SADIE
“Are you nervous?” Becka asked me.I blew a shaky breath. “No. Not at all. I’m excited, unlike my first wedding. I wanted to run if there was a chance. I thought I was marrying a mafia boss.”
In a few minutes, I was going to be married to the same man—the love of my life, for the second time—this time, at the back of our house. I wasn’t wearing anything extravagant like my first wedding. This time I wore a minimalist satin-wrapped wedding dress with a hat to honor my late English father, Lewis. Last week, we found out he was buried in London. We took a quick trip and visited his grave.
“Are you ready?”
I nodded at Austin. “Yes,” I asked him if he could walk me down the aisle. He was even glad and said yes.
When the music started, I took a deep breath and walked towards my man waiting for me. He was wearing a simple beige suit and pants and a white crisp open-button shirt. He always looked breathtaking dressed or naked. Fo
CENRIC The jet just took off. My wife invited her friends, Maeve and Zhuri, and of course, Becka to this trip. We were supposed to be on our honeymoon, but she decided to do something before our Italy trip. I couldn’t say no to her because after last night, and I didn’t think I could defy my wife again. We were supposed to fuck our brains out, and I should have taken her warning seriously, so here we were, flying to Greece. “I apologized about last night,” I tried to talk it out, hoping it would work. She rested her head on my shoulder as she scrolled the photographs of our wedding. “I didn’t sleep with you because I was mad.” “Oh. You have—” I didn’t finish my words. “Fuck me.” She giggled. “That’s not my fault.” Her smile was wicked. Maybe she was just messing with me or something. Anyhow, I played along. After a few hours, we landed. We were picked up by my contact and drove to the pier. It was hotter this time.
CENRIC Jasper’splace was on a small island—a fishing community turned into a beautiful resort that could only be reached by boats. It was a summer paradise, away from crowded tourists. As we arrived at the harbor, the view from there just took my breath away. “How many women did you bring here before me?” I knew she was messing with me. I smiled. “Jealous?” “Nah. I’m always into Greek gods. You know with tan skin, hard specs, dashboard abs with long and thick—” She shrugged, making girls laugh out loud. “Long and thick what, Sadie Wollf?” I reminded her of the surname she was carrying. She shrugged again. “Hair and thighs?” I wasn’t aware the guys were also listening. They burst out laughing. Terrible things happened from my past, and my extreme decisions led me to meet my soulmate—my wife. Sadie never ceased to amaze me. My chest expanded as I realized that God always had reasons for everythin
SADIE Three years later… My husband in a perfectly tailored suit was drool-worthy. In a blue military uniform, damn, my uterus just contracted. He always took my breath away, even after years of marriage. Cenric was finally called. He gripped my hand before he rose and walked to the stage to receive his award. I turned to my side to look at my guys, applauding their brother. Cenric was awarded Humanitarian of the year for his philanthropic works and considerable donations to the military. “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he quoted. “I’m proud to have services this wonderful nation. I would always help and support my brothers in service and our people.” He looked at his award. “Thank you for recognizing my humble works.” He then found me in the audience. “Semper Fidelis.” I rose from my seat just like everyone and applauded him. His brothers in arms loved him—they admired him. So did I. I
This is a work of fiction and a product of my imaginationfor entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, and places is entirely coincidental. *** CENRIC I hate promises.I always would. When I made a promise to protect someone, I failed her. That changed my perspective—maybe it meant to be broken. Right now, it contradicted everything that I believed. I had to fulfill that promise. Even for someone like me, I couldn’t escape from it. It happened even before I became who I was, and I should have forgotten about it, but looking back at the dying woman in my arms I failed to protect, I just couldn’t let it go. I had to make it possible, even if it meant signing off my life away from freedom. I rifled through the folder on my desk. I wanted to get my mind off the wedding—my wedding in two days. And here I was
SADIE He calls back. Terror had filled me. My brother shot me a murderous glare as he talked to him over the phone. I just wished this call would be calling off the wedding then we could both live our merry lives. But as I stared back at my brother, his expression even cowered down. So, the wedding was still on the go. Kill me now. It was my third attempt to escape, but my father’s lackeys had done a pretty bang-up job keeping me in this horrible mansion since our engagement was official with a freaking twenty-five million dollars. My fiance was a private person despite being a self-made billionaire. He was known to be a whale on Wall Street. I was curious to look for him online, but I might not going to like what I would find out. If Jasper was right, his brother, Cas did all the public appearances since he was the expert in cryptography—he was the face of the decentralized digital currency called Centhaddeus or known as CENTH by the Crypto marketers. My heart had been beating a
CENRIC Something is off. I knew it. I could feel it in my bones. But why was I even surprised anymore? She was forced. Why did they also have to treat her terribly? I couldn’t blame her if she wanted to run away. If I were in her shoe, I had already done it a thousand times. Poor thing. Nowadays, this awful tradition should be banned, but a lot of old-fashioned—those powerful families kept this tradition alive for their transaction purposes—to keep the family business running. I shut my eyes close for a moment. Gritting my teeth was as painful as the twist in my stomach. They would pay for this. Money could be earned and replaced, but the pain and trauma they had inflicted on her couldn’t be undone—it stuck in her brain like goddamn cancer. I knew how it felt—I’d been there. Even until now, I was still haunted by it—the trauma—the mental trauma was difficult to be cured. I just hoped she hadn’t gone that far. One broken person was enough in a relationship, but two? That would be
SADIE My heart had been beating so fast, like I’d been running for miles. I wasn’t sure if I was going to pass out or from the discomfort of knowing that my future husband was waiting for me at the altar. I behaved like a royal princess for the last forty-eight hours as I kept telling myself that I wouldn’t want another mistreatment from my father before they handed me to my new owner wrapped in a big bowtie. My father walked me down the aisle around these two hundred fifty guests that I didn’t even know them. The venue went dead silent except for the live band playing the classic At Last by Etta James. The music alone didn’t feel right. At Last, I was free? Or, At Last, I was doomed? Either way, there was no going back. I would give credit to the event planner, though. They did a pretty good job. I felt like I had just walked into a fantasy land filled with flowers I didn’t even recognize. I wore a gown of my choosing, which was a strapless princess bridal gown with a v-shape back
CENRIC “Congratulations, bro. You’re officially a married man.” My brother slapped my back just right after we signed the legalities for the registrar. “Thanks.” I looked over my shoulder. “Then you’ll have to find a woman to marry. Not just for— ” I whispered the last word. My beautiful wife might have just heard what I said as she shot me a look. Cas was grinning, genuinely pleased of this ceremony that my wife and I did not get cold feet for the sake of this business deal, even though he was not aware of my entire motives. “Mom and Pap would be so thrilled, bro. I wish they were here.” I felt the same. I hoped they were proud. “Enough of this drama. We have guests to meet.” I grabbed my wife’s hand and intertwined my fingers with hers. I still found it difficult to believe that I was married. On the other hand, I fulfilled my promise. That was what mattered most. I was going to make sure she got the best deal that she deserved. At the reception, I was pleased with the organi