Chapter 9
ADRIANA
I slept three hours. Maybe four.
It wasn’t enough. And it only gave me a temporary escape from what’s about to happen.
Luna shows up at the hotel suite at ten with coffee and a garment bag. She takes one look at my face and shoves the cup into my hand.
“Drink.”
“I’ve already had two,” I say. “And they haven’t helped.”
“Have a third. You look like you need it.”
I sigh and take a sip. My lips twist when the hot liquid hits my tongue.
The coffee is strong and bitter, not my usual with two sugars and oat milk.
But as I’ve come to learn recently, not everything I’ve come to expect becomes reality.
Sometimes what you order isn’t what you receive.
A harsh lesson to learn on your wedding day to a virtual stranger.
“I saw Dad this morning. Stopped at the hospital early,” Luna says, hanging the garment bag on the back of the closet door.
“How was he?” I ask before taking another sip of the sludge in my cup. “
“The same as last night when you and Mom saw him.” Her face falls, and when she looks at me, her eyes glisten. “I really wanted him to wake up, Adri. I prayed for it so hard, anything to get you out of this mess.”
I capture her in a tight hug. “Thank you. I really wanted that, too, I mean, obviously more for Dad to wake up and be healthy than for me to get out of this wedding. But I’d have been happy to take my life back if given the chance.”
“You’re being so strong,” Luna says. “I’d never be able to handle everything you have. And you’re still running a company. You’re such a boss bitch. Dad’s men won’t know what hit them when you take over the organization.”
I pull away and smile. “I appreciate the vote of confidence. But I’m clueless and cringing at the idea of giving orders to that crew.” Winking at her, I say, “But I’ll never let them know it.”
A smile spreads across her face. “You’ve got balls of steel, Adri. Always have. I’m jelly, won’t lie.”
I chuckle. Luna was always more free-spirited, more emotional, more sensitive. I adore her but she’d crumble in the face of adversity. I thrive there.
I give her arm a squeeze. “Just make sure you know I will always have your back. You and Mom won’t have to worry about anything. I will take care of everything, and I’ll always make sure you’re safe.”
My words sound a lot more matter of fact than I feel, but I don’t need to convince myself of them. I just need to make everyone else drink the Kool-Aid.
“You really are amazing,” she says. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Lulu.” I nod at the garment bag. “Shall we begin the transformation?”
She claps her hands together and turns to unzip the bag. “Yes! Let’s make you look like a bride.”
The dress is simple and conservative. Cream silk. Straight silhouette. Nothing like the fancy wedding dress I used to imagine when I was young and stupid and believed in fairytales.
I step into it and slip my arms into the straps. Luna zips up the back, and turns me around so I’m facing the full-length mirror.
“You know,” she says, meeting my eyes in the mirror, “in a different universe, this could be romantic. Arranged marriage. Brooding stranger. Forced proximity.”
“You read too many romance novels.”
Her eyes pop open wide and she laughs. “You read the same ones. They’re in your nightstand!”
“That’s different.” A pink flush heats my cheeks. She must have been snooping in my bedroom one day because I’ve never admitted reading those novels to anyone.
“How?”
“Those are fiction. This is my actual life falling apart.”
“Or coming together.” She adjusts a strap, then smooths the fabric over my hips. “Depends on how you look at it.”
I lift an eyebrow “I’m going to throw this coffee at you if you don’t stop with that crazy talk.”
“No, you won’t. You need the caffeine.” She turns me back around and studies me with critical eyes, a finger tapping against her lips. “You need the diamond studs. The ones Dad gave you.”
“They’re in the side pocket of my bag.”
She fishes through the bag and hands them to me. I put them in, and she nods.
“Okay, perfect.” She steps back. “You look gorgeous, you know. Absolutely stunning. And I love the change of pace from your stuffy business wear. I’m actually a little surprised you didn’t try to find a sweet little wedding suit to wear instead. Like Carrie from Sex and the City, remember?”
I roll my eyes. “My wardrobe is not that boring.”
“Quite the contrary, sis. At least this shows a little hint of boob. I mean, let the guy know what he’s getting.”
“Not like he’s ever going to see them,” I say as I swipe a pale pink gloss over my lips.
“Like, ever? Seriously? The guy is hot as hell. You don’t think you’d ever—”
“It’s a business transaction. Period,” I say, a warning in my voice.
