by V. Sousa
In the weeks leading up to this day, I’d imagined myself being sad and crying any time I thought about what I was being subjected to, all the dreams I was forced to throw away, but the only emotion I felt in this very moment was anger.
I guess that was why the only person allowed in this room with me was Claire.
“It’s time. Let’s start heading down and taking our places.” The wedding planner cheered.
Her name was Julia or something like that, but either way, she’d planned my whole wedding, and this was the first time I was meeting her.
I made my way to my father and slipped my arm through his, ready to make my way down the aisle.
“You look beautiful, principessa,” my father said with a smile.
When I gave him no response, he continued, “I’m sorry if—”
“Don’t even bother,” I cut him off. “This is your doing. I will never forgive you for making me do this. Spare me your words because nothing you say will change how I feel.”
I hated being mean to my father. I tried to be grateful for him being so kind to me growing up, but he took my brother away from me, and now he was giving me away. I couldn’t forgive him for that, I believed him when he said he had no choice, but it didn’t make it sting any less.
He gave me a nod, and I was about to apologize for being so mean because I knew my head was just all over the place today, and I was taking it out on him, but before I had the chance, the doors opened, and the music started to play.
“You ready?” my father asked.
“No, but let’s go before I try to make a run for it.”
I looked forward, and there was Emmett at the end of the aisle, looking straight at me with a blank face. I didn’t know what I’d expected of him today, but he wasn’t even pretending to be happy.
When we reached the end of the aisle, I looked up at Emmett and let out a breath.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...”
Here goes nothing.
The ceremony went by in a blur. The vows were short and clipped, and the kiss was as quick as a blink of an eye.
I felt like a robot going through its daily routine without any emotion, not once letting a smile appear on my face at my own wedding, a day that was supposed to be one of the happiest in my life.
When it was time for the reception, I was being pulled in all different directions, meeting so many different people, greeting them, and thanking everyone for coming.
Ironic how I grew up going to weddings just like this, watching the brides fake nice with these same people, but I could always see the sadness in their eyes.
The grooms never cared. They knew they’d be able to continue with their lives the same as they had been, the only difference being they had a wife at home to act as a personal maid.
I always told myself that I would never be that girl who married someone she didn’t love, but now look at me.
I didn’t have much of a choice, though, did I?
Just another bride, sitting on a shelf like a fucking trophy.
I was sitting at my table next to Emmett when I felt the first tear fall, but I wiped it away just as quickly as it appeared.
“I need to use the bathroom,” I said to no one. I quickly got up, gathered the bottom of my dress, and left the room searching for a bathroom.
When I spotted it, I hurried inside and locked the door behind me. Walking up to the sink, I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
I’d never been good at knowing what to do with my emotions. I’d normally just shut down and pretend everything was okay, but lately, there had been so much going on, and it was getting overwhelming.
All my emotions were building, and I couldn’t handle it. It was as if there was a bomb in my head ticking, and the timer was running out.
So, I did what I told myself I wouldn’t do anymore after Sammy had died. I let the darkness consume me and allowed the anger trapped within me to be set free.
It only took a few seconds before everything went black.
Emmett
She’d been in the bathroom for eleven minutes now.
Usually, I wouldn’t be worried, but I saw the look in her eyes before she walked off, so that was what had me walking out of the ballroom and toward the bathroom to make sure everything was okay.
I got to the first bathroom and tried opening the door, but it was locked. I was about to walk away, thinking she wasn’t in there when I heard her scream inside.
Springing into action, I kicked the door down, ready to kill whoever had her screaming like that. The first thing I saw was Rose crouched down in the corner of the bathroom, crying and her hands bleeding.
I opened every stall, ready to strangle the person responsible for harming her, but there was nobody in here except for her.
She didn’t look up at me when I sat next to her and slid her into my lap. She just stayed bundled up in the fetal position, hyperventilating from crying so much.
I pulled her hands away from her face and forced her to look at me so she could calm down and tell me what was wrong, but the words got stuck the minute she looked up at me, and I saw how sad she looked.
Seeing her like this absolutely killed me. I hated looking into her eyes and seeing so much pain and anger.
I let go of her hands and held her until she stopped crying, and her breathing returned to normal.
A few minutes later, she moved out of my lap and looked around the room, seeing everything around her scattered and destroyed.
“I always wondered when I would break again.” She laughed. “It’s ironic how the room matches how I feel inside.” She turned and looked at me, fresh tears running down her face.
“I hate that you got to see me like this. Not because I’m embarrassed, but because you don’t deserve my emotions, and you don’t get to help me through a hard time. You left me. I needed you, and you left me. You were always my constant. I always thought that no matter what happened in my life, it would be okay because I still had you, but boy, was I wrong. You took my already broken heart, and you shattered it.
