SHATTERED VOWS: An Arrange Marriage

CHAPTER 20: MORINA

Mr. Finley continued reading the will. I saw his mouth moving. I watched how he formed each word, and yet I couldn’t make out a single one. The only part I put together was the part I knew I couldn’t handle.

“She wants you to decide the fate of the company. She’s giving you her majority share. She wanted me to state that these shares are somewhat dangerous to own.” He glanced at Bastian.

“You understand, right, Morina?”

“If Bastian knows what to do …” I waved away the rest, then took a deep breath.

“I’ll do what’s needed for this city. I’ll sell to him.”

The mob. I’d be selling to the mob. No one wanted to say we were surrounded by men who could kill us, but that was the truth. Mr. Finley cleared his throat.

“There’s a stipulation.” Bastian glared at the estate lawyer.

His voice held the threat of fury.

“Go on.” Before he continued, Mr. Finley gulped like he knew it wasn’t about to go over well.

. “So, to keep the city and Morina safe, the conditions are that she marry into the Armanelli family, of course. Your grandmother wanted me to put ‘of course’ in the writing.” He chuckled like we all knew this.

“You can’t be …” I sucked in what oxygen I could.

But I gulped in too much air. Or too little. I stood up so fast, my chair flew back. It never hit the floor because Bastian caught it, his gold Rolex peeking out from under his sleeve. I stared at him as he set it back in place like he’d seen it coming, like he was two steps ahead of my every move. I wanted to scream at the smug look on his face.

“You’re kidding.” I shook my head, my wavy hair looking even more crazy as I glanced from one to the other.

“This is not a joke.” Mr. Finley straightened his glasses, his knuckles cracking.

“Maribel felt this would be most beneficial for the city and for you, Morina.” Would I be arrested if I jumped across the table to strangle the messenger?

“This is your fault.” The words flew out of me before I could stop them as I turned to Bastian.

I spat them like a viper ready to bite down on a victim.

“You did this.”

“No. Morina, your grandmother did this,” he replied, irritation on his face too.

“It seems this is an inconvenience for all of us.”

“Inconvenience?” I screeched.

“Are you kidding me? It’s nothing to you. But to me, it’s everything! I’m not marrying you.”

“Nothing to me?” he whispered.

Then, he stood slowly and straightened that stupid, stuffy suit of his.

“I don’t enjoy being around you. I need the shares, not some flippant girl who runs a food truck. I definitely don’t want to be tied to you legally in any way, shape, or form. But the company is at stake.”

“The company? What about the city?” I stomped my foot.

“That company runs this town.” The words fell out of his mouth like dominos tipping one by one.

“Half the people are employed there. You hand those stocks over to SeashellOil, and they’ll get rid of this town. Hire the people they want and push that port to its limit.”

“I don’t want anything to do with this,” I whispered.

The lawyer cleared his throat.

“Your grandmother has written all the details in your letter, but I do want to read the rest of the terms here in case you do not accept them.” He motioned for us to take our seats.

I huffed and plopped back down in mine, running my fingers over my bracelets. I tried to channel the energy from them. I needed at least ten more to get through the rest of the will though.

“If you won’t marry one another, you may donate your stocks to SeashellOil. You will not get a vote on the outcome of the port, and you will not pass go and collect that two hundred dollars, Morina.” Mr. Finley looked up at me.

“She had me write that in.” If my grandmother were here, I would have strangled her.

She always wanted me to marry, for God knows what reason. I swear this was her stupid version of haunting, and wow had she done a fan-f*****g-tastic job.

“The stipulations are strict. One week to become engaged, one month to be married. You attend two quarterly meetings while married. At that point, which will be six months from today, Morina may sell or give the shares to whomever she wishes. Until then, they must belong to her or to SeashellOil.”

“An ultimatum?” Bastian whispered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

She believed I needed a week's time for an engagement, then we’d move in together, legally get married, and I’d figure out if Bastian would be trustworthy with the shares in six months?

“Why can’t I sell to him now?” I asked, waving my hands about.

He seemed to understand what businesses needed.

“You wouldn’t be able to anyway,” Bastian grumbled like he had all the answers and didn’t like a single one.

"There’s probate and estate processing.”

“So what?” He shook his head.

“You don’t understand anything.” I wanted to scream that no s**t, I don’t understand.

This is all news to me.

“This is the most ridiculous way of handling a will.” I hoped Grandma’s dead spirit could hear me.

“I don’t think it’s even legal.” Bastian’s lawyer chose that time to speak up.

“There’s a lot of legal jargon through this will, but I can assure you that everything Mr. Finley’s saying is the truth.” I rolled the beads on my wrist over and over again as everyone waited in silence.

I tried some deep breathing. I counted to ten. Nothing worked. No answers appeared, and I definitely didn’t feel calmer.

“There has to be a way around these stocks going to SeashellOil.”

