Bought Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle

Natalia

It worked.

I can’t fucking believe that it worked.

Even as I’m standing here, staring at the front door of the condo, I honestly can’t believe what I did.

And now I have to choose if I’m going to make a run for it or not.

I’m sure that the wedding dress people were under strict orders to make sure that I stayed in the condo when they left. That’s why I sat in the living room as they pushed the huge racks of dresses back out. The last thing that I wanted was to make them uncomfortable or make them think that I was going to try to escape.

I just honestly can’t believe that they didn’t check the door.

Dane had to let them out, had to have given them some sort of code on their phones to open the door, and I was the one to pull the door open when it finally beeped. I was also the one to kick half of a chopstick in the doorway to try to block the door from shutting when they left.

Then, when I had done everything that I could to prepare for my escape, I went to the living room, sat on the sofa, and prayed.

And it worked.

I can’t believe that it worked.

Bending down, I remove the chopstick and turn it over in my hands before putting it back. I should probably leave the door open. What if I get downstairs and change my mind? What if I decide all of a sudden that I’m being stupid and that I should just stay here?

My palm are sweaty and I wipe them on my jeans. It was a hell of a lot of fun to try to wedding dresses, but that doesn’t mean that marrying Dane is the right thing to do. Part of me wants to do it. I want to walk down the aisle to him. I want to fall into bed with him every single night.

But this is my first chance at running. I don’t have any money, nothing that will help me really get the hell away from here, but it’s probably my only chance of getting away and I’d be stupid not to take it. I don’t want to look back in a few years and wonder what would have happened if I’d been braver and taken that first step out the door.

I close the door behind me, making sure that it’s still resting on the chopstick just in case I change my mind, then walk down the hall to the elevator. It feels weird to be doing this on my own, but I push past that strange feeling and press the down button.

There’s an immediate soft ding and then the doors open. Glancing around me, like I think that someone will be watching, I step onto the elevator and take a deep breath before pushing the button to go down to the ground floor.

Hopefully there won’t be anyone there who will recognize me. I can’t imagine how terrible it would be if someone saw me and turned me in. When the elevator slides to a smooth stop and the doors open, I step out into the lobby of the nicest building I’ve ever been in.

Yes, I grew up with money. My dad worked hard to make sure that I never wanted for anything and then turned to Dane when the funds ran out, but he still kept me in the dark at home, making sure that I couldn’t ever be corrupted. The last thing that he wanted to have happen was for something to happen to me. I was his cash cow and I knew it.

Only now I really understand where he got most of his money from. It was from Dane, a prepayment for what he was owed, and my skin crawls when I think about the money changing hands.

My dad made this decision for me, but Dane isn’t innocent in it, either. He wanted to buy me for some reason, and he did. I should run.

Still, standing in the middle of the lobby, under a huge crystal chandelier that looks larger than most people’s cars, I’m not sure what to do. Part of me wants to run. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, the one thing that I’ve always dreamed of, and to know that I could do it right now is exhilarating.

But there’s another part of me that’s terrified to go anywhere. Dane has been nothing but kind to me, once we worked out the fact that I wasn’t going to run from him. He wants to keep me, wants to protect me, and there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to leave him.

He’s safety, and yet I’m walking away from him. It’s the only time in my life that I’ve felt like I have any control over what’s going on over what’s happening to me, and yet I’m still torn on what I’m going to do.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” I ask, not even bothering to keep my voice low. A woman with a little girl holding her hand walks by, giving me a sharp glance when she hears me swear.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter but she’s already turned the corner to go outside. Under my fee, the tile floor is spotless and the people walking by all seem to be different than me. Set apart. I don’t belong here. I never have, and I’m honestly not sure if I ever will, even if I do marry Dane.

“Miss, is everything alright?” A porter, or someone who works the front desk, appears at my side, lightly touching me on the elbow. With a jerk, I turn to look at him, my mouth falling open slightly.

“I’m fine,” I say, turning pink. “I’m just trying to decide if I really want to go out today or just stay home.”

He gives me an understanding smile. “And which condo is yours, miss?”

“I’m staying at the top with Mr. Accardi,” I say, watching his face carefully to gauge how he’s going to respond. Just like I thought would happen, he turns pink, the tips of his ears burning bright. This is the life that I can have if I stay with Dane. Nobody will hurt me, nobody will ever try to talk down to me. I’ll be safe from everyone and everything, and all I have to do is accept it. Stay here.

Not run.

“Very good,” he says, dipping his head a little and then slowly backing up from me. He moves like he’s afraid that I’m going to try to stop him. I watch him go, watch how he shuffles away from me, watch how he leaves me alone.

That’s it. I don’t know what kind of a life I want, but I’m sure I don’t want one where people are afraid of me just because of who I marry. Right?

There has to be more than that. Turning, I hurry out the front of the building. It’s crowded on the sidewalk and I do my best to dart around someone standing there, but he steps in front of me, his arms wrapping around me before I can try to shuffle away.

“You came right to me,” the man says, and even though I didn’t get a good look at the man’s face, I think that I know his voice. I’ve heard it so many times coming from my dad’s study that I’d be an idiot if I didn’t recognize it.

“Helms,” I whisper, trying to pull back from him. “What are you doing here? Where’s my dad? What the fuck are you doing?”

He chuckles and my stomach tightens.

“Let me go!” Wrenching back, I try to jerk free from his grasp, but he’s too strong, his arms wrapped like bands around my body.

He tightens his grip on me, not letting me go. “Your dad really wants to see you, Natalia. Come with me.”

I try to twist away from him but he grabs my arms, pulling me along behind him. Right as I accept that I need to scream to make him let go of me, he pushes me towards an open car and someone inside reaches out and grabs me, pulling me in right as I suck in a breath to cry out for help.