Chapter 2

ADRIANA CROSS

“...You may now kiss the bride,”

My body stilled as I shifted a glance at Dimitri. His dark eyes were on me, and he wasn't even hiding the rage in his eyes that he didn't want to kiss me.

I felt sick in my stomach; I was about to look away when, without warning, I felt his arms around my waist, and he crashed his lips on mine. I wasn't prepared for the emotions that exploded within me and the electrifying sparks that shot a wave of pleasure through my body.

He released a loud growl at the back of his throat before he pulled away as my entire body had somehow burned him.

We walked out of the courts and straight into the Black limousine that had been waiting for us outside.

The trip to Dimitri's mansion was quiet. Neither of us said anything. Frankly, there wasn't much to say; we had said everything we wanted last night as we finalized the deal.

I would be staying in his place in the course of these six months, playing the role of his wife while from today, Zoey had been transferred to the best medical facility in New York for her surgery.

We drove through a black gate and stopped right in front of a beautiful mansion.

I stepped out of the car along with Dimitri, who didn't even spare a glance my way as he entered the mansion. I followed behind him, walking past the many guards who bowed to us.

We headed inside towards the large main living room when a woman rushed down the stairs and went straight into Dimitri's arms, and her lips pressed against his.

I froze as shock rocked through my spine.

“What the hell is this, Dimitri?” I said in rage as Dimitri pulled her out of his arms. “Who is she?”

“Sabrina Brooke, Dimitri's lover,” She introduced and my angry gaze moved back to Dimitri.

I don't know why, I felt an instant rage burning through me at her words. The last time I felt this much rage was on that cruel night fourteen years ago.

I turned around, heading out of the mansion, ignoring Dimitri's call behind, when suddenly I felt him grip my wrist, turning me around. His hand on my wrist ignited sparks.

“What do you think you are doing, Adriana?”

“Going far away from you, if you had a lover then why did you marry me?” My question startled him and his eyes darkened.

“Don't forget we had a deal. You can't just leave, think about your sister,” His words made me remember why I had agreed to this marriage. I didn't know why I cared so much about him having a lover when I shouldn't. “I'm throwing an after-party tonight. Your dress has already been arranged so be down on time,”

“Is your lover going to be there?”

“Adriana—”

“So you want to humiliate me in front of your guests while you flaunt your mistress. I'm not attending Dimi—”

Before I could finish, I felt my back against the wall, and Dimitri's body pressed against me. I felt electric shocks all over my body at our closeness, and our lips were almost touching. I let out a whimper as his hands burned me with desire. Dimitri's eyes darkened and his eyes fell on my lips. He was about to lean closer when we were interrupted by a young woman.

“Alpha— Mr. Dimitri, you called for me?”

“Zena, see my wife in her bedroom and ensure she's down early for the party,” He said, before leaving us.

Zena showed me to my bedroom which I would be sharing with Dimitri. Strangely, that again angered me. I couldn't help but imagine the nights he had fucked Sabrina within these walls. I picked up the dress Dimitri had chosen for me for tonight's party.

It was a beautiful black dress.

I was already dressed and ready by the time the guests had arrived.

Zena had told me Dimitri had already requested I join him downstairs. I was about to leave when Sabrina strutted in.

She eyed me up. “Don't delude yourself into thinking you're special. Dimitri doesn't care about you. Once your contract comes to an end, he'll discard you like that trash you are,”

I was shocked to find out she knew about our marriage contract, but then again it didn't surprise me.

“It doesn't matter if this is all fake or not, the real truth is, I'm the one Dimitri's married to, not you. I'm the one he's throwing a party for, not you. And I'm the one who would sleep next to him tonight, and not you. So if you would excuse me, I have a party to attend to,” I walked out of the room.

I saw Dimitri waiting at the button of the stairs for me. His eyes darkened as they trekked down my body, sending heat between my legs.

As I reached him, he took my hand and led me to the large and quiet crowd eagerly staring at me with curious eyes. Everyone looked weird in one way or the other. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was some kind of initiation or something.

Dimitri introduced me to a few people and among them was a woman he called Agatha. She seemed so familiar but I couldn't remember where I'd seen her before.

Dimitri looked anxious and like he was in some kind of pain, emotionally and physically, as he handed me a drink and called the attention of everyone.

“Thank you, everyone, for joining us to celebrate tonight. We all know how special tonight is for us all, so we make a toast to our future. And to our freedom,”

“To our freedom,” Everyone raised their glasses, and I did too, even though Dimitri's words and everything seemed strange.

I finished my wine, suddenly feeling a sharp pain at the back of my head, and then everything went black.

*****