Chapter 1
Sofia
The longer I stared at the wedding dress hanging ominously in my walk-in wardrobe, the more I felt like the room around me was shrinking, making it harder and harder to breathe.
The enormous dress was a death sentence, mocking me about my impending execution.
At least, that’s what it felt like.
I’d managed to avoid Papa finding me a ‘suitable’ husband over the past few years, but my luck had finally run out. In one month, I was going to be married to a man who despised me.
A man who, four years ago, I’d lied to. A man who could barely look at me without snarling.
Miles Wolfe.
Or, Milo, as he’d once been introduced to me as.
Of all the people Papa had to marry me off to, I didn’t understand why it had to be him. The Wolfe family had been our sworn enemy since long before I was born. Yet, when a deal was presented to make a union between us and them, Papa snapped up the chance.
I didn’t think I’d ever forget the day Papa ordered me to the conference room for a meeting. I should have known something big was going to happen. Papa never included me in business dealings. But I could never have prepared myself for what had happened…
Papa had explained to Rafe and me that Hollows Bay was in dire trouble, and Miles Wolfe, along with his cousin's wife were on their way to discuss a deal. My entire body had turned as still as a statue at the mention of Miles’ name, and overwhelming dread had filled my stomach at the thought of coming face to face with him again.
I didn’t hear what else Papa had said, other than it was time to unite the families for the greater good.
But before I had time to compose myself, the door was opening, and a beautiful woman about the same age as me walked in, followed by the man I’d thought about far too often over the past four years.
A man I’d fantasized about as I’d made myself come, imagining I was on a stage, watched by hundreds of people as he claimed me for everyone to see. I managed to pull myself together enough to be polite to Riley Wolfe, but my composure fell apart the second my eyes clashed with dark, intense ones.
The same thrill of excitement I’d felt the first time my gaze had landed on him shot through me. It was followed by dormant butterflies suddenly fluttering wildly deep in my belly, only to die instantly when his eyes had hardened and filled with hate, scorching me into ashes on the spot.
“Milo,” I’d said before I could stop myself, schooling my features and doing my damned hardest to return his coldness.
“It’s Miles,” he’d replied, angrily.
As Riley had regaled the story of what had led her and Miles to be sitting at our table, I couldn’t help but sneak peeks at him from under my lashes. My breath caught almost every time I saw him looking at me, his hatred toward me rolling off him in great tidal waves.
I didn’t want to admit it, but he was as handsome as I remembered. No, that was a lie. Over the years, his body had become more defined with muscles, and soft age lines marred his sharp features, making him look even more refined.
On the night we first met, Miles had looked similar to Theo—or Ted as I’d known him—but then, Miles’ hair had been longer. Sitting at our table at the meeting with Papa, Miles had cut his hair short, and the resemblance to Theo was uncanny.
I preferred him with longer hair.
The other difference from the last time I saw him was that he looked exhausted. Weary. The reason he looked so tired became apparent the more Riley explained their story, and despite the venomous glances he was throwing my way, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for him.
After discovering who he was in Exotique, I’d managed to find bits of information about the Wolfe family.
Miles and Theo, the younger brother of Kai, were only a few months apart in age.
Not only were they cousins, they were inseparable.
When I learned that Theo Wolfe had been killed a year ago, I couldn’t help but think of Miles for a few days after.
He would have been devastated at the loss.
As the meeting continued, I had lost myself in memories of that fateful night, until it registered that Papa told Riley he wanted an alliance between us and the Wolfes. I’d managed to shake the lingering images in time to hear Riley decline Papa’s proposition for her to marry Rafe.
No one ever said no to my Papa, but she did. At that moment, I thought the torture would be over. That she and Miles would leave, and I’d never have to see him again.
How wrong I’d been.
Instead of never seeing him again, Papa promised him my hand in marriage.
Since that day, I’d begged Papa to not make me marry Miles, but Papa wasn’t hearing any of it. The deal was done, and it was my duty as the only Bianchi daughter to see it through.
