I’m sure,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Why don’t we go show him?”
“Why don’t we?” I make my legs move as I follow Amanda to the main section of the store. Finn is lounging in a chair, looking like a man without any cares in the world. And for him, that’s true. He’s the bringer of destruction. He’s never the one hurt.
“What do we think?” Amanda asks, motioning towards my dress.
Finn’s eyes lock onto me and he sits up straighter in his seat. For a second, he looks surprised. It surprises me that I could take him by surprise.
But then his usual wicked expression takes over. “She looks beautiful.”
I shiver. I don’t want to hear Finn call me beautiful.
At least, I don’t think I do.
For just a second, I saw a flash of vulnerability in his eyes when he first saw me in this dress. I’m desperate to know but I’m not a woman who ever shows desperation. That’s for weak people and I am not weak.
“I don’t like this one,” I blurt out. It’s a complete lie but I don’t like the way Finn is looking at me.
Like he wants to both consume me and kill me at the same time.
I want him to find me ugly. I am not attending this wedding of my own accord.
By choosing a dress that I love, I worry that Finn will somehow ruin it.
That will be ‘the catch.’
“I like this one,” Finn says. “We’re getting it. Amanda, ring us up.”
“If the bride doesn’t like it, there are other dresses we can choose.”
“No,” Finn says, overriding her. “This one. Right, princess?” His smile tells me not to do anything stupid. That he will kill everyone in this room if I do.
I grew up with Mafia men, knowing the kind of things they did. I’ve always known Dante and my father were not innocent. They’ve killed people. Frankly, they’re not better than Finn is in that regard.
But Finn relishes in killing people. That’s a sort of madness I’ve never seen before and it makes him unpredictable. I can’t risk upsetting him.
“We’ll get this one,” I mutter. Amanda looks uncertain but after I nod, she nods back.
“Ok. I’ll ring you up.”
“We’ll take it right away,” Finn says. “She can keep wearing it. We’re going to get married today.”
“Oh.” The surprise on Amanda’s face is noticeable.
“Is that a problem?” Finn’s tone doesn’t allow any objections.
“No. Not at all. As long as you can pay, you can leave with the dress today if you want. It’s just… normally we have multiple versions of the dress and they need to be altered to the specific bride and –,”
“We’re taking this one!” I snap. I just want to get the dress and get out of here before Finn kills everyone.
Finn gives me a smug smile, knowing what he does to me.
Amanda finally rings us up and we leave the boutique with me in my wedding dress.
“Onto the rings,” Finn says once we’re in his car.
I feel ridiculous walking around in a wedding dress as we enter the jewelry store. People give me curious looks.
The woman behind the counter gives me a large smile. “Congratulations!”
I can barely keep the scowl off my face.
“We’re looking for some wedding rings. Also a nice diamond ring for my fiancée here. We’re getting married today.”
“Oh. Well, then… Price range?”
“Price isn’t an issue. Pick out what ring you want, princess.”
If I’m going to be stuck wearing a ring for the rest of my life to a man I hate, I might as well choose a ring that I love.
My eyes fall onto a classic princess cut diamond ring. Finn notices me eyeing it.
“That one,” he tells the woman – Sarah, her nametag reads.
Sarah gets out the ring and hands it to Finn, who grabs my hand even though I try to fight him. Sarah gives us a concerned look so I stop fighting and let Finn put the ring on my finger.
Just like the dress, it’s a perfect fit. It’s like the universe is trying to tell me something and I don’t like it.
“Perfect,” Finn practically growls.
I snatch my hand away from him the second I can.
“Now, the wedding bands,” he says.
We leave the store a little bit later with matching wedding rings for our wedding that I most definitely do not want to take part in.
“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” I grumble.
“I’m shocked you didn’t make more of a scene at the dress shop and now the jeweler’s.”
“I was trying to prevent you from killing anybody. I don’t know what you’re fully capable of but what I do know is that you haven’t hesitated to kill people. You even killed those men that you called your friends.”
He snorts. “Those fuckers weren’t my friends. They were just men it was fun to hang around and get drunk with on occasion. But we were never friends.”
I stare at Finn with curiosity. “Do you even have any friends? Anyone you truly love in your life?”
“My mom,” he says simply.
“And your brother.”
He side-eyes me. “My brother betrayed me.”
“But you could have killed him last night and you didn’t. You let him live. That means something.”
His hands clench the steering wheel tighter until his knuckles turn white. “Don’t speak to me about my brother. About things you don’t understand.”
“I’m about to be your wife, Finn. Shouldn’t you start to trust me?”
“We both know I don’t trust you. Don’t try playing games with me, princess. It’s not going to work.”