"Do you take Luca Reyes to be your husband?"

Valerie's fingers were laced in his with him as he took his hand in his shaking one.

That stopped her,

Luca could close nine figure deals with ease. Had walked into the boardroom of her father side by sides his own fathers to discuss mergers before, what was shaking his?

She gave his hand a squeeze."I do."

The priests lips opened to finish the vows,

the church doors slammed against the walls drawing every face toward the doors. Where eight men in black trickled in taking up box formations over the doors effectively boxing in the church with the exception of the doors. The pipe organs music fell silent mid chords.

Luca pushed before the fear even took root at the sight of the men,

"Who the hell are you?"

The men said nothing only to part between as they entered Damien Voss walking with slow deliberate strides through them stopping to take in the gathered masses before a set of crystal blue eyes landed on to Valerie, making one hundred and twenty wedding guests cease to exist in that moment .

"Voss." Luca's voice was tight with restrained anger.

"Reyes."

No hand shake no greeting what was kept between them old and not in the least bit friendly.

Valerie turned off the altar as she stepped off its edge , "This my wedding."

"I know." The baritone voice responded.

"You weren't invited."I know that too."

"Then why are you here?"

Damien pulled a file from within his coat drawing gasps from behind Valencia, who steadied herself thinking it would be a weapon only for the sound of a document hitting her palm to open the file

"Your Father's will?"

My Father has been dead for three weeks my lawyer has been handling the estate . "She snapped the pages opened and skimmed over the writing her gaze snapping up to meet his in shock as she read the same paragraph twice as if what had been written in that small line was far more insane than any of it could possibly be.

"No."

Luca looked over her shoulder and his jaw clenched tightly.

Three lines, to keep Rose House her father had insisted in the fine print on the marriage agreement the terms of her twelve month legal stay in this state to keep Rose house .

She took her lawyer position in the front pew, "Did you know about this?"

He stood as if the pew was holding him upright. Slowly as if the action had shocked him into motion, " I was going to explain it at the end of the ceremony."

" When it was too late to do anything about it !"

Damien placed the second document in her hands the words blurring together as she blinked hard but her hands went numb around the edge of the page

Her husband was name on it, the one required by the terms of her father's will to be kept under her roof for a full year for protection.

No . "Yes." Luca stripped the page from her grip, "It's forged."

"Take it courts then."

"You come into a church and take a bride of another men you think you can walk away with someones bride?"

"Not another mans's bride I came for my wife." Damien's voice never left his face as it traced the edge of her cheekbones. "Did I hear correctly?"

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me"

"Ive never been your wife."

"Not yet but we all know that means nothing to this law now does it?" Valeries laughed bitterly as he continued, "Tell me this isn't happening tell me it's real . Tell me she wasn't going to say nothing about his will when she said i do" Her gaze snapped up to the lawyers eyes watching expectantly his silence slicing deeper than any words Damien had been capable of thus far.

Luca took her hand, "Come with me, we'll fight it."

"With what? It takes forever to go to lawyers I don't have time . "She turned back to Damien, "How do you know about the time limits?"

"Because father sent me the same document he sent you " , the words falling slowly rolling off her tongue as she studied her fathers name printed upon the page a second sheet was tucked underneath in a more familiar scrawl

Valerie if anyone tells you this marriage is about you and not your Father, trust no one with this news

She held her breath before asking, "Why My father choose you?"

"I don't know."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"No, "

At least he didn't lie about that, she took a tighter step forward close enough to look over the edge of his shirt for any tell of it , " Did you threaten Father? Blackmail him ?" She looked up after a beat of silence , " Kill him?"

Silence washed over the church before her comment. Even the chandelier crystals seemed to freeze in-place, "No."

She searched every line of his face before realizing there was no lie etched into it either and that terrified her much more.

"Luca's hand found his shoulder, " You dont have to do this."

"I know."

"Then Don't " her eyes flashed burning silver but he knew better than to see the tears as she kept her gaze on the wilted flowers in the church center and instead looked over to the three hundred guests that had come to see this beautiful moment of life and love and were about to see the end of everything else it encompassed.

She turned to the lawyer for the board of Rose house next," What happens if I refuse to sign the terms?"

