CHOSEN BY A SINNER (Completed)

...

"Yeah, that's what I thought." A bitter-sounding chuckle escapes her, her eyes darkening. "How long are you planning to keep up the pretense before calling it quits?"

Plucking her purse from her lap, I open the damn thing and dig the ring out. I take hold of her left hand, and when she tries to yank away, I tighten my grip and shove the diamond back onto her finger. Pinning her with a look of warning, my tone states I'm serious as fuck as I say, "That ring will never leave your finger again."

She lifts her chin and sasses me, "Never is only six months long." She chuckles again. "Unless you back out sooner."

Slowly, I shake my head. "There will be no annulment, Principessa."

Instantly confusion flashes across her features. "What?"

Pulling away from her, I put on my safety belt and steer the vehicle back onto the road. "The one thing I'll never give you is a divorce. Anything else is up for discussion."

"You're joking, right?" When I don't bother responding, she gasps. "You're serious? Have you lost your mind?"

"Never been saner," I mutter.

"Why the hell would you want to stay married to me?"

I stop at a red light and glance at her. "You're Mariya Koslov. The better question is, why wouldn't I want to be married to you?"

"Jesus," she mutters, shaking her head. "I'm not some bargaining chip you can use to solidify an alliance with my father."