The Fortunates (Unfortunate #2) - Skyla Madi Page 0,40
need to relax.”
“Relax?” He rolls his shoulders. “My future wife is plotting a rebellion, so excuse me if I’m a little on edge.”
Something in my stomach flutters at the term “future wife.” Is that how he sees me? Is that someone I can see myself being? A wife? A mother? With a bit of work it’s possible.
“I know it’s hard and I know how difficult it is for you to let go of your control, but I need you to let me handle this.”
He huffs and pulls back from me, but I launch forward, squeezing his wrists in my hands so he can’t turn away. A spotlight rolls over us, illumining his frustrated frown.
“Let me do this, Kaden. Let me control this…and you won’t have to wait until the future. Give me what I want and I’ll marry you today. I swear I will.”
His frown smooths out and then pulls back in. “Are you bribing me with nuptials?”
A light smile touches the corners of my lips. “What do you say?”
“Is it what you want?”
He swallows hard in anticipation as I slip in close, so close our bodies touch.
“Changing the world and being with you are the only things I want.”
“Do you mean it?”
I nod. Kade and I might have started off on the wrong foot, but there are so many different ways he could have ruined my life. And he didn’t. No one has ever cared for me the way he has. No one has fought for me, defended my rights, or protected me fiercer than Kaden Sario has.
And no one ever will.
We are meant to be. There’s no denying that.
I don’t know how long we stare at each other. The war could have started and finished and we’d have no idea. I’m stuck, lost in him, until he reaches into the pocket of his slacks.
A cool breeze blows my long, auburn hair into my face and I push it away just as he opens the palm of his hand and proudly displays a little gold ring. The spotlight comes back around and the shiny metal reflects it, casting a small sliver of light onto my dress.
“It’s beautiful,” I gasp, holding my hair out of my face. “How long have you—?”
“A few weeks.” He shrugs. “I had it made before the necklace, but I felt it might have been too soon.”
My heart pounds in my chest and my eyes feel like they’re swelling in their sockets as he takes my wrist in his hand and rests my fingers against his. His hand is firm and commanding, but his skin is warm and soft. A mesmerising balance of malice and mercy.
He reaches for the ring and panic ignites in my chest. Instinctively, I tug my hand back to my chest. Kaden’s face darkens. It’s important to me that he realises what’s at stake here.
“Once this war starts, being a Sario will become pointless,” I tell him. “You’ll lose your house and marrying me won’t save it. You gain nothing, but you will lose everything.”
He reaches out and takes my hand again.
“I lost everything the moment my father brought you into my office.” Splaying my fingers over his palm, he slips the ring to the first knuckle. “I’ve fought hard to hold on to it, but you’ve pried it from my fingers.” Sliding the ring the rest of the way, our eyes lock and the pulse of my heart thrums loudly in my ears. “Your happiness is the only thing that matters to me. The only thing.”
Kade cups my face in his large hands and kisses me deeply. My head spins and my nerves are unable to properly react to my heart as it slams itself into my ribs, threatening to shatter each rib. It hurts in the most delightful way.
In a single moment, I’ve gone from being one in one, to one in two. That’s the start of a family, the start of a love so colossal it’d take a miracle to destroy.
That’s what Kade is now. He’s family. My family.
My right hand man.
My partner in crime.
My future husband.
Chapter Thirteen
Nine
I wake up early with nothing to do. Can you believe it? I’m lying in a bed—my bed—and it has blankets and pillows. It’s so soft it just about swallows me up.
Kade left early, claiming he had some business things to take care of. He ordered me to meet him in the backyard for breakfast when the time for eating came. Since my house, the Milano residence, is both mourning a loss