Chapter 7
Sofia
“Sofe, you look stunning,” Rafe said when I stepped out of my walk-in wardrobe, having spent the last few hours being pulled around like a ragdoll by five stylists.
“Thanks,” I replied glumly.
The wedding dress felt like it was constricting my lungs, making it impossible to breathe. Or maybe it was the unimaginable burden of dread I’d been carrying since the moment I opened my eyes this morning.
Today was the day.
In less than an hour, I was going to become Mrs. Wolfe.
Swallowing the nausea that threatened to erupt and cover my crisp white dress, I met my reflection in the mirror, my eyes filled with sorrow.
Rafe was right, the dress was stunning. Strapless, the plain satin corset fitted snugly against my breasts, the stylist having tied the ribbon at the back tight enough to squeeze my curves, but not so tight that I couldn’t breathe.
Underneath the skirt were layers and layers of petticoats, making it puff out, and hundreds of tiny diamantes were embedded into the tulle material that covered the outer layer of satin.
On my feet, I wore silver sandals with a five-inch heel that would give me a little extra height when I stood next to Miles.
My brown hair was styled in an elaborate bun, held together with a diamante clasp that my veil was attached to, and a few curled tendrils were left hanging down to frame my face.
I ripped my gaze away from the mirror. I looked like a princess, but it was the last thing I felt.
Sensing my despair, Rafe came to stand next to me, turning me to face him, and delicately lifting my chin with his fingers. He was wearing a black suit, the same suit everyone in the wedding party would be wearing, with a white carnation tucked into the breast pocket.
“I hate this is happening to you,” he said, his voice low in case any of the stylists packing their makeup and equipment up overheard. “If there was any way I could stop this from happening, I would. In a fucking heartbeat.”
I took his hand, needing comfort from the only person on this planet who could give me it. “I know you would,” I replied, trying not to let tears form and ruin the makeup the stylist had spent hours doing.
Rafe stepped closer, his mouth to my ear as he whispered, “I’m going to get you out of this, Sofe. But I need you to be strong while I figure it out. Just hold on for me, and I promise I’ll find a way to end this sham of a marriage.”
Failing to hold the tears back, a droplet slid down my cheek unbidden. “You and I both know there is no way out. Papa would never let me divorce Miles. It’ll bring shame to the family.”
“There are other ways,” Rafe replied, a darkness to his voice I’d never heard from him before.
“Meaning?” Shock coated my voice. Surely he wasn’t implying what I thought he was, right?
Before he could answer, a knock rapped at the door. I brushed my tear away as Rafe took a step back, telling whoever was outside to come in. Expecting it to be Papa, both Rafe and I wore equally confused expressions when the last person I thought it would be stepped inside.
“I’m sorry for interrupting,” Kai said, his customary scowl set on his face whenever he saw my brother. There was no love lost between the two. “I’d like a moment with Sofia. Alone.”
His tone brokered no room for argument, yet Rafe puffed his chest up before taking a step to stand protectively in front of me. “Not a fucking chance.”
Kai’s lips twitched into a smirk, his assessing gaze taking in Rafe’s stance. “Let me rephrase that. Get your ass out of here so I can talk to your sister without you sticking your fucking nose in where it’s not wanted.”
“It amuses me that you think you have any power to order me around in my own damn house, Wolfe.”
Placing my hand on my brother’s arm, I gave him a placating squeeze. The last thing I needed was for these two to start arguing. Besides, I was curious about what Kai wanted; we’d never really spoken much before. “It’s okay, Rafe. You can go.”
“I’m not leaving you alone with this maniac,” Rafe sneered, refusing to pull his glare away from Kai.
“What do you think I’m going to do to her? I’m not going to hurt her. She’s about to become my family.”
Rafe’s features twisted into sheer outrage. “She will never be your family.”
Not giving a damn that he was antagonizing my brother, Kai’s smirk widened. “The ring soon to be on her finger says otherwise.”
