Chapter 0014

I’m laying back on my bed, all cried out, when I hear a knock at my door. I raise my head and groan

inwardly. What’s next?

Before I can get up to answer it, the door creeks open a little. I sigh. No such thing as privacy in the

Mafia palace.

“Fay?”

My mouth drops open as I hear a voice that I recognize. I’m too shocked to speak as I see him peek

around the door, smiling shyly.

“Are you okay, Fay?”

Daniel. I just stare at him.

He grimaces and comes into the room, pressing the door shut behind him. Then he leans back on it,

staring at me, quirking his mouth into that sweet smile I used to love.

I groan and lay my head back on my pillows. “Go away, Daniel. We can talk about our engagement

later.”

“Fay,” he says, and I can hear the apology in his voice. I hear him come closer to the bed. “Come on,

Fay,” he says. “It could be worse.”

I open my eyes and glare at him. “Are you serious, Daniel?”

He shrugs and again gives me that charming smile, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I mean, at least

we know we like each other.”

“Like each other? Daniel you like –“

“Shh!” He puts a hand out towards me and looks anxiously at the door. “Seriously, Fay, watch what you

say. We can’t talk about that sort of thing here.”

I glance at the closed door, confused. “Can they hear us in here?”

“My dad has ears everywhere,” he murmurs. He turns back to me. “Are you mad at me?”

I sigh and sit up on the bed, feeling awkward. I never wanted to see Daniel ever again, let alone have

this weird conversation about why I didn’t want to be his mafia bride just because our parents promised

us to each other.

“Daniel, I’m not mad at you,” I say quietly. “It’s just… I want to be married to someone who loves me.

Not to someone who is only marrying me because of who my father is, and certainly not someone who

–“

He gives me a worrying look and I sigh, watching my words.

“Someone who isn’t attracted to me,” I finish.

He sits hesitantly next to me on the bed, reaching out an arm to put around my shoulders. I shoot him a

look, though, and he pulls his arm back.

“There could be good things about this, Fay,” he says quietly. “Not all marriages work out anyway, and

at least we know we like each other.”

I look up at him, aghast. Is he serious?

“Are you actually on board with this, Daniel? Don’t you want to marry someone you love?”

“I have to marry someone, Fay,” he says, shrugging, his voice defeated. “This is not a world where

what I want, personally, really matters. And with you, well. At least I know we get along, like the same

things.”

I huff a laugh at this.

“I mean, you were really upset when we broke up!” Daniel continues, trying to be upbeat. “And I really

am sorry about what happened in the coffee shop. But isn’t it kind of weird that we found each other out

there on our own anyway, and we were engaged the whole time? It’s kind of like…fate.”

“It’s not fate, Daniel, it’s fake,” I say, looking at him with all of my pain showing. I can’t help it – he was

my first love, and he totally betrayed me, and now here he is asking me to jump right back in?

“I don’t want a husband who is unfaithful to me,” I say, spreading my hands out in emphasis. I lower my

voice to a hiss. “And I don’t want a husband who is into men, considering I’m a girl. Do you really want

us to be in a fake marriage for the rest of our lives? Just because it’s what your dad wants?”

“Please, Fay,” Daniel says, his eyes skittering for the door. “I get that you’re upset –“

I nod fervently at this.

“But seriously, that’s not something we can talk about there. Please,” he turns worried eyes to me and

I’m surprised to see true fear in his face. “You’ve got to promise to keep it a secret.”