He caught her wrist and stopped her.
"Don't tempt me, Princess. Your father-"
She interrupted him and with a raised voice spoke, "I don't want to hear about my father or what he's done! He ruined my life too, y'know! Let me go!"
He saw the fire in her eyes. She was angry. He let her wrist go and she half ran off the porch. Bunny cried when she was locked in his room. Dammit! She had been duped.
This whole time they had been working together to set her up, and like an idiot she had fallen for the bait. She had been betrayed and there was no way for her to ask for anyone else's help.
Marriage. Now everything made more sense. The dress store owner. The way his mother acted around her. They must have all known what his plan was and didn't want to ruin it.
She felt like a fool. She ran to his bathroom and went to the medicine cabinet. She had to take the edge off. This reality was rough.
She opened the medicine cabinet behind the mirror and found nothing. She closed it shut then rummaged through the drawers. She got lucky and found an expired bottle of pain pills. It only had two left inside. She opened it and took them. She put the cap back on the vial and put it back where she found it.
She went to the closet then. He had known this whole time. The clothing.
Her life was a complete disaster since her father had been arrested. Everyone had told her to watch out for the wolves that would prey on her vulnerable family. Her naivety had no bounds. When their upper class elite friends turned their backs and shunned her and her family she went into a shock. No more luxury.
No more parties and no more money. She thought she had been living as undetected as possible. All of her father's enemies had went directly for him in lawsuits, but it would seem that was no longer the case. Two of his enemies had worked together to seek the ultimate revenge. To taint his bloodline...
The Next Day
Bunny didn't sleep a wink and Rome didn't sleep in her bed last night. Because of that she had time to really think about what was going to happen to her. There was a light knock on the door. It was him. He was already half dressed, wearing a crisp white shirt, tuxedo pants and black wing tipped shoes. He looked very handsome and polished with his hair slicked back from his face.
"Morning." He greeted her with a twinkle in his eye.
Was he actually happy ? Or was he rubbing his conquest of her in her face?
She said nothing, still feeling groggy from the pills she took last night. She felt vulnerable and exhausted mentally. He pulled a chair up to the bed directly beside her. She sat up in bed, pulling the covers to her chest.
"I know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, but I think we need to talk and straighten some things out." He told her.
"Like what?" She was curious.
"Well, for starters,I do want to apologize about how all of this happened and my behavior. If I offended you ." He said.
"OK." She rolled her eyes at his apology. She didn't believe him. Why should she? He was still forcing her to marry him.
She watched his reaction to her rolling her eyes. He didn't appear to be bothered in the least.
"I also think since we are going to be married we discuss what we expect from each other."
She looked directly at him.
"What we expect? " She repeated.
"Yes. Like me for instance, an expectation as my wife you are to never make me jealous or put me in a position where I have to question your loyalty. What about you? What do you want?" His words held such a cold, calculating edge.
"I-I want to make sure my family will be ok financially. I have twin sisters in school. I provide for my mother and grandmother as well. I know it's hard to believe, but believe me when I say, I had nothing to do with my father's corruption. I had no idea. It's not too late. You could just let me go home. I wouldn't say anything. Who would believe me? Im just a whore."
He was silent, then he stood up. He was done entertaining this conversation.
"I will send someone in to help you get ready. I am glad we had this talk."
"What talk? We didn't. You told me what you wanted and I told you what I wanted. We didn't agree on anything." She was annoyed.
"That is something you will learn about me. If I discuss it, that means I am going to do it."
He was about to leave when she stopped him."Wait!"
They were inches apart now. Bunny had over estimated her steps. He didn't back away, instead he stepped closer. He rested his hand on her neck. It bothered her. He appeared to enjoy her discomfort.
"Yes?" He asked.
She was nervous suddenly. He had that affect on her.
"What if our marriage doesn't work out?"
There was a long erie pause, "Let's pray we never find out."
He kissed her on her forehead and left.
The door opened once more and a young, sweet looking woman greeted her.
"Good morning, Ms.Van Dorn. My name is Melissa. I will be helping you get ready for your special day today. Please, join me in the sun room, adjacent to this one and congratulations."
She smiled then turned and walked out of the room.
Bunny laid back down. Her head was throbbing. She had to find something to drink. She got up then and showered. It helped remove the fog from her pounding skull, but not by much. She put on the white terry-cloth robe and yawned loudly.
She remembered she was to meet the girl who just came in to help her get ready. She had informed her of a room she had no idea existed here. She had only been here a few days, and Rome did not let her wander his home. She had been locked in this room for the majority of her stay here, and now she was getting married to the bully. Her father wouldn't be here to walk her down the aisle.
She knew her father would never approve of Rome. He never really approved of any of the men she liked. Over time she stopped consulting him when she dated. For that very reason, her father had took over her dating life and arranged a match for her. Of course, that agreement was dissolved upon his arrest. No wealthy, upstanding family would want that stain. She wondered then how her father was going to take the news she was marrying his business rival's son and heir.
Besides Rome being a Arrogant, controlling ,and overbearing assh*le, the physical attraction between them was undeniable and to the point of combustible. It couldn't be denied, no matter how hard she tried. Bunny should be grateful, she told herself. The majority of her clients were disgusting, older men. Rome was closer to her age.
She also had to get out of the habit of thinking of him as a client. He had never been one. She wasn't sure how old he was. From the way he handled her he seemed like he was a skilled lover. Her thoughts drifted back to when he has kissed her. It had taken her by complete surprise. She found herself getting lost in the kiss, something she never did.
She hadn't been kissed since the nightmare with her family had started, and thinking on it even then, she had never been kissed like he had kissed her before. His lips took and gave, awakening every nerve in her body. She continued taking in deep, calming breaths. Her throbbing head felt a little better, but not by much.
This was going to happen, whether she wanted it to or not. She finally exited out of the bathroom and noticed a breakfast tray on the small circlular table in-between the blue crushed velvet chairs, that were placed at the foot of the bed. She walked over to get better look at what exactly was on the tray, which was a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and a plate with two strips of Turkey bacon, half of a thinly sliced avocado, 2 lightly scrambled eggs, and fresh blueberries. There was also silverware and a napkin. She could barely think straight with her pounding headache, let alone eat any of the delicious looking food.
She decided to get dressed instead. The Sunroom was next door to this room. There was an adjacent door. She walked over to it, turned the door knob and opened it. The Sun room took her breath away.