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One, Dante was going to be my fiancé. Two, we might kill each other before we ever made it to the altar.
Whether I liked her or not, Vivian was my fiancée, and I was getting damn tired of hearing her name leave his mouth.
Vivian’s laugh evoked a strange sensation in my chest. Heartburn? Investigate later.
I hated the sound of Kai’s name on her tongue. I hated the way she laughed so easily in his presence. And I hated how much I cared about either of those things.
“You forget.” I pressed my fingers against her nape, forcing her to look up at me. “You’re my fiancée. Not Kai’s. Not anyone else’s. I don’t give a fuck how handsome they are or what type of accent they have. You’re mine, and no one…” I dipped my head, my lips brushing hers with each word. “Touches what’s mine.”
She wasn’t my wife yet, but she was mine. No one threatened what was mine.
“How does he look at me?” Janis smiled. “Like he never wants to look away.”
Of all the people in my life, she was the only one who could make me lose control.
It was always a little colder when he wasn’t home.
“I hate the idea of you touching anyone else, or anyone else touching you. I hate that other people can make you laugh in a way I can’t. I hate how I feel around you, like you’re the only person that can make me lose control when I. Don’t. Lose. Control.”
“Because you’re mine.” His teeth scored my neck. “You wear my ring. You’ve come on my face and hand. You live in my head all the fucking time, even if I don’t want you to...” His palm slid to my hip, where his fingers dug grooves into my skin. “And God, I want to punish you for driving me so damn crazy. Every. Single. Day.”
“I’m the only one who gets to see you like this.” His voice turned harsh. “You”—thrust—”are”—thrust—”my”—thrust—”wife.”
It felt like hope. It felt like desire. It felt like ruin and salvation all in one.
Her laughs, her smiles, the sparkle in her eyes when she teased me and the fire in her replies when I pissed her off. I wanted all of it even when I knew I shouldn’t. My head and heart waged civil war against each other and, for the first time in my life, my heart was winning.
“You can’t see the stars in New York,” Dante said. “So I brought the stars to you.”
But this was the first time I was actually falling in love in the City of Love.
“Touch Vivian again, and I’ll kill you.”
“I love you, Vivian. More than I could ever hate your father. And more than I ever thought I was capable of.”
I loved the way his smiles peeked through his scowls. I loved how he kissed my shoulder every morning when I woke up. I loved his humor and intelligence, his strength and vulnerability, his thoughtfulness and ambition.
“I don’t want anyone,” I said fiercely. “I want you. Your wit and intelligence, your kindness and charm. The way your eyes crinkle when you laugh and how your smile makes the world tilt just a little bit. I even want the disgusting food combinations you put together and somehow make taste good.”
No lies, no secrets, no deceptions. Just us.
“Because I don’t care about punishment or revenge anymore. I care about you.”
I miss you. So damn much.”
Love wasn’t always about the big moments. More often, it was tucked in the small moments connecting the major ones.
“Because they’re still your family, mia cara. Because if I could go back in time and stop your father from blackmailing me, I wouldn’t. Otherwise…” His voice dipped, just the tiniest fraction. “I wouldn’t have met you.”
“Per te aspetterei per sempre, amore mio.”
“Spero non ci vorrà così tanto.“
“Vivian Lau, will you marry me?”
Sometimes, we needed words to communicate. Other times, we didn’t need words at all.
Vivian once told me about a Chinese proverb that said an invisible thread connected those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance.
Invisible string?
A part of me would always find my way to her. She was my North Star, the brightest jewel in my sky.
“I could say the same for you, Mrs. Russo.”
Wife. The word sent an electric thrill down my spine.
She was my wife, my partner, my guiding star. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The type that existed only when you reached the end of a long journey…and found home.
