Shattered Vows: An Arranged Marriage Standalone Romance (Tarnished Empire)

I heard those words all through the night.

After tossing and turning for hours, I grabbed my phone to read the signs.

My horoscope was a freaking bitch.

It literally read, “Listen to the omen given to you yesterday. It will serve you well.”

Oh, shut up.

I purposely hadn’t set my alarm. I wasn’t going to wake to the sun or the waves either. I had every intention of sleeping in and missing the stupid will reading.

Still, something in the kitchen fell and woke me right at 8:30AM. If my grandmother wasn’t haunting me, she was at least trying to send signs.

I kicked off my weighted blanket. “Grandma, this is absolutely fucking ridiculous.”

Somehow yelling into the air made me feel better as I got ready. I didn’t put on a nice blouse or even a cute dress. Instead, I threw on a black bikini and a yellow tank over it. I pulled on my board shorts and headed out.

I wasn’t getting ready for any of them. I’d go surf right after the meeting and put the whole damn thing behind me.

I took my time, letting my old pick up idle along. Jonah had gifted it to me on my seventeenth birthday and it looked perfectly out of place in the law firm’s parking lot. When I arrived at last, Bastian’s eyebrows rose as he looked me over.

No surprise, he wore his normal navy suit and Dante sat there on his phone. I rolled my eyes at them, but when I spotted the estate lawyer and another man sitting in the room, I almost apologized for my attire and the fact I was right on time.

Of course, everyone else had been ten minutes early.

Instead, I took the last empty seat and presented my identification when asked.

“Well, I appreciate you all being here today. I’m Mr. Finley and Maribel asked me to present the will to you all rather than mail it.” The thin man with wiry glasses announced as he shifted some paperwork on his worn desk. “It’s not under great circumstances, but your grandmother got this will together years ago and has updated it time and time again. It was important to her that you were all here to understand her terms.”

My stomach flipped at his words. This was the one place grandma didn’t have me come with her. We’d done the funeral planning together. The banks and this part though–she’d said over and over, I’ll iron it out myself. Then, she’d send me off to the food truck or I’d try to go volunteer at the humane society.

“So.” Mr. Finley’s bony pointer finger pointed to the ceiling. “This is a will with a few quirks, which is why we also have Mr. Armanelli’s lawyer here.”

I narrowed my eyes and glared at my one-night-stand-turned-nightmare. He’d brought his freaking lawyer? “How convenient,” I grumbled.

Mr. Finley cleared his throat. “I’ll be honest, your grandma’s note to you explains everything in layman’s terms, but I’ll do that too for you now.” He handed me a letter.

“I’m sorry. This is from my grandma?” I gripped the letter a little harder.

“Yes. She wrote it specifically for you after she finished her final changes to the will.”

The date on the envelope was only a couple of days before her death. “She died two days later,” I whispered. This letter held words from her that she’d never told me. It was a way to hear her thoughts one last time; a connection that carried past her dying. When I read this letter, I wouldn’t be alone for those two minutes. She’d talk to me one last time.

A lone tear spilled from my eye and I quickly swiped it away. When I glanced up, Bastian studied me with a frown on his face. Did he understand the pain of losing someone you loved? Of being all alone?

His frown fell away to an apathetic stare. Of course he didn’t.

I turned away and sat taller in my seat. “I’ll read this later. I’d like to hear the terms of her will so we can all be on our way.”

“That’s fine.” The lawyer went over some legal jargon and stated that the will held the final say in everything. Then, he went on to a story I’d never heard. “Your great great grandfather was the founder of Tropical Oil and Fuel. He ran the ports, the tank farms, and the transfers.”

“My great great grandfather?” I raised my eyebrows, completely confused by any mention of the oil company that ran the town. We had no ties to that.

“Yes, he came from Ireland with a good amount of money already. He utilized that and his connections to start this business.”

Bastian shifted in his seat, nodding to Dante who pulled out his stupid phone.

