Sloane is married off to a mafia heir as an arrangement between both of their families, proving loyalty and joining sides in order to take down their enemy. +18
"Are you ready, darling?" My mother pulled me out of the thoughts I was drowning in, realizing the car had pulled into a long gravel road where I saw a church off in the distance.
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This was it. We were here. I've gone from slightly nervous to my stomach is now formed into a massive knot of anxiety kind of nervous.
I turned to my mom, hoping for some sort of out. "I don't think I can do this," my heart raced. Maybe she'd sympathize and force the driver to turn around...maybe she'd let me run away. I know my dad would hunt me down for the rest of my life, but maybe I could live off the grid. I could become a wilderness girl, camping around and use only cash.
Okay, yeah, no... I'd definitely get myself killed.
Just then, my mom took my hand and squeezed it tight. "You can do this, Sloane. You are going to walk in there with all the grace in the world and show everyone what a strong, beautiful woman you are," Her lips formed into a soft smile. "You are going to honor your family, showing every person in there that you were born to be by the side of their next leader. You were born to shine. And you, darling, were born to take the hand of someone who will give you the entire universe if you ask for it."
"But what if he doesn't want to give that to me?" A tear escaped down my cheek. I tried hard to control my emotions, but they were all over the place. I was a wreck.
She tilted her head to the side and reached up to catch the falling tear. "Then you grab it for yourself. When you leave today, you will be a Beaumont, but no matter what... you'll always be a Warner by blood, and we, my sweet child, do not have to ask twice to get what we want. Okay?" She paused as I slowly nodded. "This may seem like the scariest part of life right now, but I promise you that there will be days ahead that will be far worse than this moment. So when those moments do come, you will need someone by your side. You will need your husband and everything he's willing to do to protect you...to protect our families. You may not feel strongly for him in the beginning, but someday, your heart may choose him on its own. This is only one moment in your entire life...one out of the million to come.
"How long did it take for you to fall for Dad?" I wondered, knowing I had never really asked about their arranged marriage. It never crossed my mind because they seemed to fit together like a puzzle. You wouldn't look at them and think that years ago they were in the same position, only they had more time to prepare than I did. They got the chance to get to know each other.
"The moment my eyes found his for the very first time," the corners of her mouth curved up, looking as though she was reminiscing on the sweetest memory. "It was like he saw straight into my soul...the good, the ugly, and the most beautiful parts. He had my heart in an instant."
My own heart ached, wanting so badly for that to be the case for myself. "I'm scared that won't happen for me," I nervously swallowed, clasping my hands together in my lap. "I'm scared I'll end up alone in my marriage...alone and unhappy. I don't want to spend my life miserable. I want to be happy."
