Ruthless Prince (The Mancini Mafia #2)

Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

ELLIE

I know I should be happy. The chance to marry the man I care for? What could be better than that?

However, I see the look on Vincent’s face as my father tells him he has to marry me, and I know that’s not what Vincent wants.

“You will marry her,” Father says. “And you will do it right away and without complaint. If you don’t want me to kill you, this is what you’ll do.”

Vincent nods once. “I’ll do it.”

These two men are deciding my future without me.

“Don’t I get a say?” I ask.

Father gives me a withering look. “No. You decided to get into bed with this man. I’m so disappointed in you, Ellie. I can’t even look at you anymore.” He turns away. “If you want me to forgive you, you’ll marry Vincent. Now, come along. We’re leaving.”

Vincent and I lock eyes. I’m pleading with him to help me.

“Ellie is an adult,” Vincent says. “She can go where she wants when she wants.”

Father turns back to us and pulls out a gun. I gasp, tightening the blanket around me. “If you don’t want me to use this, then you’ll shut your mouth.”

“It’s ok,” I gasp out, scrambling out of the bed. “I’ll go. I’ll go.” I quickly change back into my dress and follow my father out of the hotel room, leaving Vincent behind.

“Father, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t even talk to me right now.”

I flinch. Never before have I heard him sound so angry with me. Despite not wanting to, I follow my father like the good girl I am.

VINCENT

I have to marry Ellie.

I care for her—I really do—but I didn’t see myself getting married anytime soon. And I hate that I’m being forced into it.

But I’ll marry Ellie to save her from her father. It’s the only way.

When I return to the Moore household, everything is quiet. Neither Ellie nor Mr. Moore come out to greet me. So, I just go to bed and know that, tomorrow, everything will change.

In the morning, I find Mr. Moore and Ellie seated at the kitchen table. “Hello.”

Mr. Moore puts down the newspaper and gives me a long, hard look. “I’ve decided on a wedding date. It will be this weekend. There’s no need to wait. You don’t need a large ceremony. You two will do this, and that’s final. Understood?”

“This weekend?” I ask.

“Will that be a problem, Vincent?”

“I have the last fight this weekend.”

“So, you’ll get married first then attend the fight. And you better win. If you want to have an enjoyable life, Vincent, then you better win.”

Someone of Mr. Moore’s size doesn’t bother me. I could easily take him in a fight.

But it’s not his stature I’m afraid of. It’s his power. He exudes it, and I’m not sure how far his power extends. I’ve fought most of my life, and I don’t intend to die anytime soon.

Besides, if I die, then who’ll protect Ellie?

She’s practically curling into a ball in her seat.

I give Mr. Moore a nod. “This weekend, it is.”

That night, I’m in my bathroom brushing my teeth when someone knocks on the door. Opening it, I see Ellie.

“Vincent, we need to talk.”

I spit out my toothpaste. “Yeah?”

“Are you sure about this? Do you want to marry me?”

“It’s not about what either of us wants. It’s about protecting you, Ellie. If I marry you, I can take you away from your father.”

“But you don’t want to actually marry me.”

“I’m still getting to know you,” I admit.

“You had your face between my legs,” she hisses. “I think you know me pretty well by now.”

“And we can do that again once we’re married. Hell, we can do more than that, Ellie. You’ll be mine.”

“But do you really want to be mine?” she asks. “If you had your way, would you marry me?”

I hesitate and realize too late it’s a mistake.

She turns away from me. “I get it. This isn’t my choice either.”

I grab her hand, stopping her from walking away. “Ellie, neither of us has a choice. But I’ll make the most of it. I’ll protect you. I can promise you that.”

“And I’ll try to do the same. Protect you from my father,” she explains. “But let’s not pretend either of us is exactly happy about being forced into a marriage before we’re ready.” She pulls her hand away and leaves before I can say anything more.

ELLIE

My wedding dress is slightly ill-fitting. My father had me buy one with only a couple of days to spare before my wedding day. It’s not a perfect fit, but it will do.

I try to smile in the mirror. I like Vincent. No. I know I more than like him. I let him touch me when no one else has touched me like that before. A life with him won’t be bad at all.

So … why am I not happy?

Because I’m being forced into this. Once again, my father is dictating my entire life, and I’m powerless to do anything about it.

On my wedding day. he takes me to the church in my ill-fitting wedding dress. Vincent is already there, standing at the end of the aisle next to a reverend. There’s no music playing as Father walks me down the aisle. This isn’t about love and romance. This is for my father to control me. I went against his rules when I let Vincent touch me, so now, he’s trying to regain control of the situation.

He's the only witness. The rest of the church is startlingly empty.

Vincent takes my hand as Father passes me off to him. Once again, I don’t get to choose my own destiny. It’s chosen for me.

I listen to the reverend start his vows and stare into Vincent’s eyes, trying to seek comfort there. But he can’t quite meet my eye.

“Vincent,” I murmur, interrupting the reverend. “Look at me.”

He sighs and looks up, meeting my gaze.

“Are you ok?” I ask.

“I will be,” is his reply.

“Shall I continue?” the reverend asks. We both nod. “Do you, Vincent Antonov, take Ellie Moore to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.” Vincent’s voice is loud and clear in the room. I wish I could sound as confident as him.

“And do you, Ellie Moore, take Vincent Antonov, to be your lawfully wedding husband?”

“I do,” I whisper. I have no other choice.

“Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss.”

Gently, Vincent takes my face in his hands and plants a simple kiss on my lips. It reminds me of what we did in the hotel room earlier in the week, and it lights my body on fire. I want to be with Vincent again.

I just didn’t want it to be like this.

There’s no wedding reception. Father wants us back home right away even though we’re both married now.

Once we arrive back home, he orders us to go to our separate rooms.

“But we’re married now,” Vincent says.

“I know. And that doesn’t change anything. I don’t want you touching my daughter.” He gives me a hard look. “To your room, Ellie.”

Vincent grabs my hand. “You don’t have to do as he says.”

“Yes, she does. If she wants to live here, she does. You don’t have any money, boy. You can’t take care of her. So, she can either be homeless or go to her room.”

I drop my head and pull my hand away from Vincent. “I’ll go to my room.”

“Ellie,” Vincent says.

I ignore him and walk away.

The next week goes by in the same fashion. Vincent and I keep our distance from each other. Knowing I can’t touch him hurts, so it’s just easier to stay away.

Until Vincent runs into me in the hallway when my father isn’t around.

“This is ridiculous,” Vincent says. “We’re married, yet we can’t even be together.”

“Just win this competition, Vincent. Win the money. You can get out of here, then.”

“And leave you? No. I’ll take you with me.”

My heart flutters at his words, but that’s the thing—they’re just words. “My father won’t let me go. Just win this competition. For yourself. Meet Nico, and get the answers you’re looking for. I’ll be fine.”

I walk past him before it hurts my heart even more.

It’s not until I’m almost down the hallway when I hear Vincent say, “You’re not fine.”

He’s right. I’m not.

But there’s no use in complaining about it. My life never changes and despite being married, it still hasn’t changed one bit.