“You want to know what the worst part of it all is? No matter how bad you hurt me, a part of me still hopes that you could be the one for me again. That one day you’ll love me like you used to, and we can live happily ever after just like you promised, but the ending to our first story sucked, and this sequel is even worse.”
She walked to the door and turned to look at me again. “You’ve changed. You’re so cold, and I don’t know if you’ve even realized it. I honestly feel bad for you. Every time I look at you, all I see are those black eyes looking back at me, and I wonder if you will ever go back to who you used to be.”
She forced out a dark laugh and shook her head. “Did you know that two weeks ago was the third anniversary of Sammy’s death? Three years ago, my other half died, but so did you. The only difference is you’re standing right in front of me, but I have no idea who you are.”
And then she walked out.
I didn’t bother to follow.
She was right. I was different. And as much as I would have loved to be together again, to be happy and blissfully married, it was impossible. The things I had done to her were unforgivable.
Rose
Walking back to the ballroom, I wiped my tears one last time and went in search of Claire so we could go back to the room where she could help me clean up the blood. Thankfully, I had yet to get any on my dress—it would be a disgrace to stain such a beauty.
I spotted her on the dance floor with Tommy, Lorenzo, and Tommy’s date.
Could I just point out that I had never seen Tommy with the same woman more than once? I seriously couldn’t wait for him to find the right girl who knocked him on his ass.
I was almost to them when I was abruptly cut off by el diablo—I mean Vincent. “I’ve been looking all over for you, Rose.”
At this point, I didn’t even bother to fake a smile with him. I knew he just became my father-in-law, but after
my breakdown, I was exhausted and just wanted to get cleaned up.
“Well, you’ve found me, but if you’ll excuse me, I really have to talk to somebody.”
I tried to walk around him, but he grabbed my shoulder and yanked me back. I wasn’t in the mood for this shit right now, so I quickly shook him off and gave him the meanest glare I could.
“I’ll do you a favor and not tell my father or Emmett about what you just did, but don’t expect for me to be so generous next time.”
I was surprised when he smiled and stepped out of my way. I’d expected more of a fight from Vincent, but maybe the gods had decided to spare me for once.
I’d always hated how Vincent looked at me, but he at least had never put his hands on me, until now, of course. It was as if some twisted part of him thought he had control over me now that I was married to his son.
Yeah, not today, Satan.
I felt some more blood trickle down from the cut on my hand and hit the floor, so I pushed Vincent to the back of my mind and continued on my way to Claire.
I walked up behind Claire, trying to hide my hands so nobody would see, but I must not have been as stealthy as I’d thought because Lorenzo turned and zeroed in on all the blood, and I could see the murder in his eyes.
I smiled at Lorenzo and shook my head, hoping he got the message that I was okay and not to cause a scene, but I saw him reach behind his back for his gun, so I quickly mouthed, “It’s okay.”
He just looked at me for a bit with his hand still on his gun. I guess he wasn’t content with my answer because he rushed to my side.
“I had a breakdown and broke some stuff, cutting my hand in the process. It’s fine—I’m fine. I just need Claire to help me up in my room. Just give me five minutes.”
Finally, he gave me a tight nod and put his hand back to his side.
Why must my life be surrounded by overprotective men?
I went behind Claire and tapped her shoulder. “It’s me. I need your help with something.” I didn’t give her time to respond and just pulled her to the exit.
“May I ask what we’re doing and where we are going?” she asked with her back still to me.
I waited till we were in the elevator to show her my hands. “I blacked out and broke a bunch of shit, so I need to get this cleaned up.”
She looked down at all the blood and blanched. “Holy shit, Rose, are you fucking crazy? That’s a lot of blood. What if you need stitches?”
“Don’t be so dramatic. There would be a lot more blood if I needed stitches, so let’s throw some alcohol on this shit and get this night over with.”
“That’s the spirit,” she said as she rolled her eyes at me.
We got to the room and cleaned up my hands in record time, then headed back. Hopefully, we were quick enough that no one noticed our absence.
We were almost back to the ballroom, but as we got closer, I noticed people were leaving.
I mean, I wasn’t complaining, but I was curious as to why considering it was still early.
Turning to Claire, I gave her a confused look, but then I started to worry that something had happened. “You go look for Tommy, and I’ll look for Emmett.” She nodded, and we went in opposite directions.
I searched the room for Emmett and found him across the room, speaking to the governor and his wife.
I’d spoken with them earlier when they’d congratulated me. I’d thought they were invited because of my father, but now I wondered how Emmett knew them.
I started moving toward them to find out what was going on when I saw a woman waltz right up to Emmett, grab both of his arms, and start kissing his neck.
Oh, wow, what a bitch.
Usually, I wasn’t so judgmental, but the way she was touching him looked so casual like she’d done it many times.
Then it all made sense. She must be the girl he’d slept with.
As if she could hear my thoughts, she looked my way with a sneer and pressed her body closer to his.
It took me a minute, but I finally recognized her.
