10. Serena #2
“Marriage is a commitment to life together,” Mayor Castillo continued. “It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other human relationship can equal, a physical and emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.”
I would have felt better if the mayor just gave the cheap, generic vows and let us get the hell on with this sham.
I made myself look Miles in the eye. I hope he knew I’d never be his, I needed to remind myself to not let those pesky emotions come back. But his eyes…they were still impossibly kind, impossibly open, full of wonder. He’d been through hell, and now he was marrying someone who didn’t deserve him.
“Do you, Miles, take Serena to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” he said.
“And do you, Serena, take Miles to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, as long as you both shall live or this business arrangement runs its course?”
I wasn’t about to lose it.
This was a game I had to win. I had to prove I was a champion.
To my mother. To Jenese.
The silence was deafening, and I felt everyone staring. Mama’s glare, Daddy’s frown, Laurene’s thinned lips, and Gigi’s arched brow.
“I do,” I said, resolute.
Nothing was going to stop me from making King Developments the number one real estate company in this town and state.
“I officially declare you husband and wife.”
Miles and I stared at each other, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I hated that I still felt something standing this close to him.
I hated I couldn’t name what it was.
“You can kiss your bride,” Dante said, but gave us a very strange look.
Miles hesitated before finally cupping my face—if you could even call it that. His fingers barely grazed my skin, more like a doctor assessing a patient rather than a man about to kiss his wife.
I remembered the first time he kissed me, under the magnolia tree behind the tennis courts at his parents’ home.
“You know I’d fight the world for you, right?” he’d whispered, low and raw.
I remembered thinking I could fall in love with him right there .
His mouth met mine, and the heat of it—the familiarity—shook something loose inside me.
It was something between hunger and heartbreak, like he didn’t know if he wanted to like it or destroy me.
I told myself to be still. I hated the instinctive way my hands shot up, my fingers digging into the rough wool of his jacket lapels to keep myself from falling.
The scent of him—oakmoss, citrus, and something distinctly him —pulled me under.
His palm against my spine, dragging me closer like he didn’t care who saw. Like he had never stopped wanting this.
When he pulled back, the loss was immediate.
Dante smirked. “Congratulations. A new heavenly match for this town.”
“You have the weekend to get acclimated to one another before your sister’s art exhibit, which you will attend together,” Mama told us. “I say we get the shock over with and announce this union immediately.”
“We need more time than that,” Miles said.
Audrey’s face was a mask of diplomacy. “Miles, we don’t have much time.”
Omar nodded curtly. “Yvonne is…right.”
“A weekend isn’t enough time to really adjust to…this.” Miles looked at me. “We don’t get a honeymoon? Hell, a chance to say goodbye to our old normal?”
“Honeymoon?” Mama laughed cruelly. “There won’t be a honeymoon. What we need is to fix our companies, which is all hands on deck starting now.”
“We need more time,” he insisted.
“ Make the weekend enough,” Mama said to us. “You need to decide where you’ll live. Your place or Serena’s?”
Miles’s shoulders slumped slightly, his frustration giving way to resignation. “Serena can decide.”
The room fell silent, all eyes turning to me.
“We’ll stay at my place,” I said finally, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. “It’s more practical.”
What?
“And you.” Mama looked at me, ignoring Miles entirely. “I assume you’ve sorted out the Harrington estate.”
I inhaled, Jenese flashing in my mind.
“Yes.”
Mama smiled. “That can be the first property King Developments and Whitmore Ventures partner on to show everyone that our companies are fine. No unsafe work conditions, no environmental disasters.” She glared at Dante. “That satisfy you?”
“Immensely,” he said.
Mama nodded and turned back to me and Miles.
“First, there will be no personal discussions regarding your marriage outside of this room. Whatever you feel or have felt, it stays between you two. Be at the gallery with big fucking smiles on. Everyone else here will keep the nature of this marriage to themselves.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“Second,” my mother continued, “you’ll need to start thinking about your future together—not just as a couple, but as business partners.
You need to have a plan by Monday. We’re merging the companies whether you’re ready or not.
Miles, with your failing track record, I’m sure you can learn a lot from Serena. ”
He glared at Mama but didn’t say anything.
“Good,” Mama said, her voice clipped but satisfied. “Now, let’s move forward, and have some lunch.”
The room began to clear, the air heavy with the weight of decisions made and the unspoken tension between us as Miles and I looked at each other.
“I need to grab my things from my apartment. You’re in the condo downtown, right?” he asked, his voice surprisingly soft.
I nodded.
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
“Seems you’ve got quite a bit on your plate,” Dante said. “Can I give you some advice?”
I’d forgotten he was still in the room. I turned to him, and I wondered how much of what he said was genuine and how much was merely another layer of the game we were all playing.
“In your world, appearances are just as important as reality. It’s about what’s perceived . Use it to your advantage.”
That sounded strangely similar to something Jenese would say.
“Thank you for the advice,” I said, unsure what to make of it.
Dante gave a small, enigmatic smile. “Anytime. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other, Mrs. Whitmore.”