Chapter 10
“Explain this agreement. Now.”
My father slammed the contract Antonio and I had signed onto the table, his finger trembling as he pointed at me.
I kept my head down, silent.
With Annie and Henry arrested, every detail of our past had surfaced –including my marriage pact with Antonio.
When I didn’t speak, he hurled a glass in my direction.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact, but a broad figure stepped in front of me. I looked up to meet Antonio’s gentle gaze. He patted my head, silently reassuring me.
Water dripped from his hair as Antonio turned to my father. “Mr. Mitchell, this is my fault. I proposed the contract.
“I feared Cynthia wouldn’t accept me, so I used my past favors to pressure her into marriage.
“But my feelings for her are real. Please approve our union,” he pleaded earnestly.
As I stared at Antonio in shock, my mother nudged my arm. Catching her signal, I quickly stood beside him.
Chapter 10
The room fell silent.
Antonio took my hand, soothing me, “Don’t be afraid.”
But I didn’t respond to him. I faced my parents. “Dad, Mom… I want to marry Antonio.”
My father blinked, baffled.
“You want to marry her?”
Antonio nodded.
“You want to marry him?”
I nodded resolutely.
“And the wedding?”
Antonio replied instantly, “I’ll organize a grander ceremony.”
My father slapped his knee, roaring with laughter, “Good! Then it’s settled!”
*****
Back in the wedding suite Antonio had chosen, I was still processing the day’s chaos until…
“Antonio, hugging is fine, but why are we moving to the bed?”
I squirmed, cheeks burning.
Chapter 10
He pulled me close, burying his face in my neck. “Just let me hold you. I’m exhausted.”
I nodded.
He kissed my ear and drifted asleep.
Annie’s stab left Henry bedridden for two months.
With irrefutable evidence of drugging and assault, Annie was sentenced to prison.
3/3
Henry’s lawyer argued he knew nothing about the spiked drink, sparing him jail.
But investors withdrew funds upon learning he’d lost ties to me and angered Antonio. Clients abandoned him. Bankrupt after the trial, Henry faced his mother’s daily wails. “You fool! You threw away Cynthia!”
Megan cried every day and cursed Henry for being stupid to hurt me for a cheap girl.
When I won my third career award, Annie–freshly released— rammed Henry’s car into the sea. Both of them vanished, and their bodies were never found.
Write your comment
Gifts