“They formed a lot of partnerships. Your grandma was a woman who made things happen. She had ties back to Ireland. So, the partners let the company run this way. They won’t do that any longer. They want the company sold to Ronald who has shares in this company and owns their competitor, ShellOil.”

I scoffed at the name. The town knew it very well. That company wanted to make the tanks, the ports, everything corporate. They would push the terminals to their limits. “Well that’s never happening. Tropical Oil hates ShellOil.”

“Your grandma hated them,” he corrected me. “She had a majority vote in the dealings of your town’s company. Without that, Tropical Oil will be sold to the highest bidder. We all know who that will be.”

Pieces of my life started to fall more into place. The way grandma would watch the news on that oil plant with so much passion or how she’d be furious if something went wrong with it. I just thought she cared about the town, and maybe she had, but now many more things made sense.

“But everyone hates them. I mean–”

“The board is willing to sell.” The lawyer cleared his throat. “They want to sell.”

I turned and glared at Bastian.

“And you? Are you here to get your share of it too?”

“If she gives me some of it, Morina, I’m here to be a part of whatever she wanted me to be. I’ve made it known to everyone that I want those shares. I explained my plans for cleaner energy, for making your city thrive. I won’t sell. I’ll make the company better. I wanted to do it legally, without the partnerships you’ve all been nurturing.”

“Nurturing?”

He looked toward the ceiling, a sure sign of his that he was irritated. “That food truck wouldn’t be running without some Irish ties. We discussed this already. I won’t work with them.”

“That was hardly nurturing a partnership—’

“Your grandmother had more than that.” Bastian cut me off. “I’ll buy your shares. Fair price. I’ll take care of this city…and you. You have my word.”

Mr. Finley continued as if Bastian hadn’t spoken. “So, your grandmother inherited these stocks and the company agreed to keep her identity secret. She moved from the city, changed her name. No one knew she was making large decisions for the company.”

I grumbled and crossed my arms. This was bullshit. Grandma had left me to go in completely blind. My heart beat faster and faster as his words sank in. “Changed her name? Why?”

“It’s a dangerous business.” Bastian filled the silence in the room, like he filled every space he entered. “She wanted protection, probably for you and your parents.”

Life had been simpler without knowing and my simple ignorance bred a happiness I could live with.

“I’m sorry,” I wheezed, gripping the metal arm of the uncomfortable chair. The world turned on its axis. The water that normally just ebbed and flowed with the tides, whooshed over and tore apart my carefully concocted simple life.

The whole world stopped. Even the water that I synced my breathing with. In that moment I even believed the earth had turned flat and tipped over sideways, dropping me off a cascading waterfall.

Mr. Finley continued reading the will. I saw his mouth moving. I watched how he formed each word and yet I couldn’t make out a single one.

The only part I put together was the part I knew I couldn’t handle: “She wants you to decide the fate of the company. She’s giving you majority share. She wanted me to state that these shares are somewhat dangerous to own.” He glanced at Bastian. “You understand, right, Morina?”

“If Bastian knows what to do…” I waved away the rest, then took a deep breath. “I’ll do what’s needed for this city. I’ll sell to him.”

The mob. I’d be selling to the mob. No one wanted to say we were surrounded by men who could kill us, but that was the truth.

Mr. Finley cleared his throat. “There’s a stipulation.”

Bastian glared at the estate lawyer. His voice held the threat of fury. “Go on.”

Before he continued, he gulped like he knew it wasn’t about to go over well. “So, to keep the city and Morina safe, the conditions are that she marry into the Armanelli family, of course. Your grandmother wanted me to put ‘of course’ in the writing.” He chuckled like we all knew this.

“You can’t be…” I sucked in what oxygen I could. But I was gulping in too much air.

Or too little.

I stood up so fast, my chair flew back.

It never hit the floor because Bastian caught it, his gold Rolex peeking out from under his sleeve.

I stared at him as he set it all back in place like he’d seen it coming, like he was two steps ahead of my every move. I wanted to scream at the smug look on his face.

“You’re kidding.” I shook my head, my wavy hair looking even more crazy as I glanced from one to the other.

