Married With Malice

by Cora Brent

He’s the real Luca again. The fun-loving Luca who is forever equipped with snappy sarcasm and enjoys laughing.

“Don’t thank me for taking you out,” he says. “Every hour of the day all I think about is being with you. There’s no higher priority, nothing else I’d rather be doing, tonight or any other night. You’re it for me, Anni.”

I don’t want to say good night. I want to take his clothes off and crawl into bed with him and do all of the filthy things.

I’m in awe, absolute awe. It’s as if no time has passed since I was a teenage boy secretly watching her from the stands and nursing a serious crush. That boy would be astounded to know the forbidden girl he was obsessed with would someday be his wife. And what’s more, he would love her so fiercely that one look at her was enough to make his throat tighten.

“I love you too, Annalisa. I don’t ever want to be away from you, not even for a day.”

“I, Luca Damiano Connelly, take you, Annalisa Constanza Barone, as my wife. I swear to love you, respect you and cherish you, and you alone, for the rest of my life.”

“I, Annalisa Constanza Barone, take you, Luca Damiano Connelly, as the husband of my dreams. I will always love you. I will always honor you. It’s you and me, as long as we live.”

He kisses my forehead and strokes my hair. “Don’t you know that I’d go to the ends of the earth for you?” He kisses my lips, slowly and languidly. His breath mingles with mine. “My Annalisa. My love. My wife. My queen.”

Luca and I are free. We’re in love. We’ve survived the darkest twists on our unpredictable odyssey. This is the finale we deserve.

But Anni and I, we know different. Every day we are together is magic. Every day is a miracle. Every day belongs to