A deep growl erupted from Rafe’s chest. He went to take a step toward Kai, but I quickly yanked his arm, tugging him to look at me. “Rafe, please, just go. Papa will be here any minute to walk me down the aisle. Let me talk to Mr. Wolfe.”
Betrayal flashed across Rafe’s face, and he opened his mouth to argue, but seeing the silent plea in my eyes, the tension drained from his body, and his shoulders slumped.
“Fine. But I’m waiting outside,” he said, leaning down to give me a light kiss on the cheek. Turning, he nudged Kai’s shoulder as he barged past him, hissing out a warning. “Don’t fucking make her cry, Wolfe. She’s distraught enough with having to marry your cousin.”
The door slammed behind him, and it was only then that I realized the stylists had at some point vacated the room, leaving me alone with Kai, whose jaw was clenched as he stared over his shoulder at the now closed door.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Wolfe?” I asked nervously, fiddling with the material of my dress.
Kai Wolfe was perhaps one of the most intimidating men I’d ever met, and that said a lot, seeing as I’d spent my life surrounded by brutal men who worked for my papa.
His eyes found mine, and his features relaxed. The scowl he’d worn while speaking to Rafe disappeared, replaced with a kind smile which did nothing to settle the nerves in my belly. “I meant what I said. You’re about to become my family. I think you can drop the formalities.”
I lowered my gaze. When Kai wasn’t being a mean, scary bastard, he was quite attractive. No wonder Riley couldn’t keep her hands off him. “What can I do for you, Kai?”
“I wanted to ask you a favor.”
My head whipped up. “A…a favor?”
Kai ran a thumb over his lips, almost like he was debating his next words. When his dark eyes, similar to Miles’, landed on the couch tucked in the corner of my room, he waved a hand. “Can we sit?”
“Sure.”
He followed me over to the couch, my mind spinning. What favor could Kai possibly ask of me?
With some difficulty due to the size of my skirt, I perched on the edge. Kai sat next to me, crossing one long leg over the other, and his scrutinizing gaze burned into my skin as I waited patiently for him to speak.
“Look, you didn’t know Miles before…” he paused, scrubbing a hand down his face. “You didn’t know him before Theo was killed. Those two, they weren’t just cousins. They were the best of friends. They did everything together.”
A pang of sorrow hit me in the chest as I tried to keep my features schooled and not give away that I did, in fact, know both Theo and Miles.
Although to say I knew them was stretching the truth, how much did I really know about either of them after only one night?
Nothing either of them learned about me was the truth.
Oblivious to my brief distraction, Kai continued. “When Theo died, a huge part of Miles died too. I thought once we’d dealt with who was responsible, Miles might be able to start moving on, but…it seems like he’s getting worse, and I don’t know how to help him.”
An awkward atmosphere descended around us at the hint of vulnerability Kai was showing. I’d only ever seen him show emotion toward Riley, and while part of me wanted to take his hand to offer my condolences, I kept them firmly in my lap.
His intense eyes bore into mine, holding me prisoner on the couch.
“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t interfere in Miles’ business, but he’s saved my ass on more than one occasion, and I won’t stand back and watch him slowly kill himself.
That favor I need to ask,” he said, reminding me why he was here in the first place.
“I need you to give Miles a chance. He may come across as a miserable bastard, and believe me, I know sometimes he can be an unbearable fuckwit. But underneath it all, he’s a broken man.
He’s got the biggest, kindest heart you’ll ever find, and when he loves, he loves fiercely, but he lost that part when Theo died.
I think you’re what he needs to help him find that part again, but you need to give him a chance, even when he wants to push you away. ”
Stunned, all I could do was gape at Kai. He was asking the impossible of me. Miles had made it abundantly clear that he would never, never, allow me to be part of his life.
‘Don’t think for one second that just because we’re stuck with each other, I want anything to do with you.’
He’d said that to me the second time we’d met after he and Papa agreed to the marriage, and every time since then, he’d been nothing but closed off to me. Why on earth Kai thought I was the person to help Miles find himself again was beyond me.
Right at that moment, the threat Papa had made the night before swirled in my head. He wanted me to seduce Miles and get pregnant. Kai wanted me to help put him back together.