“This is not a joke.” Mr. Finley straightened his glasses, his knuckles cracking. “Maribel felt this would be most beneficial for the city and for you, Morina.”

Would I be arrested if I jumped across the table to strangle the messenger?

“This is your fault.” The words flew out of me before I could stop them as I turned to Bastian. I spat them like a viper ready to bite down on a victim. “You did this.”

“No. Morina, your grandmother did this,” he replied, irritation on his face too. “It seems this is an inconvenience for all of us.”

“Inconvenience?” I screeched. “Are you kidding me? It’s nothing to you. But to me, it’s everything! I’m not marrying you.”

“Nothing to me?” he whispered. Then, he stood slowly and straightened that stupid, stuffy suit of his. “I don’t enjoy being around you. I need the shares, not some flippant girl who runs a food truck. I definitely don’t want to be tied to you legally in any way, shape, or form. But the company is at stake.”

“The company? What about the city?” I stomped my foot.

“That company runs this town.” The words fell out of his mouth like dominos tipping one by one. “Half the people are employed there. You hand those stocks over to ShellOil and they’ll get rid of this town. Hire the people they want and push that port to its limit.”

“I don’t want anything to do with this,” I whispered.

The lawyer cleared his throat. “Your grandmother has written all the details in your letter, but I do want to read the rest of the terms here in case you do not accept them.”

He motioned for us to take our seats. I huffed and plopped back down in mine, running my fingers over my bracelets. I tried to channel the energy from them. I needed at least ten more to get through the rest of the will, though.

“If you won’t marry one another, you may donate your stocks to ShellOil. You will not get a vote on the outcome of the port and you will not pass go and collect that 200 dollars, Morina.” Mr. Finley looked up at me. “She had me write that in.”

If my grandmother were here, I would have tried to strangle her. She always wanted me to marry for god knows what reason. I swear this was her stupid version of haunting, and wow had she done a fan-fucking-tastic job.

“The stipulations are strict. One week to become engaged, one month to be married. You attend two quarterly meetings while married. At that point, which will be six months from today, Morina may sell or give the shares to whomever she wishes. Until then, they must belong to her or to ShellOil.”

“An ultimatum?” Bastian whispered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

She believed I needed a week’s time for an engagement, then we’d move in together, legally get married, and I’d figure out if we could trust Bastian with the shares in six months? “Why can’t I sell to him now?” I asked, waving my hands about. He seemed to understand what businesses needed.

“You wouldn’t be able to anyway,” Bastian grumbled like he had all the answers and didn’t like a single one. “There’s probate and estate processing.”

“So what?”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand anything.”

I wanted to scream that no shit, I don’t understand. This is all news to me.

“This is the most ridiculous way of handling a will.” I hoped Grandma’s dead spirit could hear me. “I don’t think it’s even legal.”

Bastian’s lawyer chose that time to speak up. “There’s a lot of legal jargon through this will, but I can assure you that everything Mr. Finley’s saying is the truth.”

I rolled the beads on my wrist over and over again as everyone waited in silence. I tried some deep breathing. I counted to ten.

Nothing worked. No answers appeared and I definitely didn’t feel calmer.

“There has to be a way around these stocks going to ShellOil.”

“Yes, you marry me, we have it be legal for six months, nothing more and nothing less. Then, I’ll buy it from you for a fair price.”

“Absolutely not.” I wasn’t marrying that man.

“Suit yourself.” Bastian stood and glanced at Dante, who rose an instant later.

The man reading the will cleared his throat. “Make sure to put in paperwork to the courthouse on time. We don’t want to break the terms of the will because of a mishap with marriage certificates if that’s what you both decide to do.”

He was hinting at Bastian’s status, yet staring at me as if I were suddenly important.

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“The judge has some ties to the company just like the town does, Morina,” he murmured like Bastian wouldn’t be able to hear him.

I needed to get out of here. I needed some fresh air. “I can’t do this.”

