Chapter 54
Aurora POV
Flip-flopping back and forth about whether I should run has officially scrambled my brain.
I’ve run through every scenario a thousand times. What it would look like if Gianna and I disappeared tonight, if we waited until the wedding day, if I just stayed and hoped Dominic wouldn’t destroy me in the end.
None of it gives me clarity. If anything, it’s all made things worse.
I feel like I’m drowning in my own thoughts.
So, by the time late morning hits and my head feels like it's about to crack open from overthinking, I practically beg the twins to take me and Gianna out.
“Anywhere,” I say. “Just… somewhere that doesn’t involve being stuck in this damn motel.”
They glance at each other, some secret conversation passing between them, before their attention is turned back to me again. Matching mischievous smiles creep across their features.
“Ah. Seems our charges are feeling quite cooped up.” Luca grins.
“Luckily for you, Dominic already gave us his blessing.” Marco adds.
Gianna raises a brow. “For what exactly?”
“For a shopping spree,” they say together.
What?
I can’t help but exchange a confused look with my best friend.
Why in the world would Dominic propose a shopping trip without me, or the twins for that matter, ask him ahead of time? They had already gotten chewed out once for letting us leave. I thought it would be more difficult than this to convince them to let us out into the wild growing grass in the back lot behind the motel.
Never did I expect heading into the city to be an option.
Luca reaches around in his pocket, his hand quickly wiping out a sleek, black metal credit card held between two fingers. “We have full access to whatever your little heart's desire. Along with no limit.”
Marco snags it from him, tossing it up a few times in the air. The metal surface glints in the light coming in from the living room’s windows as it rotates in the air at each toss. “There is just one stipulation.”
I arch a brow, my stomach already flipping. “Which is?”
They glance at each other again, clearly loving the suspense.
“You have to come back with a wedding dress,” Luca finally says. “Dominic’s orders.”
And just like that, the butterflies kick up inside me, fluttering straight into my throat.
Goddamn him.
A wedding dress… of all things.
I hate that part of me is genuinely excited at the idea of trying on gowns again. The last time had felt like a death sentence but for some reason this time around I’m actually kind of looking forward to experiencing the whole process through a different lens.
Which is ridiculous considering the man I’m about to marry.
A cold, calculating psychopath who didn’t even blink when his father was gunned down right in front of him. A man who nearly framed me and my family for the murder and never once was sorry about it. Someone who I shouldn’t be trusting with anything, let alone my heart.
And yet…
I can’t pretend he hasn’t shown me a different side. Gone out of his way to protect me when it came down to it. That when I stood toe-to-toe with him and demanded he abandon his entire plan of revenge, he listened.
He changed his entire course. For me
He could’ve spun the narrative, twisted it into something that worked in his favor if he really wanted to. Hell, he could’ve painted me as a liar, a manipulator. With how persuasive he is, he probably would’ve gotten away with it.
But he didn’t. He chose not to.
I don’t know what that means, but it’s something. Right?
Gianna claps her hands together. “Let’s go get you a wedding dress!”
By the time we pull into the city, my head’s still spinning, but the twins don’t give me a second to dwell on anything.
They drag me and Gianna from boutique to boutique, loading us up with designer clothes and accessories I could never afford on my own. Many of which I’ve seen Camilla and her mother dressed in quite frequently over the years.
All of this feels strange but not in a bad way. There’s a part of me that can’t help but lean into the feeling of being taken care of. Not by the twins, but by Dominic. While he may not be here, him giving us free reign of his finances for the day feels… strangely intimate.
I’m to be his wife soon but up until now, it’s never felt like it.
Now though, I’m beginning to see that this life—one where I’m spoiled rotten—may actually be in my future.
Camilla’s offer still eats away at me, though.
No matter how many shops I’m dragged into and clothes forced on me as I head to the dressing room, none of it helps erase my anxiety surrounding that decision I still have yet to make.
By the time we make it to the wedding dress shop, I’m worn out.
Though, stepping inside, I can tell this place is much different from the one I went to for my wedding to Leonardo. That last boutique had been all white marble and stale air with stylists that felt like they were judging me the entire time.
Everything had been chosen for me with very little input on my end. Not that I actually cared back then.
But this place? It feels warm and inviting. The kind of boutique where appointments are customized and the dresses that are left for you in the dressing room are exactly what you envision yourself walking in when heading down the aisle.
When I find the one—God, I know it’s the one the second Gianna helps me slip it on—I almost don’t recognize myself in the mirror. The dress is soft and structured in all the right places, hugging my curves, delicate lace sweeping across the bodice and flowing down into a soft, romantic skirt.
It’s nothing like the giant white monstrosity I wore for Leonardo.
This dress feels like me.
For a terrifying second, I actually feel like a real bride. Not a pawn. Not the daughter of a mafia don being sold to keep the peace between syndicates.
Just a woman in love.
Except… I’m not in love.
Am I?
“Oh wow.” Gianna’s eyes are wide while she moves around me as I stand on the round stage in front of the mirror. “Aurora… This is the one.”
I nod slowly, voice stuck somewhere between my heart and throat. “You like it?”
“You look beautiful,” she says softly. “Like an actual bride.”
I exhale shakily, stepping down from the stage in order to sit down on the velvet bench close by. My skirt morphs around me, enveloping me in the beautiful material. I stare at it—and myself—in the mirror for a long time.
What am I doing?
“Is all of this real?” Gianna asks after a moment. “I mean… are you actually doing this? Marrying him for real?”
I blink at her. “That’s the plan, isn’t it?”
“Is this all part of the plan, though?” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Are we still running afterward?”
I look down at my hands, fingers twisted together in my lap.
I want to say yes. That this is all just a show. I haven’t forgotten the monster Dominic can be or softened to the things he’s done and is capable of. The problem is the words don’t come out, even when I try to force my mouth open to say them.
Because the truth is, I don’t know.
I’m not sure about anything anymore.
Gianna’s hand finds mine. “Are you starting to care about him?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper, because it’s the only thing I can say. “He confuses me. One second I want to run away from him and the next… he has me questioning everything.”
“I mean, you said it yourself, Aurora. That man isn’t safe. What happens if he wants to use you again for something? He’s only shown he’s in it for himself.”
“I know.”
“But you want to believe he could be different,” she adds.
I nod once, biting my lip hard enough to leave a mark.
Gianna sighs. “Look, I’ll follow your lead. If you want to run, we run. If you want to stay and see what this becomes… I’ll back you. I’m just worried you’re getting in over your head.”
The weight of her words hits me hard. She’s trusting me with her life, with both of our lives. Whatever decision I end up making, it’s going to impact us both. I’m scared for what the future holds but more than that, I’m terrified I’m making a wrong decision that will end up hurting Gianna in the process.
The longer I dwell on these things though, the more conflicted I grow.
I sigh, rubbing my face. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just… figure it out. Before it’s too late.”
When we leave the shop, the dress is boxed up like treasure, nestled in layers of delicate tissue. The twins practically beam with satisfaction, a successful mission complete, while we climb into the back of their SUV.
Somehow, I thought leaving the motel would distract me. Instead, it’s only twisted the lines between the life I wanted and the life I might be ending up falling into. For the first time, I realize that maybe… maybe I wouldn’t mind those two parts to blend together as I once believed.
All I know is one thing for certain: Dominic is starting to feel like something more than just my captor.
He’s starting to feel like I man I can see myself falling in love with.
