Chapter 27: Two weeks?!

By the time I arrive at the meeting point, Don Luciano is already waiting.

He’s standing beside the table with his arms folded, his expression hard.

No greeting or small talk.

Good.

I don’t have the patience for that either.

"One of my men was shot yesterday."

I stare at him.

"No."

His eyebrows pull together.

"What?"

"No one shot at your man."

He takes a step closer.

"One of my men was shot at your club."

"I know."

"Then what the hell are you saying?"

I exhale slowly.

"One of your men wasn’t the target."

Luciano goes quiet and I look directly at him.

"They shot at me."

His expression changes.

"What?"

"They probably don’t like me on your grounds."

I lean against the edge of the table.

"So they tried to eliminate me."

His eyes narrow.

"Then why was Cassian shot?"

"Maybe because he was in the way."

Silence.

I let that sink in.

"The shot was meant for me. Cassian happened to be standing where the bullet passed."

Luciano’s jaw tightens.

"You’re saying someone tried to kill you?"

"Yes."

"On my territory?"

"Yes."

He turns away, dragging a hand over his face.

"Fuck."

I say nothing.

"There’s no evidence to show it was my people."

"No."

"Then how am I supposed to know you’re telling me the truth?"

"You don’t."

He looks at me.

"But if I wanted to start something with your family, I wouldn’t need to shoot one man and hope another happened to get in the way."

That makes him pause.

He’s angry. I can see it but he’s thinking.

Good.

That’s what I need him to do...

He looks back at me.

"This is shit."

"Agreed."

"After everything we’ve done to establish this peace..."

"I know."

"One fucking bullet...and that’s all it takes."

He curses under his breath.

I remain silent for a moment. There is no point pretending yesterday didn’t change things.

The peace agreement is still very fragile.

I straighten.

"I propose we fasten the wedding preparations."

Luciano looks at me.

"What?"

"The wedding."

His expression hardens.

"We were already preparing."

"Not fast enough."

I hold his gaze.

"We need to put an end to all this before someone else decides to take advantage of the situation."

He says nothing.

"If our families are officially joined, it’ll be much harder for anyone to convince either side that the other is preparing for war."

Luciano slowly nods.

"And you think the wedding will solve this?"

"No."

I pause.

"But it’ll make it harder to destroy the peace."

He studies me for a long moment then he sighs.

"Fine I suppose that makes sense.

I nod.

"We move quickly."

"Very quickly."

"Agreed."

I turn toward the door then I stop. Because one thought crosses my mind.

Nerissa.

She is going to hate this.

Yesterday she came to me asking me to call off the marriage and now I’m the one making sure it happens sooner.

I almost smile.

This woman is going to be a problem and somehow, I already know I’m going to enjoy every second of it.

Nerrisa’s POV.

"What?!"

I stare at Olivia.

She jst gives me a small, tired smile.

"The wedding has been moved up, Rissa."

I blink.

"What do you mean moved up?"

"Exactly what I said."

I sit up straighter in bed.

"To When?"

"In two weeks."

"What?!"

My voice comes out louder than I intend which has Olivia wincing slightly.

"I guess you going to the club yesterday and Cas getting shot sped up the process."

I stare at her.

For a moment, I can’t even speak.

Two weeks. Two fucking weeks.

I was supposed to have time.

Time to think, time to figure something out, time to find a way to stop this before Olivia was forced to become Lysander Sanchez’s wife.

And now we have two weeks.

"Fuck."

I throw the covers off and stand.

"Fuck! Fuck!"

Olivia watches me.

"Oli, I’m so, so sorry."

She immediately shakes her head.

"It’s okay."

"No, it isn’t."

"It is, really."

"This happened because of me."

"Rissa."

"I went to that club yesterday. I confronted Lysander, then Cas got shot. Now Uncle has decided to rush the wedding."

I run a hand through my hair.

"I made everything worse."

Olivia reaches for my hand.

"Don’t blame yourself."

"How can I not?"

"Because it was meant to happen either way."

I look at her.

She says it so calmly, like she’s already accepted something I still can’t bring myself to accept.

"How long do we have?"

"Not mcuh time."

My stomach twists.

"How much?"

"Like I said , Uncle said two weeks."

I stare at her.

"I didn’t think it was that short."

"He said he wanted to make it next week."

I almost choke

"Next week?"

She nods.

"But he needs a little time to invite people and provide security."

I stare at the floor.

"Shit."

Two weeks. In two weeks, Olivia will be standing beside Lysander.

Wearing white, saying vows and becoming a Sanchez.

The thought makes something inside me ache.

Olivia squeezes my hand.

"Don’t do this to yourself, Rissa."

I look at her.

"How am I supposed to just sit here?"

"You don’t have to."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

She smiles.

"Come with me tomorrow."

"Where?"

"To check out some wedding dresses."

I stare at her.

She looks almost hopeful.

"Can you do that for me?"

I hesitate.

"Please?"

There is something about the way she says it and I can’t say no to her

"Okay."

Her smile grows.

"Really?"

"Really."

She wraps her arms around me.

"Thank you."

I hug her back, but my eyes remain open. Because while Olivia is thinking about dresses, flowers and a wedding...I’m thinking about the man waiting at the end of the aisle.

Lysander Sanchez.

The man I once saved without knowing who he was, the man whose family has spent years fighting mine, the man I went to yesterday to beg him not to marry my sister.

And now, somehow, the wedding is happening even sooner.

I close my eyes.

Two weeks.

That’s all we have.

And for some reason, I have a terrible feeling that the next two weeks are going to change everything.