Agony

32

"In the flesh," Kyle grinned as he walked towards us. He was dressed up in a black suit, a grin plastered across his cheeks.

What the hell is he doing here?

"This is my son." Ashley introduced once Kyle had taken a stand beside me.

No way.

"This has to be some sort of sick joke," Dallas gritted his teeth in disbelief.

Ace was in shock too. "But, you're not Lorenzo."

"I grew into my ears, built some muscles." Kyle snorted. "But yes, I am. Lorenzo Kyle Romano."

"Why do you want to marry me?" I frowned, the shock still not settling in.

"Who wouldn't?" Kyle smiled softly at me. "You're beautiful, funny, and smart. I knew I wanted you the day I met you in that grocery store, darling."

"Grocery store?" I shook my head. "But I met you at the gym."

"No, my dear." He chuckled. I really didn't like the nicknames he was using. "We first met when I placed a gun to your skull back at that grocery store, the morning of the day we met at the gym."

"You did what?" Dallas objected. "You did that twice? The moment I get out of these stupid chains, I swear you are a dead man."

"Yeah, yeah, empty threats." Kyle rolled his eyes.

Flashes of that morning whizzed in my mind. There was no way Kyle had been at the store.

I shook my head, "The guy in the grocery store had bright blue eyes. You..." I looked at his eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. "You have brown eyes."

"They're called contacts." Kyle smiled at me like I was a naive child. "Anyway, as I was saying. Your confidence at the store made me fall instantly in love."

"Love is a very strong word." I hissed. "I don't think you can love someone you just met."

Kyle frowned. "Well, I did. I do. I want you. I want to wake up by you every morning and end the day the same way."

I cringed at the thought.

"Why do you want me to marry your son? Why is that enough for you to stop your tantalizing?" I asked, turning to Ashley again. "It's been almost twelve years, and you expect me to believe my marriage to him will bring it all to an end?"

She shrugged. "I want my son to be happy, that's what matters most to me. And he wants you, alive of course, therefore, I want you to marry him."

I didn't believe her. I was the daughter of the man who wanted to destroy whatever she'd been working towards. Marriage was too simple, too quick. "What do I get from marrying him?"

"You get to live." Ashley snapped.

"What's the point of living like a prisoner? Marrying someone I don't feel the same way for?"

She glared at me. "The other option is for me to hand you over to Sebastian and let him do whatever he pleases."

At the mention of Dallas's father, my legs began to sting.

I looked at Kyle, "Would you really want to marry me, someone who has no affection for you?"

"Affection can be learned," He shrugged. "Besides, I'm too irresistible, you'll fall in love soon enough."

His words disgusted me. There was no way I would go through with marrying him. I was about to reject the offer when I made the mistake of looking back at the half-brothers. They looked tired. So tired of everything that they'd been through. The running, the hiding. Everything they'd done to keep me alive.