As she walked away, she muttered just loud enough for us to hear, "You'll regret this, Ronan. This woman doesn't deserve you."
After she was gone, Ronan turned to his Underboss. "Take her upstairs."
Without another glance at me, he turned and walked back into his private booth.
I followed the Underboss, cursing Ronan in my head the entire way.
He had no intention of explaining what had just happened.
No wonder Juliet had been so miserable in our past life. Between a manipulative bitch like Vivian, a taciturn man like Ronan, and Juliet's own non-confrontational nature, she never stood a chance.
Too bad for them, I wasn't the type to swallow my grievances. If I was happy, fine, we'd get along. But if I was pissed off, I'd make sure everyone was as miserable as I was.
Just two days later, Ronan and I were standing at our wedding. The Cassano family was frighteningly efficient, arranging everything with flawless precision.
Ronan's parents had been killed in a gang war years ago. As for my family—I didn't dare invite them. Catherine would kill me on sight, and I wasn't ready to have that conversation with her. So, the pews were filled only with core members of the Cassano family and their wives.
"I'm so jealous of Aurora," Vivian said, appearing at my side as if from thin air. "She gets to marry Ronan. She's so lucky."
"Unlike me…" She lowered her head and started to sob. The entire hall fell silent.
I walked straight up to Ronan, stood on my tiptoes, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him hard.
After I let him go, I shot a triumphant look at Vivian. "Yes, I am very lucky, aren't I? Ronan has a career, power, a great body… Not every woman can handle a man like him. A frail thing like you probably couldn't handle him." I slid my hand to Ronan's waist, gave him a hard pinch, and then offered him a threatening smile. "Right, my dear husband?"
His ears turned red, but before he could answer, Vivian's eyes filled with tears.
"Ronan, Aurora, please don't misunderstand. I'm truly happy for you. If Aurora doesn't want me here, I'll leave right now. But…"
A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Just remember to pick me up tomorrow. We've spent the anniversary of my father's death together every year for so long."
Ronan nodded. "I'll pick you up tomorrow."
My hand on his waist suddenly dropped. I picked up a glass of fine red wine from a nearby table and poured it right over the man's head.
The church went dead silent. Everyone stared as if they’d seen a ghost. I sneered. What a fucking joke. They dared to humiliate me at my own wedding, and now they were pulling this bullshit "anniversary of death" stunt?
In our past life, those two had slipped away to spend the day together, returning without a single word of explanation for my sister. It was the start of a cold war that lasted the rest of her marriage. But I wasn't my sister. She could tolerate it, but I wouldn't stand for it. He wanted to commemorate their precious past? Fine. If he went, I would raise hell right then and there before packing my bags and leaving.
Did they really think a Keating girl couldn't find a husband? If it weren't for the elders clinging to some outdated promises, I would have been free long ago.
"Ronan, are you okay? How could she do that?"
"How could you do that to him? He's Don Cassano, and you just—"
Vivian's delicate features were twisted with anger, her eyes full of concern for Ronan. But Ronan quickly stood up, studying me with an unreadable expression before wiping the wine from his face. "I'm fine."
He walked over nonchalantly and reached for my hand. "You'll come with me tomorrow."
I glanced at him in surprise, while Vivian's face twisted in disbelief. "Ronan, how could you do this to me? I never want to speak to you again!"
She covered her face and ran off crying. Just then, I felt a warm breath by my ear. "Let's finish the ceremony first. I'll explain later. Be good."
