A Sinner’s Truth: Chapter 9

It’s not an accident that I’m here. I might have followed her this morning. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. When I spotted her coming out of her apartment, she looked stressed. Which is why I wanted to see where she was headed.

And what I witnessed had my blood boiling. I thought she was talking shit last night when she said her father was marrying her off. I know that sort of shit happens in my world all the time, but this woman is not part of my world. She couldn’t be any farther from it.

When she jumps up from her seat and walks out, once again, I follow her. She’s not very aware of her surroundings. I’ve been tailing her for two blocks now, and she hasn’t even noticed. When a car pulls up and she climbs into the back, I grab the door, stopping it from closing. Aria gasps when I slide in next to her.

“What?” she asks.

“Sorry I’m late,” I tell her.

“Uh-huh, okay.” Aria’s eyes are wide. “Is this about last night? I’m really sorry, like so damn sorry. And embarrassed.”

The car pulls into traffic, and I gesture to her lap. “Put on your seat belt.”

She blinks at me. “I’m going to, but not because you told me to. I’m doing it because I’m not an idiot.”

“Good to know.” I chuckle.

The Uber driver stops in front of Aria’s apartment, and I get out first, holding the door open for her as she steps down after me. We stand on the sidewalk, staring at each other as the car drives away.

“Okay, this is weird,” Aria eventually says, breaking our silent stare-off.

“Pretty sure this is the part where you invite me up to your apartment, darling,” I tell her.

“Why?” she blurts out before quickly clarifying, “I mean, why would you want to come up to my apartment?”

“You proposed to me last night, Aria. I think we have a few things to discuss.” I have no idea why I’m actually considering her offer, other than some part of me really wants to help her. After seeing her at lunch with her father and Oliver Densper, I can’t sit by and not stop that bullshit from happening.

I have Marcel digging further into the Swans and Denspers to find out what the two families are getting out of this deal. So far, he hasn’t found a connection besides the upcoming wedding.

“I… I shouldn’t have done that,” Aria says.

“Did you figure out another way to get out of marrying Densper?” I ask, and watch as her shoulders noticeably stiffen at the mention of Oliver’s name. Marcel didn’t find much out about the guy. He’s got a clean record, typical trust-fund asshole. I have no doubt the fucker has skeletons hiding in his closet though, and we’ll find them.

“No, but…”

“Should we go up and discuss this somewhere that’s not in the middle of the sidewalk?” I lift a questioning brow.

Aria looks hesitant as her gaze flicks from the building and then back to me. “Okay, come on.”

I follow her inside, scanning the entry as I go. It’s a nice complex. I’m not surprised. Aria comes from money. She hits the button for the tenth floor. The entire time, she’s chewing on her bottom lip while side-eyeing me. Aria’s hand shakes a little when she slides her key into her door. She’s nervous.

Good. Shows she’s not stupid.

“Nice place,” I say, stepping in behind her.

“Thanks. You want a drink?” Aria walks into the kitchen and throws the pile of papers she’s been clenching between her fingers onto the bench.

“I’m good.” I close the distance, pick up the papers, and start reading through the first page. “A prenup? Did you sign this?” I ask her.

“No. They wanted me to sign it at lunch.” Aria opens the fridge, doing nothing to stop me from snooping through her documents.

“So how is this going to work?” I throw the papers back down on the counter. I don’t need to read them. Because she’s not fucking signing them.

“How’s what going to work?” Aria closes the fridge, removing the stopper from a wine bottle before she reaches up to the glasses hanging under the top cabinets, grabs one, and fills it to the brim.

“This marriage for a year thing?” I can’t believe I’m considering doing this. I thought about it all night. At first, it felt like I’d be betraying Shelli. But it’s not a real marriage. There won’t be any aspect of it that’ll be real. And if I can help this girl out, why the fuck not?

It’s not like I’m going to fall in love. I don’t even know this chick. But we can pretend. Not only will it help her with her problem, it’ll also get my family to stop trying to push me into moving on.

