make sure you’ll keep your end of the deal before I give you anything. You’re too conniving.”
I bite my tongue at his audacity. “This is purely transactional, Robert. All of it. The wedding. Having children. All you’re doing is checking boxes on your life list, and I’m disgusted that I’m being forced to be a part of it. So you give me what I want, and I’ll bow down and do what you say.”
He chuckles. “Force you? You agreed to it, Gemma. Don’t you fucking forget that. Every night on our honeymoon, we will be having sex. I want you pregnant as soon as possible.”
“I’m compromising a lot for you. I have to know you’re gonna follow through and give me what I want because I don’t trust you. I can’t unhave sex with you if you decide not to fulfill your end of the bargain. If you can’t agree, I’ll walk away right now and deal with the consequences. It’ll be much worse to call everyone and let them know the wedding is off forty-eight hours beforehand,” I threaten, and he seems to finally understand how serious I am.
“You’re not gonna play me for a goddamn fool, Gemma. You’re nothing but a selfish bitch, something that you’ve proven to me time and again over the past year. You’re only worried about yourself. I honestly don’t understand why my parents love you so goddamn much.”
I scoff. “You’re a hypocrite. If anyone has been selfish, it’s you. You pushed me away. You made me feel like I was second class next to your work and your clients. The only time you ever fucking wanted me around was to show off. Maybe if you weren’t a damn sociopath and had an ounce of empathy in your body, you’d be able to see why we didn’t work out. Just so you know, it wasn’t because of me. I’m convinced you’re incapable of loving anyone or anything other than money,” I throw back at him.
My words don’t faze him, but it seems he’s considering what I’ve said. Canceling the wedding this soon would be too devastating for him to handle and would take a lot of cleanup. He huffs, and for once, I think I have him by the balls. “Fine. I’ll sign the deed on Monday, but only if you agree to my additional terms.”
I suck in a deep breath. “Okay. If that’s what it’ll take.”
“Saturday after the wedding, we’ll make love and have a proper night as husband and wife. Monday morning, I’ll sign over the deed. Friday, we leave for our honeymoon, and you know what is to take place there.”
That gives me another idea. “One more thing. If you screw me over and don’t sign, I won’t be going on the honeymoon. The whole town will hear about it because you know how fast gossip spreads here.”
He glares as if he’s annoyed by my audacity to assume he’d find a loophole out of giving me what I want after I give him what he wants. But I wasn’t born yesterday. I’ve heard a lot of his negotiations, and the key is to think of every opportunity that can screw you over.
“Then I expect you to quit your job immediately. If you agree to all that, it’s a deal.” He holds out his hand. I contemplate not taking it, but I know I have no choice. I reach out and shake it, and he grins. I want to throw up in my mouth as he walks away with a bounce to his step. Instead of eating my gross food, all I can do is cry. All of this is almost too emotionally taxing for me to handle.
I put on my wedding dress and hate the way it looks on me. I would’ve never chosen this for myself, but I’m sure he’ll love it. Before I go out and exchange I do’s with the man I hate, I drink myself stupid. There’s no way I can do it sober. Everleigh and Katie try to convince me to leave, but I continue to take shots of Fireball and act as happy as I can around Robert’s family. I have no plans to be a runaway bride today because too much is at stake. Anyone who doesn’t know me probably thinks I’m ecstatic. The persona he’s created makes him seem like the whole package. People think I’m the luckiest girl on earth for finding such a catch, and I want to scream that this