Defiant. Sweet. Alluring.
A business deal gone wrong brought me to her doorstep.
She's everything I shouldn't want; everything I was against after watching my mother's obsession destroy her.
Still, I can't stop myself from craving her.
I should know...
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SHOWING UP TO WORK WITH A wedding band around my finger raised a lot of questions among my staff, especially because the last time they saw me, I bade them goodbye before heading for Papà's funeral.
The girls and I were like friends instead of coworkers. We all clicked, and it wasn't like a normal boss-employee relationship.
That wasn't to say they didn't respect my boundaries or weren't efficient with their work. It was quite the opposite, and I couldn't be more grateful for that.
"Someone tell me I'm hallucinating," Drea, my closest friend of the bunch, said as she flung my door open, barging into my workspace.
Only she would get a pass for intruding.
My workspace was sacred, but she was also my best friend since my college days. In the end, bestie privileges, as she liked to call it, won.
"There's been some buzz floating around. You're freaking married?" Her eyes zeroed in on my engagement ring and wedding band lined with diamonds because over his dead body would Aleksei gift his wife something less than befitting of his status. "Holy duckling, they were right."
I shook my head at her antics. What the heck was holy duckling?
"Deets immediately."
I explained everything that had happened over the week to her, and her mouth dropped open. It helped that Drea knew about what my family did, but she never once blamed me for it. Add that to the piling reasons why I loved her.
"Wait. You mean to tell me that you're married to the Aleksei Tarasov? Like, Aleksei freaking Tarasov?"
I nodded grimly, my lips pressed into a flat line.
"Oh, my God. He's fucking gorgeous, babe." She fanned herself. "And he's stupid rich. He was featured in Forbes' under thirty billionaires' list."
I blanched at her. "Did you not understand a word I just wrote?"
She grinned at me, flipping her brown hair over her shoulder. "You said it yourself. Arranged marriages aren't a new thing in your world. In your case, you got a hottie as a husband, not an old geezer over thirty years your senior. You should be happy."
I probably should.
Aleksei was a better option than most men who'd sought my hand in marriage, but I still couldn't help but feel hatred toward him.
After Papà's death, I could have skipped that fate. Matteo and Enzo would kill themselves before they forced me to marry a man I didn't want to. I was so close to tasting real freedom. Aleksei just had to ruin everything and trap me in a marriage.
"I need to get back to work, Drea. Let's talk after work."
She nodded after reading the note. "I'll see you during lunch. I have a present in my bag that I've wanted to give you for forever, and your wedding just provided the perfect opportunity. Love the new look by the way. The blonde hair looks amazing on you."
