Broken Bride by Stella Gray

Author:Stella Gray [Gray, Stella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781953520548
Publisher: Paige Press, LLC
Published: 2021-09-06T18:30:00+00:00

15

Frankie

“I’d like to go to my father’s house, please. You can just drop me off, and I’ll call when I’m ready to leave.”

Donovan opens the car door for me. “Apologies, Mrs. Bellanti,” he says kindly, if a little uncomfortably. “I’m not allowed to leave you anywhere.”

I go still, reluctant to get into the back seat now. “You don’t have to wait for me. Really. I might be there all day, and it’s only a few minutes from here.”

He smiles in that practiced, yet genuinely warm way. “I’m happy to wait as long as it takes, Mrs. Bellanti. It is my job.”

“But—” I pull in a breath. I know this isn’t his fault, but I can’t help feeling pissed about it. A little sick over the whole thing, actually. My husband has apparently forbidden me to go anywhere—even right here in town, to see my own fucking family—without a chaperone.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Donovan repeats. “Would you like to revise your itinerary?”

With a sigh, I tell him no, and that I understand. “And I appreciate that you’re looking out for me,” I add, slipping into the back seat. He seems relieved that I’m not kicking up a fuss.

But the whole drive to the Abbott compound, I feel the invisible chains around me. Isn’t the joke supposed to be that the husband wears the ball and chain? Because I’m finding that to be completely ass backwards in my case. Dante has made me his prisoner. I hate it.

I was already tense about visiting my homestead today. Seeing Livvie is my purpose, but I’m still uncertain about how I’ll feel if I run into our father. I haven’t forgiven him by a long shot for forcing me into this marriage. So far, nothing good has come out of it for me except a couple unexpectedly hot orgasms and a shopping spree—both of which I certainly didn’t need a marriage certificate to obtain.

The grounds are quiet as we arrive. The lawn appears recently mown and the flowerbeds lining the house are neatly planted and weeded. Curious about the landscape refresh, I enter the house to find Livvie and immediately notice that a few of Charlie’s paintings have been professionally framed and hung in the entry hall. The living room sports new, expensive-looking furniture and the hardwood floors are polished and gleaming. The house looks remarkably clean.

“Hey, Frankie.”

My father walks down the hall toward me, a beer in his hand. He’s actually smiling. I return the smile hesitantly because I’m very confused about all the sudden changes around here.

“Looking good in here, Dad. New furniture?”

He takes a swig from his bottle. I wince, wishing I could tear it from his hand.

“You should take a look around the vineyard. The winery is doing better than ever under your new husband. Things have really started to turn around for us.”

My jaw clenches. It’s been, like, a few days since the wedding. There’s no way in hell the winery could have turned around so fast—Dad’s clearly lying. A little

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