Chapter 2
Before she could respond, Alexander stepped closer, lowering his voice for her ears alone. “I know about your struggles, Emma. The two jobs. The late rent payments. The payday loans. I know about Lily’s father and how he left you both. I know about the medical bills you can’t pay.”
He paused, letting each revelation sink in.
“I’m offering you a way out. All you have to do is say yes.”
Her head spun with disbelief. How did he know these things? Why had he been watching her? And most disturbing of all, why would a man like him want to marry someone like her?
“What do you get out of this?” she managed to ask.
A small smile played at his lips. “Let’s call it a mutually beneficial arrangement. You get security. I get —” his gaze traveled over her in a way that made her skin heat despite herself — “something I’ve wanted for some time.”
She opened her mouth to refuse, to tell him she could not possibly consider such an outrageous proposal. But her eyes caught on Lily’s hopeful face, then drifted to her reflection in the stained glass — a woman in a borrowed dress with smeared makeup and crushed dreams.
“I need time to think,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt.
“The priest is already here. The guests are seated. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity.” His tone was light, almost amused, but his eyes remained serious. “Think quickly, Emma.”
Melanie pulled her aside, her face contorted with panic. “Emma, you can’t seriously be considering this. The man is clearly dangerous.”
Emma glanced over at Alexander, who stood calmly, conversing with the priest. His posture relaxed yet commanding. The men who had accompanied him remained stationed throughout the cathedral, their watchful eyes never resting in one place for long.
“I don’t have a choice, Mel. You heard him. If I refuse, he’ll go after Greg’s family. They’re innocent in all this.”
“So are you!” Melanie hissed. “This is insane. We should call the police.”
One of Alexander’s men shifted closer, pretending to examine a nearby statue but clearly listening. Emma squeezed her sister’s arm in warning.
“Look at these men. Do you think the local police can protect us from whatever this is? Whoever he is?” She swallowed hard. “Besides, Greg did steal from him. There’s truth in that part, at least.”
Melanie’s eyes filled with tears. “But marriage? Emma, you don’t know anything about this man.”
Emma looked down at Lily, who had wandered back to her seat and was happily swinging her legs, the drama around her largely incomprehensible to her five-year-old mind.
“I know he could destroy us if I refuse. And I know he could provide for Lily in ways I’ve never been able to.” The crushing weight of single motherhood — the constant financial struggle, the nights she had gone hungry to ensure Lily had enough to eat, the medical bills piling up from her asthma treatments — all of it pressed down on her in that moment.
“Just think about what you’re doing,” Melanie pleaded. “There has to be another way.”
But as Alexander turned and caught her eye from across the cathedral, the intensity of his gaze making her breath catch, Emma was not sure there was.
She straightened her shoulders and walked back toward him. The torn hem of her secondhand wedding dress dragged slightly on the marble floor.
“Have you reached a decision?” Alexander asked, his voice calm as though they were discussing a business proposal rather than the rest of their lives.
“I need to understand something first. Why marriage? If this is about punishing Greg, there are simpler ways.”
A flicker of appreciation crossed his features. “Intelligent question. This isn’t about punishing Greg, though that’s an enjoyable side benefit. This is about what I want.”
“And what exactly do you want?”
His dark eyes held hers. “A wife. A family. You.” He glanced at Lily. “Both of you.”
“But why me? There must be dozens of women who would—”
“I don’t want dozens of women.” He cut in smoothly. “I want you. I’ve watched you for months, Emma. Your loyalty. Your strength. Your devotion to your daughter. The way you work yourself to exhaustion rather than compromise your principles. These qualities are rare.”
The revelation that he had been observing her, studying her life without her knowledge, should have terrified her. Instead, she felt a disturbing ripple of something else. Something that might have been flattery in any other circumstance.
“That’s not normal. That’s stalking.”
“That’s due diligence.” He was unperturbed. “I don’t enter into arrangements lightly.”
“Arrangements.” She repeated bitterly. “Not marriages.”
“Would you prefer I pretend this is a love match? I respect you too much for such fiction. This is an arrangement that benefits us both. I gain a wife with qualities I admire. You and your daughter gain protection, security, and a future far better than anything you could provide alone.”
His blunt honesty struck her more powerfully than any romantic declaration could have. After months of Greg’s empty promises and ultimate betrayal, there was something almost refreshing about Alexander’s straightforward approach.
“If I agree,” she said carefully, “I have conditions.”
He raised an eyebrow, amusement playing at the edges of his expression. “I’m listening.”
“Lily comes first. Always. Her well-being, her happiness, her future — those are non-negotiable.”
He nodded once, decisively. “Agreed.”
“I want to finish my degree. I’ve put it off too long.”
“Of course. I insist on it. Education is valuable.”
She blinked, caught off guard by his ready acceptance. “And I want to know what you do. The truth. No more secrets or surprises.”
At this, his expression grew more guarded. “You understand that some aspects of my business require discretion.”
“I’m not asking for confidential details. I’m asking to know who I’m marrying. What world I’m stepping into. I need to know if I’m putting Lily in danger.”
Alexander considered her for a long moment. Finally, he inclined his head slightly. “You deserve that much. We’ll discuss it. Not here. But soon.”
Emma took a deep breath, her mind racing through the limited options before her. Refuse and face the consequences of Greg’s theft. Accept and enter into a marriage with a powerful, dangerous man she knew almost nothing about.
“One more thing. This may be an arrangement, but if we’re going to be married, I won’t be treated like a possession or a trophy. I expect respect.”
Something like admiration flickered in his eyes. “I would expect nothing less from the woman I choose as my wife.”
The word echoed strangely in her head. Wife.
“Do we have a deal, Emma?” He extended his hand toward her.
She stared at his outstretched palm. Strong. Well-manicured. A thin scar running across the knuckles. This hand could protect them or destroy them. This decision could save them or doom them.
“Yes,” she said, placing her trembling hand in his. “We have a deal.”
May you like
His fingers closed around hers, warm and surprisingly gentle. The contact sent an unexpected jolt through her — a current of awareness that had nothing to do with fear.
“Excellent,” he said softly. Then, turning to the priest, he added, “Father, we’re ready to proceed with the ceremony.”