She was the governor’s daughter, Bethany Castellanos.
I saw the appeal. As much as I hated to admit it, she was beautiful—long blonde hair, porcelain skin, and a nice body.
Her hand started traveling from his shoulders down his body, all while Emmett was still in conversation with her parents.
He wasn’t even attempting to push her away.
Did they have any morals at all?
I decided I no longer wanted to watch some girl grab all over my husband, so I looked for Lorenzo instead.
This night was starting to feel more like a high school prom and less like a wedding—so much damn drama.
I found Lorenzo leaning against one of the entrances, talking to Tommy and Claire so I turned and made my way to them instead.
“Lorenzo, why is everyone leaving?” I asked when I reached him.
“No idea. One minute everyone was dancing, and the next, Emmett comes in and tells everyone to go home.”
Well, I didn’t expect that one.
“Do you know where I’m staying tonight? I’d like to go to bed.”
He gave me a puzzled look as if I were asking him a trick question. “Emmett’s house. I’ll go grab him so that we can go.”
He looked at Emmett, and I could tell he knew who Emmett was talking to because he stopped and quickly stepped in front of me to block them from my view.
I gave Lorenzo the fakest smile I could. “Don’t worry. I don’t want to interrupt him. If you don’t want to take me, I’m sure Tommy here will be glad to.”
Lorenzo’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head.
Poor Lorenzo. He was always stuck in the middle of everyone’s drama. “No. It’s okay, I’ll take you,” he said with a sigh.
Yeah, I was tired of this shit too. “Perfect, I’ll follow you out.”
Lorenzo pulled up to the biggest house I’d ever seen. I thought I lived in a huge house before, but this one was like a mansion.
Lorenzo parked the car in front of what I assumed was the front entrance and got out. He rounded the hood of the car to open the passenger door for me, but the car was so low that I couldn’t seem to lift myself out in this dress.
He held his hands out for me to grab so I could pull myself out, but it was harder than it looked.
After my third attempt at pulling myself out, Lorenzo finally gave me some help and tugged me out. He then grabbed the back of my dress while I grabbed the front, and we made our way up the steps to the big-ass mansion house.
I was surprised there wasn’t another entrance for this place that led directly into the house because there must have been about a hundred steps leading up to the door.
Lorenzo cleared his throat from behind me. “Sorry about the walk. I don’t have the sensor in my car that allows us to go into the parking garage, so we have to go through the front.”
I guess he was a mind reader now.
He followed me up the steps, and by the time we reached the top, I was out of breath.
I made a mental note to start going to the gym or maybe take up running again because I was out of shape.
Lorenzo opened the door to a long hallway that was completely bare, which led to a huge sitting room. The sitting room seemed to be the center of everything, with a massive open space above.
Looking around, I found that Emmett’s house was just as I’d expected it would be. It lacked the warm feeling you get when you walked into a home. His house was cold and barely looked lived in.
There were so many closed doors and staircases connected to the sitting area that I almost regretted coming here without Emmett so he could show me around. But then I remembered how the governor’s daughter was all over him, and how he didn’t do a thing to stop it, so I didn’t regret it anymore.
I hated how I was actually hurt by seeing them together.
“Lorenzo?” I called out.
He popped his head out from behind the wall of what loo
ked like the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“Do you think I’m an idiot for going through with this?”
He walked out of the kitchen with a frown and pulled me in for a long hug.
Letting me go, he grabbed my dress and led me down a small hallway that opened up to a large living room with a gigantic fireplace.
He walked me to the couch and motioned for me to sit. “Why would you think that?” he asked me as he sat down.
“I don’t know, Lorenzo.” I sighed. “I just don’t want to be the stay-at-home wife whose husband is always out working or sleeping with his mistresses. It’s our wedding night, and he already has another girl all over him. I just feel stupid.”
Great, now he was giving me the sad eyes.
“Rosie, you are the smartest and strongest girl I know, and if I ever hear you say some shit like that about yourself again, I’m going to burn your favorite shirt.”
Well damn. Hit me where it hurts, why don’t you.
“If any man thinks you’re going to be that type of woman, they are not only a dumbass but sadly mistaken. Now, I’m going to put on a funny movie, and we are going to watch it and laugh, okay?”
“Okay,” I said with a nod and lay down on the couch.
Lorenzo put on The Sitter, and by the middle of the movie, we were both in tears from laughing so hard.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, hands were wrapping around me and lifting me from the couch.
I leaned into Lorenzo as he lifted me off the couch. “Sorry that I fell asleep before the ending, Enzo. It’s been a long day.”
I opened my eyes a tiny bit, and I saw Lorenzo still asleep on the couch. I almost started freaking out, but then I took a deep breath and realized it was Emmett—he’d used the same cologne ever since I could remember.
I contemplated telling him to let me down, but after today, I didn’t have the energy, so I just let myself fall back asleep.