There had been days when I’d considered ending my life as the countdown to the wedding began. Especially after the events that followed, where Riley and I were kidnapped, and I’d been thrown in a cell, fearing that I was going to be raped and murdered.
But no matter how many times I thought about ending it all, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave Rafe behind. He was drowning under the weight of his new responsibilities as Papa’s Second-In-Command, and I couldn’t bring myself to hurt the one person who cared about me.
So there I was. Lying on my bed, staring at a wedding dress I’d reluctantly picked out on Papa’s orders.
My mind flipped to my mama. I wished every damn day that she was still alive. I doubted she would have been able to stop the wedding; after all, she and Papa had an arranged marriage, but I would have given anything to have her pull me into her arms and tell me everything would work out in the end.
A wish that would never come true.
Still, I had one month to go. One month for a miracle to happen. One month to devise a plan to escape this life. Not that I’d managed to find a way in the past few months, but I wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
Miracles happened every day, right?
Bile crept up my throat the longer I stared at the dress. I needed to get out of my house. I needed to escape this life of misery for one last time before my nightmare truly began. And there was only one place I could go to get my emotions out.
Changing into a sparkly black cocktail dress, I messaged my personal guard, Gus, to tell him where I wanted to go, followed by a text to Paul, the manager of Bar Forty-Four, asking him to reserve a slot for me.
I’d been going to the bar since I’d returned permanently from Italy shortly after my eighteenth birthday. It was the only time I’d tried to tell Papa that I wanted more out of my life. I wanted to sing. I wanted to write music and play the piano.
Of course, Papa’s response was to tell me not to be so stupid, and that the only responsibility I would have was to be an obedient wife and a good mom.
I’d been inconsolable, but Rafe had figured out a way to help. He’d set up a deal with the manager of the bar and had somehow convinced Gus to take me whenever I wanted to go, even getting him to agree to keeping my visits to the bar a secret between the three of us.
If I didn’t have the bar to escape to, I wasn’t sure if I could have coped with the amount of feelings that consumed me every waking minute of the day. Singing was the only thing I had as an outlet for my emotions.
Sure, I could talk to Rafe, but he had enough on his plate, and my only other friend, Kat, had long since abandoned me after Papa forbade me to see her when he discovered she was the one who took me to Exotique, despite my protests.
I had no one to talk to, but singing, it allowed me to get out every emotion I carried around inside me.
A short while later, I stared out of the passenger window of Gus’ car as he drove me to the remote bar. It was later than I tended to go to the bar, but seeing as Papa and Rafe were in New York on business, it was easier to sneak out of the house with no questions asked.
Gus knew something was on my mind. We’d usually spend part of the journey making light conversation, but this time, he let me brood.
He’d been assigned to me after Papa killed Ray, my former guard.
In Papa’s eyes, Ray hadn’t done his job properly when I was able to fly home and sneak into a sex club.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake Miles and our impending nuptials from my head. Before long, the memory of the first time we spoke after the deal had been made reared to life. It was then that I learned just how much he hated me.
I make my way through the house, my mind racing with everything I’ve learned in the last twelve hours. Nerves zap through me as I head to the South Garden where Miles is waiting for me. Perhaps it’s a good thing he’s here. At least we can talk, and I can see how he really feels about the marriage.
After all, he’s the one who put the idea forward. Surely, if he hates me that much, he wouldn’t have suggested marrying me? Maybe he’d been acting to not give away the fact that we’d met before.
The warm sun hits my face, but my stomach lurches when I spot Owen in the distance. He’s one of the guards at the house, and I’ve kinda been seeing him in secret for a few weeks, but I know I need to end things with him.
One problem at a time.
I find Miles waiting for me by our huge pond, skimming stones across the surface of the water. Doing my best not to admire how muscular he looks from behind, or how tight his pants are around his ass, I make my way to him. He doesn’t turn to look at me as I step up beside him.
“Hey,” I say tentatively. His reply is to skim another stone across the pond. “I just met Kai. I’m glad he's okay; that must have been a relief for you.” I stare at his profile, his jaw clenching, but still he remains silent.