Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Enzo looked up at her and shook his head. “I’m not going to have to beat you, because you’re going to be my wife, Adele. Stop trying to fight it. This will go one of two ways. You’ll be my wife, or you can fight me, but I will make your life and every person you know, miserable. I can make things very difficult for Bishop. In fact, I’m looking for a bar just like this one. I think I’ll buy it, and then I’ll make sure everyone there, including you, loses their job, because I’m going to want staff I can trust.”
“You can’t be serious,” Adele said.
“I’m deadly serious.”
“What exactly did Hank do that has made you this loyal puppy dog?” she asked.
There were moments, so very slight, where she did like Enzo. He did make her laugh, and she knew she entertained him. He’d not hidden the twitch of his lips or the humor in his eyes.
“Hank saved my life. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead.”
“Oh,” Adele said. She had expected something simple, like borrowing money, or winning at a card game, or some stupid bet that had gone wrong.
“So, you now see how much I owe him,” Enzo said. “You will be my wife. He wants you taken care of.”
Adele sat back in her chair. The coffee was so good, but she suddenly didn’t have the appetite for it, or the sweet cereal. She was between a rock and a hard place, and she couldn’t quite figure how to get out of it. She had no doubt Enzo would see through his threat. If he was determined to have his way, he’d punish those she cared about.
Arnold needed that job, and she knew Bishop loved his bar. They all had their own reasons for loving that bar. Even Adele loved it there. She didn’t want to give it up, but what choice did she have?
“What do I get?” Adele asked. She turned to look at Enzo. She hated to admit defeat, but this wasn’t really defeat, not yet.
“What do you want?”
“I already told you what I want, and you’ve told me no. Tell me what I get out of this?” Adele asked. “All my life, my mom kept me away from this world. She made me aware of it. She didn’t keep any secrets from me, but she wanted me to be protected. Now, because my … sperm donor has decided he wants to take care of me, he’s going to drag me into this world. You’re not going to back down, and I’m not going to let you hurt the people I care about. What do I get?” she asked.
Enzo sipped at his coffee and watched her.
“Why don’t you start making your requests and I’ll see what I can do?”
“I want to keep my house,” she said.
“Why?”
“It was my mother’s.”
“Hank paid for it.”
“She earned that house and not because she was a whore or a mistress. She had no idea he was married, and she got beaten up because of it. That house is mine. I get to keep it.”
“Fine.”
She took a deep breath.
Adele didn’t know what else she wanted. She had no idea what she was doing. Marriage wasn’t something she had thought about, and certainly not with a mafia capo. She rubbed at her temple as she felt the beginnings of a headache. This couldn’t be happening.
“Adele,” Enzo said.
She looked up at him. “I never wanted this. I don’t want any part of this.”
“Fine.”
Was it going to be fine? Was that really something he could promise her? She didn’t know if she could trust him. Look what happened to her mother over that kind of trust.
“You have to leave Bishop, Arnold, and everyone who works at the bar alone. There’s no way you can hurt them or take their livelihoods away.”
“Consider it done,” he said.
She nibbled her lip and nodded.
“What more do you want?” he asked.
“We’re never having sex. I don’t want to sleep with you. I want us to have separate bedrooms, and I want you to write up a contract, stating that you understand this. No kids. Nothing. We live together, but separate lives.” Once the demands started, it would seem, she struggled to stop them.
Enzo shook his head. “If I was willing to live separate lives, I wouldn’t have threatened your workplace, Adele. You and I both know a marriage like that is not going to work. You will belong to me. You’ll be my wife, in full. I expect you to be the mother of my children.”
“And I don’t want to have sex with you, so what you’re saying is you believe in rape.” It was such a harsh word, and it took all her strength not to wince or instantly apologize. Instead, she stayed strong, not backing down.