Luna’s expression sobers. “I know this isn’t what you wanted. I know you’re doing this for all of us. And I hate that you have to, that you can’t enjoy being married and any of the perks that come with marrying an Irish god.”
“Luna—”
“No, let me say this.” She grabs my hands.
“You’ve always been the strong one. The one who fixes things.
The one who sacrifices so the rest of us don’t have to.
And I’ve let you. We all have.” Her voice cracks.
“But I need you to know, you’re not alone.
Whatever happens after today, I’m here. Always. ”
My throat tightens. “You’re going to ruin my makeup.”
“Not only yours.” She laughs, wiping her eyes. “God, we’re a mess.”
“We’re DiMichelis. Mess is in the blood.”
A soft knock on the door has my pulse jumping.
He wouldn’t, would he?
I jog over to the door and peer through the peephole, letting out a breath. I open the door and smile at Mom. She’s dressed in a soft lavender with a beaded bodice and straight silk skirt. She looks elegant as always.
She steps inside and takes my hands in hers as she gazes at me. “You look beautiful, tesoro. I am so proud of you for doing this. You are truly an inspiration, in all regards. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She leans in. “You know, your grandmother would have had something to say about this.”
“Nonna had something to say about everything,” I say.
Mom nods. “She would have told you to keep your chin up and your knife sharp.”
“Sounds like her,” I say, my eyes dropping to her ring, the thing I cling to when my heart and mind are spiraling in different directions.
“I’m not going to stand here and tell you this is okay.
It’s not. None of this is okay.” Mom cups my face in her hands, her jaw tightening.
“But you are my daughter. And I raised you to survive anything. So you will survive this. And when your father wakes up, we will have words. Many, many words, trust me on that.”
I smile. “I’d pay to see that conversation.”
“It won’t be a conversation. It will be a reckoning.” She presses a kiss to my forehead. “Now, let’s go get you married.”
The ceremony room at City Hall is small with wood-paneled walls and fluorescent lighting that makes everyone look slightly green.
A judge checks his watch as we pile inside.
I’d have preferred a quick, private ceremony, but in this world, word needs to get around that the two power families in Boston are officially united.
Evidently, the best way to do that is make a public spectacle.
Only our families are here for the courthouse ceremony.
The Molloys are on one side. Eamon is in the front row, looking smug.
Ronan sits beside him, cold and unreadable.
Three other men sit behind them, brothers, I assume, based on the dark hair and similar builds.
One of them catches my eye and gives me a small nod.
It doesn’t comfort me. Nothing about these circumstances screams warm and cozy. But even that minor acknowledgement makes me think that not all of my in-laws are as cutthroat and cold as that asshole Eamon.
My family is on the other side. Mom sits up straight and tall, staring straight ahead. Luna is beside her, gripping her hand. Vincenzo is at the end of the row, a warm smile on his lips when our eyes connect.
And at the front of the room, waiting for me, is Lochlan.
He’s wearing a navy suit that hugs every inch of his muscular build. He’s not wearing a tie, and his top button is open. Again, just like the gala, like he doesn’t take himself that seriously, that he’s relaxed and confident in who and what he is.
I like that… dammit.
His eyes find mine as I walk toward him, and something passes between us. Not romance. Not love. Something else. An understanding, maybe. Two people walking into the same storm with no idea how either will weather it.
I walk alone. No one gives me away. I give myself.
It’s the only power move I have left.
I stop beside him. His eyes are like lasers burning into my soul. I swallow hard and tear my gaze away, hoping it will stop the tiny flutters in my belly. With my heart pounding against my ribs, I turn slightly away to face the judge.
“We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Adriana DiMicheli and Lochlan Molloy,” the judge says, already sounding bored.
I tune out the words and focus on breathing. On not running right out that damn door. On keeping my face neutral so no one can identify the chaos unfolding behind my eyes.
Lochlan’s hand brushes mine. Just barely. I don’t pull away.
“Do you, Lochlan James Molloy, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward?”
“I do.”
His voice is steady, like he means it.
“Do you, Adriana Elizabeth DiMicheli, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward?”
I slant a look behind me. Everyone is watching. Eamon’s smug smile taunts me and I want to punch it off his face. Luna grips Mom’s hand. Vincenzo nods at me. They’re all smiling, trying to provide me the comfort I know I can never have. Not as long as I’m trapped like a rat in a cage.
This is it. No going back.
“I do.” The words scrape out of my throat.