She Entered The Wrong Bedroom At A Billionaire Gala — Then Woke Up Next To Chicago’s Most Feared Mafia Boss With A Ring On Her Finger.
PART 3
“It seems simple. Call Victoria and say you’ve developed a sudden allergy to betrayal.”
“In our world, agreements are treated as blood contracts. If I withdraw without a recognized cause, the war begins immediately. My family has people scattered across the city. Some have children. Some do not even know they are in danger yet.”
“And pretending to marry me fixes that?”
“There is an old rule both families still recognize. A documented prior engagement to an outsider invalidates an arranged union.”
I stared at him.
“You expect them to believe you have secretly been engaged to a catering coordinator?”
“I expect them to believe what they saw in my bed.”
My face burned.
“Nothing happened.”
“I know.”
“Your grandmother clearly does not.”
“That is useful.”
I set the glass down harder than necessary.
“No. Absolutely not. I’m going home. You can tell everyone I was inventorying pillows.”
I slid off the bed and reached for my shoes.
Dominic moved between me and the door.
He did not touch me, but his presence filled the room.
“The Marinos had people working at last night’s gala,” he said. “By now, they know my grandmother found you here. They will assume you are either my fiancée or a witness to the intercepted plot.”
“That isn’t my problem.”
“It became your problem when Rosa opened those doors.”
Cold crept through me.
“What happens if I leave?”
“They will follow you.”
“And if they discover I’m not really your fiancée?”
“They will kill you.”
He delivered the words without drama, which made them worse.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
“You’re threatening me.”
“I am warning you.”
“You created the danger.”
“No. You accidentally entered it. I am offering the only protection available.”
He walked toward a desk and removed a folder.
“You live here for six months. You attend public events, wear my ring, and convince both families that we have been secretly involved for a year. Once the threat is eliminated, we quietly separate.”
“And what do I get besides nightmares?”
“Two million dollars.”
I laughed once because the number was absurd.
He did not.
My mother’s medical debt flashed through my mind. The collection letters. My student loans. The refrigerator in her small house that worked only when someone kicked the door.
“You would pay me two million dollars to pretend to love you?”
“To make others believe it.”
“What happens if I say no?”
His eyes met mine.
“You will not survive the week.”
I hated him for being calm.
I hated myself more for believing him.
“Six months,” I whispered.
“Six months.”
“No touching me without permission.”
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Agreed.”
“My mother is protected.”
“Agreed.”
“My cat comes with me.”
Dominic’s expression finally changed.
“You have a cat?”
“Barnaby.”
“What kind?”
“Orange.”
“That is not a breed.”
“It is his personality.”
Dominic exhaled through his nose. “The cat comes.”