Chapter 4 FOUR. FIONA

What had I just done? I had just made the most fatal mistake of my life.

"I pronounce you husband and wife."

There was no applause. There was only a tense silence between us.

"You may kiss your wife," Father Robert said hesitantly.

at that time He clearly knew that I married Joshua Craig at gunpoint and in front of dozens of corpses, one of which was my mother's corpse. Ironic.

"I will kiss you."

I turned my face away. Joshua gripped my chin tightly and forced me to look at him.

"We need to seal our vows with a kiss."

"Bullshit."

I wasn't an innocent girl who would be scared or have her heart pounded when a stranger kissed my lips. I felt nothing but anger and sadness mixed together in my heart. I remembered Joshua smirking at me, and I hated it. I hated his lips kissing mine.

"Fuck! You bit me."

Joshua's head snapped back. He cursed at me as he wiped his bleeding lip.

"I told you I don't want to be kissed by you."

"I'll make you pay dearly for what you did to me. I don't have time to deal with a spoiled girl like you right now. There are bodies to shovel and bury. Let's go."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Home. You're not safe here."

"In fact, I'll never be safe with you."

"You'll be safe as long as you use my last name. I'll make sure they won't touch a single hair on your head."

"Really? What happened to my mother showed otherwise."

"Too bad, Katherine no longer has my last name. And you, you're Fiona Craig now."

I snorted in disgust, hearing my name come out of his mouth along with his last name. It was the most disgusting and ridiculous name ever.

"What about my mother? I need to give her a proper burial."

"Someone will take care of it. We have to go now."

God. I stepped on the bodies that were strewn along the church aisle. Tears filled my eyes again as I passed my mother's body.

"Mom."

I wanted to stop to hug her, but Joshua kept dragging me out of this place.

"At least, let me see my mother one last time."

"She's dead. It won't make any difference to your mother."

"But it does make a difference to me. I want to hug her one last time."

"Get in the car."

Joshua jerked open the car door before shoving me into his shiny sports car. Before closing the door, he took something out of his pocket, then threw it into my lap.

"Your wedding ring. I want you to wear it right now."

And he slammed the door shut hard right in front of my face.

Tsk, so romantic. How could my mother look so happy when she was about to marry a cruel monster like him?

"Are you deaf? I want you to wear the ring right now."

"Can't you just not force me or yell at me for once? I don't want to wear this ring. The marriage is invalid. You threatened me with a gun."

"The marriage is valid and has been registered in the civil registry. You will get a copy of the document tomorrow afternoon, at the latest."

Joshua grabbed my left hand, then quickly put the diamond ring on my finger.

Dammit!

The ring was perfectly attached to my finger and could not be removed. I was sure the ring was supposed to be for my mother and fit her finger size. However, my and my mom's dress sizes were about the same for the past two years. I assumed our fingers were the same size too.

"Never take off that ring as long as you are my wife."

"Or what?"

"Or I will make you regret challenging me."

The car roared softly before speeding away, leaving the churchyard in chaos. I was sure Joshua's car had run over several bodies on its way out of the churchyard.

I hoped all of this was just a nightmare that would disappear when I woke up. I hoped my mother never met Joshua and owed him.

"My mother never told me about the debt."

"I bet she didn't."

"How much did my mother owe you all this time? I will pay it off."

"Your mother couldn't even pay it off until she decided to sell herself to me."

"I will pay it off in installments. I promise, I won't run away. How much does my mother owe you?"

"Five million dollars."

I was shocked to hear the amount Joshua mentioned. Five million dollars. What did Mom do with that much money?

"You must be lying. My college tuition wasn't that much. If my mother had five million dollars, she wouldn't work in a club day and night."

"She screwed a customer three years ago. The customer reported her to the police. Your mother would be in prison unless she paid nearly four million dollars in fines and penalties."

"That's crazy. What did my mother do wrong to have to pay that much?"

"She hit him over the head with a beer bottle while he was groping her ass."

"And they sentenced my mother instead of that pervert?"

"He wasn't just any man. He definitely had the power to make your mother miserable."

"Then why did my mother's debt reach five million dollars if the fine she had to pay was only four million dollars?"

"All those expensive jewelry and dresses weren't free. She was supposed to marry me, but she died, and the marriage failed."

"You damn bastard," I clenched my fists in my lap.

"This world is crazy. The rich oppress the poor like us. And you, you're no different. You take advantage of my mother's weakness for your own pleasure."

"Just take your fate as the poor."

Dammit!

I hate this Craig guy.

I wanted my life back in peace. I wanted my mother back. The diamond ring on my finger was like mocking my bad luck. I had just married a psychopath in a blood-stained dress, and my wedding was witnessed by bodies strewn across the church floor. Wow. This wedding should be in the Guinness World Record. This was the scariest wedding of all time.

"I don't know who you are. Are you something? Someone famous? A billionaire? What?"

"Lident. Ever heard of that name?"

I shook my head. Forgive my limited knowledge. My twenty-four hours were spent studying at college, working at an ice cream shop, and working on papers from my professors. I didn't have time to think about anything else. Especially about a name like Lident.

"This is the first time I've heard that name."

"Chicago Outfit."

Wait. I think I know that. I saw a documentary in college about mafia clans around the world. One of them was the Chicago Outfit.

What?

Did he just say Chicago Outfit.

"I guess you already know who I am."

My neck stiffly turned to face him. This Craig guy was smirking at me with a very thick arrogance emanating from his entire body.

"You... Don't tell me you're a Don."

"Congratulations, baby. You just married a Don."