Page 16 of The Wrong Husband

Tears sprang in my eyes. "My family will hate me."

"Then you shouldn’t have said I do at the Silver Bells Wedding Chapel, darling." He had the temerity to make a joke, to sound amused.

"I told you it was a mistake. I can't lose my family."

"Tomorrow when the news breaks the shit's gonna hit the fan. This way, at least we warn our families. We'll tell everyone that we had a brief affair and got married. We wouldn't be the first couple to get married on impulse."

Yeah, and the world will buy that bullshit, won't they? He had Bianca but then he took one look at stick-figure invisible Emilia and wanted to not only fuck her but also marry her.

I looked at the ring. "Did you buy that for Bianca?"

He didn't reply.

He slipped the ring on my finger, and I instantly hated it because it was what Bianca would love. Objectively, the ring was an exquisite antique, its delicate band crafted from gleaming rose gold that seemed to glow warmly against my skin. A single, brilliant-cut diamond was set in an intricate filigree design, surrounded by tiny sapphires that sparkled like a midnight sky. The craftsmanship was impeccable.

It wasn't my style at all. I was a simple girl. I liked simple things. This was too ornate.

He slid a simple rose gold wedding band and nestled it against Bianca's engagement ring. We hadn't exchanged rings in Vegas, but we were doing it now. It was romantic as hell! He was tugging at my hand as I tried to resist. Plus, the rings were scalding me.

He slipped on a matching rose gold wedding band. It glittered against his olive dark skin.

"Why are you doing this?" I pleaded.

"I can't keep repeating myself, Emilia." He went back to his chair. He pressed a button on his phone and his Executive Assistant's voice came through.

"Come into my office, Devi."

She came in and sneered at me. Here we go again.

"Please take a seat."

She sat next to me, her eyes flitting over the Tiffany boxes on the table and my fingers. I clenched them into fists, hiding the rings. But I knew she'd seen them because she gasped.

"Devi, you're the first person to know that Emilia and I are married."

Devi's stone-face slipped, and her emotions showed through. I could feel her disdain radiating in big fat waves.

"Emilia?" she squeaked.

"Yes, the woman sitting next to you. We got married yesterday. I would like you to write a statement to circulate within the company by tomorrow morning. We also need a statement for the media." He looked at me. "Darling, I know you wanted to keep this between us for a little longer, but the media knows, and this is the best way to handle it."

I felt faint. I felt nauseous. I was going to die right here next to his EA who disliked me.

"Ah…what do you want me to say in this statement?" Devi asked tightly.

"Just that Emilia Winters and I are married…well, Emilia Archer. You're taking my name, aren't you, darling?"

He was laying it on thick. Any minute now I'd hear violins.

"In due course," I muttered. "Not right now…it takes a while for all the paperwork."

Damian seemed to be enjoying this because he was smiling broadly.

"Emilia, can you share your resume with me?" Devi didn't look at me when she spoke.

"Why?"

"So, I can write something nice about you in the announcement. Like…what education you have and where you work…."