I don’t make a habit of lying to my brothers. Technically, if I marry Aria on paper, I won’t be lying when I tell them she’s my wife. I’ll just be omitting the part about how it has an expiration date.

I’m also using any excuse to keep my mind off the cryptic shit Kristen was talking about last night. I’m not naïve. I know Shelli was hiding something from me. I’ve just been burying my head in the sand and pretending it isn’t true.

“You turned me down,” Aria says. My gaze fixates on her lips as she sips from her wineglass. What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Let’s say I’m prepared to go along with it. What do I get out of the deal?” I already know what I get, but I’m interested in seeing what she’s prepared to offer me.

“What do you want?” she counters.

“Rules,” I tell her. “If we do this, we need ground rules.”

“Okay, what kind of rules?” Aria takes a seat on one of the barstools.

“This is marriage on paper only. Don’t fall in love with me. It won’t do you any good,” I warn her.

“No sex. I’m not sleeping with you,” Aria states without missing a beat, which has me feeling both relieved and annoyed at the same time. What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Deal. I wasn’t planning on putting out anyway,” I tell her.

“Good. What else you got?” Aria presses.

“Nobody can know that this is fake. Everyone has to believe it’s real.”

“My best friend knows,” she says. “Other than that, I haven’t told a soul.”

“You trust her not to say anything?” I ask.

“I trust him not to say anything,” Aria clarifies.

Interesting. Her best friend is a guy. Why the fuck isn’t she just marrying him? “Is he gay?”

“Definitely not.” She laughs.

“Married?” I try again.

“Nope,” she says.

“Why aren’t you doing this with him then?”

“My father wouldn’t believe it. I need him to believe it,” she says. “And Drew is, well, kind of a whore. Fake or not, I don’t want a husband who’s going around and sleeping with half the population of Melbourne.” She gulps a heap of wine. “I mean, you can sleep with other people. Just do it discreetly.”

My brows draw together. “We’re not sleeping with other people,” I grunt.

Her eyes widen. “But you don’t want to sleep with me. Surely you’re not going to just not do it for a whole year?”

“Easily.” I lean closer to her. “If you think any man is going to touch you while you’re married to a De Bellis, you don’t know who you’re marrying.”

“Okay, no one else. It’s fine. I don’t even like sex,” Aria says. “What about a prenup?”

“What do you mean you don’t like sex? Everyone likes sex.” Is she fucking with me right now?

“Not me. It’s highly overrated. So prenup?”

“I don’t need a prenup. You don’t have anything I want, darling,” I tell her.

“What if I take half your shit?” She smirks.

I raise my eyebrows. “You’re welcomed to try.”

“I don’t need your money, Santo. I just need to not be forced to marry Oliver.” Aria sighs. “Okay, how do we do this?”

“Do what?”

“Get married? How do we actually do it?” She leans over and places her now-empty glass into the sink.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. I have an associate who can process the paperwork for us.”

“Okay.” Aria nods her head. She looks really unsure about this.

“You do know this was your idea, right? You don’t have to do this,” I remind her.

“I know. I want to. I just… What if we do this and it doesn’t work? What if my father finds a way to annul our marriage or something? I don’t know what he’s getting out of this deal with the Denspers, but he’s determined to make sure it happens.”

“What is he holding over your head, exactly?” I ask her. “Your inheritance?”

“My trust, but it’s not exactly the trust I want. My mother died when I was seven. There’s a necklace in a safe deposit box that I can’t access without my trust. I want my mother’s necklace.” Aria’s eyes water up.

That wasn’t what I was expecting. I figured it was money or some materialistic shit. I should tell her I could get that necklace for her. It’s not hard to get into a safe deposit box.

“I can guarantee your father won’t challenge our marriage, darling. I’ll be back at eight in the morning.” I don’t wait for a response before walking out of her apartment.