His Side-Chick's Revenge

You Can Leave!

Kate's POV

I had barely dropped the call when a car stopped in front of the payphone.

I put the phone back and walked to the car.

The door was pushed open, inside sat Dante, with his legs crossed in the backseat.

“Come in. I don't have all day”

I wasn't sure I could trust him, he was a Castello after all. But then again If this was how I died then I wouldn't mind. After all, I had nothing left to live for.

I climbed into the car and closed the door after me.

“You said you had a proposal?”

“Here” he passed a file my way.

“What is this?” I asked as I opened the file to read the documents

“A marriage contract” he answered

“What?” when he said he had a proposal, I had not thought it through but I didn't think he meant an actual marriage proposal.

He noticed my hesitation and leaned forward, his bergamot scent filled my nostrils instantly.

“The deal is, I give you everything you've lost and more and you marry me for a year and then we go our separate ways. Don't worry you'd be highly compensated after the separation”

He was a Castello, if he was on my side, I could get what I wanted.

“I only want two things”

“Which are?”

“I want revenge on Damien and Eloise for what they did to me and I want…”

“Whatever amount you want, I assure you it would be yours” Dante said, interrupting me.

Maybe if this was another scenario. I would've wanted nothing more than a lot of money but now I cared about something more. Money could not cure the ache within me.

“I don't want your money. I just want my reputation back. I want to be able to apply for a job and get it. I want to go places without people referring to me as the home wrecker. I want the truth to be heard, even more than the lie Eloise spread”

There was a certain shock in his eyes as if he expected me to say something completely different

“Consider it done”

“Where do I sign?” I asked him without a second thought.

“Over here” he pointed at the places to sign and I put down my signature on the paper.

**************

“Aah” I yawned and stretched on the bed. I had not slept this well since my life turned upside down.

I was about to close my eyes and continue my sleep when I heard a knock on the door. Before I could mouth the words “come in” the door was pushed open and a young woman in a maid's attire walked into the room with a gown in her hand.

“Good morning Ma'am, Sir requested that you get dressed and meet him downstairs”

I gave her a curt nod and managed to force a smile as she dropped the gown on the bed and left the room.

I paused at the sight of the gown. It was white and beautiful, it was the kind of dress I always imagined I'd be getting married in.

Wait…

It was a wedding dress…

The wedding was today?

He had not mentioned that it would be today.

I wasn't ready.

I stood in front of the mirror and all I saw was a shell of myself. This marriage was the only thing I could do to get revenge. To get the truth to the world. To clear my name and avenge my baby.

After taking a shower, I took in a breath and picked up the gown. Putting it on, I looked into the mirror again. This time I saw a beautiful woman who was going to learn to live again. I was going to get past my scars and maybe find happiness but for now I was going to have to learn how to fake a smile or two.

My hand instinctively touched my stomach and suddenly even the fake smile was hard to hold.

I cleaned the tears that had trickled down my eyes and picked up the purse that came with the gown as I left the room.

I stopped halfway down the stairs as my eyes caught Dante, he was standing in the living room dressed in a wedding tux.

He had been waiting for me.

He turned around and stopped as he saw me. His lips parted slightly but closed back immediately. His eyes didn't leave my frame as I continued down the stairs.

After the way he had been shook by my appearance, I expected a compliment but he said nothing in that area.

“We should get going” he finally said

“Why are we doing this so soon? I thought we would at least wait a week before getting married” I asked him

He looked at me and for a second, I couldn't read what was in his head. His expression was unreadable and it irked me that I couldn't decode him.

“I'm giving you an out. If you don't want to do this, you can leave now”

Everything in me screamed to take the offer. I didn't know this man and we were getting married. If there was ever a sketchy moment to run and never look back. Now was the time but I didn't want to. Everything told me to count my losses and walk out that door but I couldn't listen to that voice.

I was in the gown and he was in the suit, we were going to see this to the end.

“I already signed the papers. I'm not changing my mind now”

***********

The courtroom was quiet, neat, and far from romantic.

No music, no flowers, just the sterile scent of paper and polish.

This was not how I pictured my wedding to be at all but since we were in a hurry, this was going to have to do.

The magistrate adjusted his glasses and looked at us over a small stack of documents.

“Do you both understand that this is a legal union under the Marriage Act, and that you enter it willingly and without coercion?”

“We do,” we said in unison.

“Please sign the marriage register.”

We stepped forward and signed, one after the other. The witness, who was Dante's assistant, Marco did the same. The magistrate stamped the document, then looked up with a brief smile.

"By the power given to me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

My eyes widened at the words *kiss the bride* for some reason my brain had forgotten that such a sentence existed in a marriage. I looked from the magistrate to Dante. His eyes were locked on mine, and a strange nervous feeling ran down my spine as his gaze dropped to my lips.

He leaned in slowly, and without thinking, my eyes fluttered shut.

But then, his lips touched my cheek and in a split second, he had ended the kiss.

Was that even a kiss?

My eyes snapped open.

Wait….

Was I… disappointed?

How could a second long peck on the cheek make me wonder how it would feel to be actually kissed on the lips by him?

As we settled back into his car, I found myself unconsciously looking at him. This man was my husband now. It was just a contract wedding but it was still real and then it suddenly hit me.

I had been in a hurry to sign the documents that we had not discussed the terms of our marriage.

“What are my roles in this marriage?” I suddenly asked, I wished I had worded that better but the words had left my mouth before I could stop them.

His eyes left his phone and he looked up at me with a little humorous glint.

“What do you mean?”

“We are married on paper but what does that mean, technically.”

“If you're asking if you're obligated to consummate the marriage, the answer is no. This marriage is only for the purpose of the public”

I nodded my head. I was glad that that was out of the way but I had more questions, questions I would have asked last night if I wasn't so drained.

“Why do you want revenge on your brother?” Dante was a Castello but it was clear he hated his brother just as much as I did. I wanted to know why

“Let's just say it's not only your life he ruined.”

“How did he ruin yours?”

For a brief second, his eyes changed, softened in a way. His lips parted to speak but he closed it immediately, it was like he wanted to tell me everything but something was stopping him.

“I think if this is going to work, the less you know about me, the better” he finally said.