Arranged Marriage

Chapter 10

"What the hell do you think your doing?"

My head shot to the right and my whole body froze at the sight of a furious Patrick. His face was rock solid and his eyes had never seem so black. My eyes than shot towards Nickola, my blood boiling with betrayal.

"You told him!" I yelled over the music.

"No," he told me, a lie if I ever heard one, "I told Garrick."

I glared at him, my body becoming numb with rage.

"How dare you? Why would you?" I yelled.

He looked utterly helpless, hiding amongst the others that Patrick had brought.

"Doesn't matter why he did it, he knows where his loyalties lie. You apparently don't," Patrick growled.

I scoffed, "I'm having the night out with a friend, what's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that is that I told you not to go out tonight. And you understood. But you went back on that!" He shouted taking a step closer to me.

"Hey, back off man!" The bartender yelled, coming to my rescue.

"You keep your dirty nose out of this!"

"Hey, don't you dare yell at him!" I warned Patrick, challenging him, "can you try and not be a total ass all the damn time?"

"Can you try and - where's your ring?" He demanded pointing at my empty hand.

"At home," I told him, flicking my hair, "where I left it. With my husband."

I turned back to the bar, trying to ignore Patrick's fiery gaze. He took a step forward and leaned in close to my ear.

"If you don't come home right now with me, I'm going to kill every single person in this club, starting with your bartender friend," he growled.

I turned my head, horror filling my eyes as I looked into his soulless ones.

"You wouldn't?" I said, more hoping than believing.

"Do you doubt me?" He questioned, leaning back a little.

Still stunned by his threat, I took a step from the bar, jumping when he grabbed my arm.

"Antonio, take Zoey home," Patrick ordered, ignoring Zoey's protests.

"I'll do it -,"

"No," he stopped Nickola before he took a step, "you've done enough for tonight.

My heart cracked when I saw Nickola's guilty face. This was all my fault. I was only thinking about Patrick's anger towards me. I didn't even think about Nickola.

Patrick practically threw me into the back of the black SUV, before pacing around the other side. Unlike other cars I had been in, there was a black wall blocking out the driver and the passenger seat. Through the window, I saw Garrick and Piero jump in the front before we sped off into the night.

And then the fury began.

"You bastard! You big ass rat bastard! Asshole! You mutterfucker asshole! You asswipe, asswad, bastard!"

"Are you done?" He asked me.

"No where near. Figlio di puttana -,"

"Oh, Italian now -."

"You can go fottiti! Because non mi rompere i coglioni!" I screamed.

"How lovely?"

"And don't you dare blame, Nickola, do you understand?" I warned him, "it wasn't his idea. He tried to stop me."

"Yes, clearly showing your selfishness," he stated, looking out the window.

"My selfishness?"

"Yes. You didn't stop and think about the consequences for everyone else. You only thought about what I would do to you," he stated, looking back at me, "but don't you think so little of me. I know what women can do to men with just a little smile and flutter of their eyelids."

Was he calling me a slut? Again? There was no stopping me.

"You pigliainculo! rottinculo!succhiacazzi! testa di cazzo!"

I screamed every insult I knew till we came to the house. Patrick pulled me from the car and dragged me inside, until he had had enough.

"Shut up!" He yelled, letting me go only so that we could have a screaming match face to face.

"No, I'm not finished!" I screamed.

"You bet your bloody ass your finished. How dare you go out of this house and act the why you did?" He growled.

I scoffed, "so, I had a few drinks. I wasn't even near wasted."

"Every time you step outside that door you are representing your empire, not to mention my own!" He snarled.

I frowned, not even knowing where to go with that, "what? The club has nothing to do with our empires!"

He gave a bitter chuckle, fuelling my anger, "how little you know your own world. Odin Volkov owns that club," when I didn't say anything, he added, "Egor Volkov's son," when I still didn't say anything, he finished, "the Russian drug lord, the Russian drug lord that I just happened to be making a deal with tonight."

Was that the guy from the club? Was that how he knew my name? The very thought seemed to set my skin on fire. Why was I being blamed for something that I had no control over? I didn't ask for these types of connections!

"What the hell does that have to do with me?" I yelled.

"Well, because you so kindly asked. Because of our fathers' deal, your face is now the face of my business that I have spent nine years building. I don't need nor want, a pretty little princess like you screwing that up!"

"Excuse me? How dear you speak to me like that? You can't speak to me like that!"

"I can speak to you however I wish, especially the way your acting," he told me.

I scoffed, "the way, I'm acting. What about the way you've been acting? This is the most you've spoken to me since our wedding!"

"Oh, you want me to speak to you. Okay, I'll do you one better. From now on we're going to spend every waking minute with each other, until you can be trusted to behave yourself outside of these walls," he suggested, putting his hands on his hips.

"What? Hell no!"

"No. I think it's a great idea. Then maybe I'll get the Queen that I was promised, not some little princess!"

That was it. I had been insulted enough. I had been yelled at, pulled from the club like a rag doll and embarrassed in front of Garrick, Piero and Alberto who were in the dining room, probably listening.

"You heartless bastard," I growled feeling the tears in my eyes, "I wish to God that I had never, ever married you."

I saw it. It was only for a second but I saw it. A hint of regret. A touch of guilt. And a speck of something almost human.

Before he could stop me, I stormed for the stairs. I caught a glimpse of him pacing towards the corridor that led into the library, probably heading for the bar.

Growls and grumbles flowed from my lips as I refused to let the tears fall.

"How dare he?" I groaned, "just one night. Just one fricking night."

Once I got to my room, the tears were unstoppable. Why was I married to such an ass? He made it clear that he didn't like me let alone love me and yet seemed happy to destroy any piece of joy that I might find. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

When my eyes caught the sparkling light of my ring on the dresser, that was it. I snatched it in my fingers and threw it across the room. A cry erupted from my lips before I fell to the floor a mess. I was in no hurry of leaving.