Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
I went for a chic silk slip dress with a long train; it had nearly invisible ivory straps that went to my lower back, exposing all of it.
It was simple.
Beautiful.
And I didn’t want a veil. I didn’t want to cover my joy.
The other dress, however, that I dreamed of, was the statement dress, a dress you wore in order to tell a story and make sure everyone knew that you would be the one writing the ending.
It was red.
It had see-through lace across the stomach, chest, and sleeves, was daring, sexy, and it made a statement with its long blood-red train, but most of all, because the sleeves were see-through, you could see my small Abandonato tattoo in black writing down my left arm, it ended right at my wrist, close to my ring finger.
My branding.
My oath.
My life.
I wanted him to see it; I wanted him to see me and know that I wasn’t going down without a fight, and I wanted the world to know the sacrifice I was making.
May as well be a blood sacrifice—bathed in an expensive dress.
I sighed and looked at the white one. That was the fantasy.
The red was my reality.
So, I very slowly started to change into my wedding dress, opting for matching red heels.
A knock sounded at the door just as I finished.
My makeup was already flawless, my dark hair was pulled back into a loose braid, and my eyes were alert.
“Come in,” I whispered.
When I looked over my shoulder, I was a bit surprised to see my uncle Chase, not my sister, not my dad, not my mom… but my uncle.
“It looks the same.” He let himself in. He was wearing an all-white tux with no tie, and if it was even possible, still looked like he was only thirty years old as he walked into the room. It really was impossible to take the men in my family everywhere. Chase was just another example, fully tatted down both arms, up to his neck, captivating smile that held secrets, crystal blue eyes and thick dark brown hair.
They’d make a killing with a mafia calendar. Then again, he was a senator and had the ear of every powerful politician in the world, it seemed.
“Is it time?” I looked around him.
His eyes locked on me before he crooked his finger and then sat down on the floor. “Sit.”
“I’m in a dress.”
“It’s not white.” He pointed out. “Just sit.”
I carefully sat next to him on the ground, leaning up against the wall by the door. “Comfy.”
“Sarcasm from my niece, shocker.”
I shrugged. “It’s not like I’m ready to pop champagne and celebrate right now.”
“A lot of us have been forced to do things we don’t want to do, I still deal with my demons, Bella. Sometimes I think if they went away, I’d be bored out of my mind and need more things to wrestle.”
I almost laughed. “That sounds mentally sound.”
“Hey. now.” He wrapped an arm around me and held me close. “Dreams are made to be borne out of nightmares, not the other way around, Bella.” He held me tight. “You appreciate the dream when the nightmare is over, but you always wait for the other shoe to drop. I think it’s better to experience the darkness first, so you know what it feels like, then to live a perfect dream only to have the rug jerked out from underneath you, leaving you vulnerable without any skill, tools, armor.”
“And getting married is my nightmare.” I stated flatly.
He laughed. “It wasn’t mine, but it should have been, yes, looking back, it was a nightmare masquerading as a perfect dream. Finally, someone loved me, wanted me, needed me, so when the rug was pulled out from underneath me, I was completely wrecked, angry, lost. I didn’t know how to deal because I’d blindly existed in that dream, one that didn’t exist.”
I knew his story. I knew that his first wife was the one who caused the collapse of the De Langes, hadn’t I just been at that party days ago hearing confessions because of her? I also know he loved her more than life itself and couldn’t pull the trigger. In the end, Phoenix, Junior’s dad, took the fall, took the burden out of Chase’s hands, and for good reason. “At least you’re happily married now, you are living the dream.”
“I’m in a tux and have to smile for the next few hours, this is a nightmare and I think we’re all out of whiskey. We started early.” He winked.
I burst out laughing. Chase always made me laugh. He was the fun uncle, the cool one, but also the one that would quite literally slit someone’s throat for looking at me funny. I kind of loved it.
He and my dad had anger issues that only worsened once they had kids. The wives thought it was hilarious, the kids myself included, that were often caught in the crosshairs when attempting to date, didn’t find it funny at all.