“Yes, you marry me, we have it be legal for six months, nothing more and nothing less. Then, I’ll buy it from you for a fair price.”

“Absolutely not.” I wasn’t marrying that man.

"Suit yourself.” Bastian stood and glanced at Dante, who rose an instant later.

The man reading the will cleared his throat.

“Make sure to put in paperwork to the courthouse on time. We don’t want to break the terms of the will because of a mishap with marriage certificates if that’s what you both decide to do.” He was hinting at Bastian’s status, yet staring at me as if I were suddenly important.

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“The judge has some ties to the company just like the town does, Morina,” he murmured like Bastian wouldn’t be able to hear him. I needed to get out of here.

I needed some fresh air. “I can’t do this.”

The only person who seemed to get me or who would offer any type of helping hand spoke up right then.

“Morina,” Dante said in his deep, soothing voice

“your gut is pulling you in a lot of directions right now.” I glanced at him, and the frown on his face suggested sympathy.

“It’s okay.” He patted me on the shoulder.

“Put your hand right on your stomach. Feel the heat and let it out.” It was a Reiki trick.

I had practiced it before a little but had never gotten into it. When I didn’t move, he put his hand right over my belly.

“Release all the negative s**t flying through your head right here, right now.” I nodded and closed my eyes for a few seconds.

He grabbed my wrist and put my hand over my stomach. I felt the heat, so much hotter than the rest of my body. Maybe the energy was passing through my hand to his, and he was getting rid of it. The energy left me in some way or another, and a hint of calm crept in. When I opened my eyes, I mouthed a thank you to him and took a deep breath.

“I need a day. I need to think.” Bastian opened his mouth to speak.

I cut him off with my pointer finger in the air.

“One day, Bastian. That’s fair.” The muscles through the beautiful man I now hated rippled like every bone in his body wanted to disagree with me.

He straightened that navy suit of his and closed his eyes like he needed his own relaxation method.

“I want to work with you. I want this to be an equal partnership where you understand I’m here to make the company better.” His voice held genuine kindness.

Yet, we were on opposing sides of the world. How could I believe him? Hell, we weren’t on opposing sides of the world—we didn’t even live in the same world. His was more complicated, more astute; nothing at all like mine.

I grabbed my bag and walked to the door. Bastian grabbed my arm, right above the elbow. He spun me so we were eye to eye. His dark eyes pierced into my soul, into my fears, and peeled them back, shining light onto my vulnerabilities. I bit my bottom lip to try to stifle the fact that his hand on me sparked a fire I’d tried so hard to squelch. Now, we were lighting it again, and I’d have to surround myself with that for six months.

“What are you afraid of, Mo? Of me? Or us? This will only be to your benefit,” he whispered like he was trying to piece it all together.

“I’ll pay you fairly. There won’t be many rules. We can make this work. It’s just us.”

“There is no us!” I shot back, my voice loud enough to show them all I was ready to go to war. I ripped my arm from his grasp and my bracelets jangled together, the black one stark against the pastels of the others. Strength in my rage. I felt it now. He let me turn so fast that my hair flared out around me, the drama was there for everyone to see.

“Morina.” Bastian’s voice stopped me at the threshold.

“You need this more than I do. Your town needs this. I don’t. But I’d like it. It’s a partnership. And it’s an opportunity to do things safely and legally.”

“You’re asking me to give up everything,” I choked out.

“And to trust you, a complete stranger who I know has a questionable past. Don’t you get that I have a life? I’m happy. I have a job and maybe a guy or two who enjoy my company. I like coming home and watching what I want to watch and taking care of my grand—” My grandma.

“Morina …” He said my name softly, like suddenly he had some sort of soul that could feel something other than business transactions.

He reached for me, but I jerked away.

“No.” I shook my head as I squeezed my eyes shut.

“I know. She’s gone. It’s just … It was a slipup. And I … I deserve time to think. Right? Someone agree with me. Dante? The moon is …” I’d forgotten what day it was.

Everything was all out of whack.

“It’s about to be a full moon, Mo. It’s all going to be fine. Breathe it in. It’s the universe moving with you, huh?” I nodded and breathed in.

One more breath of the air he told me was calm, and my shoulders relaxed. I chanced one more look at Bastian and let my guard down. I needed him to understand.

“I get this isn’t a big deal for you. You’ve been tied to this way your whole life. My life is the complete opposite. I’ve been absolutely free. Probably to a fault. So, I need a day to think.”

“You can’t tell anyone until we decide, Morina.” He arched an eyebrow as though making sure I understood.

“The company being at stake will cause unrest. We need a plan. Take my number.” He motioned for Dante to hand over his card.

“Tomorrow, we make decisions.” I nodded and scanned the room to see who else would know this marriage was a sham. The lawyers, Dante, and him. That was all.

“I’ll call you.”