The weight of the world was suddenly on my shoulders, yet with the way Kai was waiting, a hopeful gleam in his eyes, I couldn’t find it in me to say that I wouldn’t at least try with Miles.
“I…I can try, but-” I broke off to swallow the lump forming in my throat. “Miles hates me. I’m not sure why you think I’m the person who can help him.”
Kai stood. Apparently, the conversation was over. He buttoned his jacket as I craned my neck to look up at him. “He doesn’t hate you, Sofia. He’s just terrified to let another person in. He’s shit scared of having his heart ripped out again.”
Wishing me luck for the ceremony, Kai left me alone to brood. I closed my eyes, my head in total turmoil, but I had less than a few minutes to attempt to put my thoughts into order before the wedding co-ordinator was knocking on my door, telling me it was time.
With my heart in my throat, I silently followed her through the house, my heels tapping on the marble floor, and my heart racing a gazillion beats a minute.
Bright sunlight streamed into the hall from the open doors leading to the garden where the wedding was being held. Every part of me wanted to bolt. To run from the house and never look back, but that was impossible.
Not only would I have to find a way past Papa’s guards, but Kai had brought a small army of his men to protect our house while the wedding celebrations were underway. It seemed like no one was taking any chances of allowing the wedding to be ambushed.
The co-ordinator led me down the concrete steps into the grounds of our garden. In the distance, the faint chatter from the wedding guests reached my ears, and a thick knot tightened in my stomach.
I’d always thought our family garden was beautiful; Papa insisted that the grounds were always in pristine condition in memory of my mom. Today, I didn’t find the comfort I usually felt when I strolled them.
Reaching Papa, who was waiting near a row of tall evergreen shrubs that had been specifically planted for the wedding, the wedding co-ordinator shoved a huge bouquet of startling red roses into my hands and fussed with my veil, pulling it over my face.
Despite the veil not preventing me from seeing or breathing, claustrophobia set in, and if it were possible, my heart raced even quicker.
A panic attack loomed, made worse when the co-ordinator spoke into a little microphone attached to her collar, telling whoever she was speaking to that I was ready.
I wasn’t ready, but it wasn’t like I had a say in the matter.
Papa, who hadn’t even acknowledged how I looked in my dress, offered me his arm. I looped mine through, the intense nausea still threatening to explode from me. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I told myself that I could do this.
One step at a time, that was all I had to do.
“Are you ready?” Papa said when soft music started playing from the string quartet situated behind the evergreens.
“Yes, Papa.”
One step at a time.
“Good. And you remember what we discussed last night?” I nodded. Like I could ever forget. I’d spent the best part of the night staring at the ceiling, replaying his words. “Don’t let me down, Sofia. There is a lot riding on this union with the Wolfes.”
Trapping my bottom lip between my teeth to stop it from quivering, the wedding co-ordinator turned her attention to us, thankfully stopping me from having to reply to Papa.
I wasn’t sure I would be able to speak without bursting into tears or throwing myself at his feet and imploring him to stop the ceremony.
“Now,” she said, giving Papa’s back an encouraging nudge.
Taking the cue, Papa tugged my arm, leading me to the gap between the evergreens. As the space opened up, my knees began to shake. Rows upon rows of people stood, all eyes fixed on Papa and me as we began our way down the white carpet that had been laid atop the grass.
Ignoring their adoring smiles and not giving myself a second to take in the beautiful pink and white flower arrangements running the length of the aisle, my eyes sought out Rafe.
He stood right at the front, and even with the distance between us, I could sense his anguish. Refusing to look anywhere else, I kept my gaze on him, his silent reassurance pushing me forward.
One step at a time.
It was only when Papa led me past Rafe that I realized we’d reached the end of the aisle. Pulling me to a stop, Papa stood in front of me to lift my veil. He leaned forward, kissing my cheek with a fake adoring smile planted on his face.
When he stepped out of the way, my breath hitched, caught at the murderous look on my very soon-to-be husband’s face.