The only person who seemed to get me or who would offer any type of helping hand spoke up right then. “Morina,” Dante said in his deep, soothing voice, “your gut is pulling you in a lot of directions right now.”

I glanced at him and the frown on his face suggested sympathy

“It’s okay.” He patted me on the shoulder. “Put your hand right on your stomach. Feel the heat and let it out.”

It was a reiki trick. I had practiced it before a little but had never gotten into it.

When I didn’t move, he put his hand right over my belly. “Release all the negative shit flying through your head right here, right now.”

I nodded and closed my eyes for a few seconds. He grabbed my wrist and put my hand over my stomach. I felt the heat, so much hotter than the rest of my body. Maybe the energy was passing through my hand to his, and he was getting rid of it.

The energy left me in some way or another and a hint of calm crept in.

When I opened my eyes, I mouthed a thank you to him and took a deep breath. “I just need a day. I need to think.”

Bastian opened his mouth to speak.

I cut him off with my pointer finger in the air. “One day, Bastian. That’s fair.”

The muscles through the beautiful man I now hated rippled like every bone in his body wanted to disagree with me. He straightened that navy suit of his and closed his eyes like he needed his own relaxation method.

“I want to work with you. I want this to be an equal partnership where you understand I’m here to make this company better.” His voice held genuine kindness.

Yet, we were on opposing sides of the world. How could I believe him? Hell, we weren’t opposing sides of the world–we didn’t even live in the same world. His was more complicated, more astute; nothing at all like mine.

I grabbed my bag and walked to the door. Bastion grabbed my arm, right above the elbow. He spun me so we were eye to eye. His dark eyes pierced into my soul, into my fears, and peeled them back, shining light on my vulnerabilities.

I bit my bottom lip to try to stifle the fact that his hand on me sparked a fire I’d tried so hard to squelch. Now, we were lighting it again, and I’d have to surround myself with that for six months.

“What are you afraid of, Mo? Of me? Or us? This will only be to your benefit,” he whispered like he was trying to piece it all together. “I’ll pay you fairly. There won’t be many rules. We can make this work. It’s just us.”

“There is no us!” I shot back, my voice loud enough to show them all I was ready to go to war. I ripped my arm from his grasp and my bracelets jangled together, the black one stark against the pastels of the others.

Strength in my rage. I felt it now.

He let me turn so fast that my hair flared out around me, the drama was there for everyone to see.

“Morina.” Bastian’s voice stopped me at the threshold. “You need this more than I do. Your town needs this. I don’t. But I’d like it. It’s a partnership. And it’s an opportunity to do things safely and legally.”

“You’re asking me to give up everything,” I choked out. “And to trust you, a complete stranger who I know has a questionable past. Don’t you get that I have a life? I’m happy. I have a job and maybe a guy or two that likes me. I like coming home and watching what I want to watch and taking care of my grand…”

My grandma.

“Morina…” He said my name softly, like suddenly he had some sort of soul that could feel something other than business transactions. He reached for me but I jerked away.

“No.” I shook my head as I squeezed my eyes shut. “I know. She’s gone. It’s just… it was a slip up. And I… I deserve time to think. Right? Someone agree with me. Dante? The moon is…”

I’d forgotten what day it was. Everything was all out of whack.

“It’s about to be a full moon, Mo. It’s all going to be just fine. Breathe it in. It’s the universe moving with you, huh?”

I nodded and breathed in. One more breath of the air he told me was calm, and I my shoulders relaxed. I chanced one more look at Bastian and let my guard down. I needed him to understand. “I get this isn’t a big deal for you. You’ve been tied to this way your whole life. My life is the complete opposite. I’ve been absolutely free. Probably to a fault. So, I just need a day to think.”

“You can’t tell anyone until we decide, Morina.” He arched an eyebrow as though making sure I understood. “The company being at stake will cause unrest. We need a plan. Take my number.” He motioned for Dante to hand over his card. “Tomorrow, we make decisions.”

I nodded and scanned the room to see who else would know this marriage was a sham. The lawyers, Dante, and him. That was all.

“I’ll call you.”