"The board takes temporary control, they have the ability to begin selling assets as soon as this week. "Her gaze fell to a folded up piece of paper with another name scrawled across its surface as she took it in her grasp , "My fathers shares?"

"They're frozen."

Rose House was a number on an account to most, but to the one thousand one hundred and eighty three employees who called it their place of work it was everything. She closed her eyes took in a sharp breath and the decision to end it suddenly didn't feel like much of a decision after all. "Fine,"

"Valerie," Luca's voice caught on her name.

She turned to Damien , "I'll marry you.

The murmuring crowd drew to an almost deafening murmur, a strange expression flickered across Damiens features before he caught sight of her lips curving into what might have been a smile if he had been the slightest able to contain the anger in his voice, "You didnt expect me to say yes did you?"

"I expected you to fight for another fight for another mans bride." He took a step closer until she could see up and truly see the angry lines carved into his features, "Iam choosing my grounds for this fight."

A flash of some unreadable emotion crossed his face , "Then Sign ."

Luca snagged her wrist before she got close enough to his fingers to touch the paper , "Please don't, I beg you . "She disengaged herself with gentleness in his hands never meant to hold on to her in the first place, " I don't want his employees to have to pay for his mistakes."

She turned her attention to the board of Roses lawyers papers in hand, "I can't let his employees have to suffer more."

Damien and Luca stared over her shoulder for the longest of moments as she signed her name, before Damien's signature under it landed just beneath hers with a quick nod from Luca as soon as the ink had dried.

"Mrs . Voss , " He said as she stood.

"Don't call me that."

"You signed the contract."

"I can still hate you for it."

"Ill expect nothing less . "

No kiss, no applause, only a very legal marriage between two people who acted as if one had just stolen the other in front of every eye present . The reception had probably started by then, with none of the guests invited to know what even had happened.

Two hours later Valeria sat in the back seat of the man named Damien's vehicle driving down the road as the church passed by behind them. Security was stationed at the doors to stop Luca from following but she hadnt looked at his eyes when it happened, because she wasn't sure she wouldn't have left without him if she had.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"My house"

"I have my own house . "She shot back .

"Not tonight"

"An order?"

Yes

She laughed coldly, "Youre going to have a problem with me."

"I'm aware of it , " He replied simply as she turned her gaze to his. One hand braced against the window while the other laid loosely against the opposite car door

He had seen that sort of look before, but tonight it was paired with a tired sort of weariness in his dark eyes that spoke of sleepless nights passed.

"What happened between the Voss family and mine?"

"The families." His jaw tightened as if something was physically stopping him from speaking, "That's a long story."

"You took my wedding my business my freedom tonight , I think Ive earned to right for keeping the truth from you "

You think I took your freedom ?"

"You dragged me out of my own wedding , "

"I stopped you walking into a marriage that would most likely see you killed."

" With Luca?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

His cell phone rang with a single chime, and he only gave the screen of texts a passing glance before lifting one heavy brow. "Speak."

There was a pause and a shift of the room in whatever room he was in and she caught it from the slight change in his posture, " What happened ?"

He lowered the phone with slow deliberate movements, and she knew without a heartbeat that the news it contained was worse than any of this, " Your brother is missing "

" What ? " She gasped, " He walked out of Rose house forty minutes from now my people are searching , find him now ! "

" I'm finding him . "

" Valerie , listen to me , whoever took him knew you were walking out of your church at that exact moment . "

All the rage inside of her burned out instantly , cool in its place. The wedding, the guests, the lawyer who hadn't said anything, Luca, the walk out of the door into the most horrific situation she could have ever imagined at that moment . The very one that Damien had just stopped by walking in .

She was stared at in this moment at how well he knew her. Exactly where every one had always seen her. Her phone buzzed against the seat with texts coming from an unknown area code

Congratulations Mrs. Voss

Another one texted before she could register it and a photo came through the window. Her brother was tied to a seat his expression of pure white fear with someone else standing behind him with folded hands waiting patiently .

Her fathers security lead standing behind her brother and his man with a smile that said he had more time to study and learn then he had ever allowed.

Unknown number

YOU MARRIED THE RIGHT MAN. KNOW LETS SEE HOW KEEP YOU ALIVE.