Contractually Yours: An Arranged Marriage Romance (The Lasker Brothers Book 4)

I’m in a daze as Amy leads me away from the kitchen. I’m larger and taller, and my legs are shaky, but she supports me just fine while making soothing noises. I’m not sure why she’s being so nice. This is going above and beyond, isn’t it?

Maybe it’s a good thing Bianca didn’t witness the attack. She would’ve tried to fight Karl, and it wouldn’t have been pretty. She’s my best friend, so there shouldn’t be any secrets between us. But I wish I could hide what my family is like from everyone, forever.

What are Sebastian’s brothers going to think? And Amy… Does she pity me? Is this incident going to leak? Get twisted somehow and bring on negative publicity we don’t need?

Some asshole tabloid writer might even claim I tried to attack Karl first and he was only trying to defend himself. That’s happened before. Somebody’s leash broke and her dog came at me. I had to jump back and try to get the dog to go away—because it was baring its teeth and acting weird—but the media twisted that into my kicking the animal.

But I never touched that dog. And the owner never tried to set the record straight.

Amy takes me upstairs and gives me a questioning look. I point to the left, and she takes me to my bedroom.

The blood has stopped dripping from my nose, but it’s crusted over my mouth and chin. There are spots of rust on my dress, which is ruined. I think vaguely that the stain’s unlikely to come out and that Karl won’t care. Then I wonder what’s wrong with me that I’m worried about a dress.

But that seems preferable to thinking about the state I’m in. My cheek throbs horribly, and my lips sting. He probably broke the skin. Did I get blood on my necklace, too? That, at least, will come out. It isn’t that difficult to clean jewelry.

Amy leads me to the bench at the foot of the bed and has me sit down. I move like a robot.

“Let’s get the blood off your face,” she says. “And get you some ice, too.”

I look at her. What’s going through her head right now?

She goes to the en suite bathroom and returns with a warm, damp washcloth. The door to my room opens, and immediately there is a charge in the air.

I don’t have to check to know. Sebastian.

I look down at my lap, keeping my eyes focused on a tiny red spot near my right knee. I can hear Amy move and murmur some words to him. My mind tries to fill in the blanks.

Are they wondering if I’m okay? Are they pitying me right now? Do they think my family’s out of control? Or are they curious about what I must’ve done to provoke Karl?

Do you think she deserved it? I imagine Amy’s question and squeeze my eyes shut for a moment. I’m being unfair—she’s been nothing but kind. But my past has proven that the truth isn’t important. The only thing that matters is what people presume is the truth. And Karl has a far better public image than I do.

Amy leaves, shutting the door behind her. Sebastian crouches in front of me. “Look at me,” he says, his voice steady. “Let me see your face.”

I glance at his hands. Amy led me away after he kicked Karl a couple of times. His hands are pristine. So maybe the fight ended soon after we left. I hope so, anyway.

“Lucienne. Show me your face.” Sebastian’s order is gentle but firm.

I tilt my chin up, although I don’t meet his eyes. I didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m the one who was abused, but an inexplicable shame blankets me like a sheet of frost. I shiver, rounding my shoulders. My face throbs, but somehow the pain feels deserved. I probably should’ve realized Karl wasn’t going to leave without making a scene. Or I should’ve realized he wouldn’t give up his gravy train without escalating the situation. I keep wondering what people are going to say about the altercation. Did Sebastian call the police?

He uses the washcloth Amy prepared and cleans the blood off my face. His touch is careful and tender, like he’s cleaning a treasure that might shatter. I steal a glance and see an impassive mask on his face. I wish I could read his mind. Does he regret marrying me? But of course he regrets it. I forced him.

“You shouldn’t have hit him,” I say finally.

“A man’s entitled to protect what’s his.”

The starkly possessive way he says “his” makes my heart race, but I know better than to give it any weight. I’m still reeling, and I can’t think straight. “He’ll sue.”

“Let him try.”

“He needs money to pay off gambling debts.”

“Good. But he’s not getting it from me. I’ll have my attorneys drag him through every court in the state until he has nothing left to his name.”

I give up. He isn’t listening, and will do whatever he wants in any case.

“You don’t have to worry about Karl anymore,” Sebastian says. “He’ll never touch you again.” When the washcloth brushes against my mouth, I inhale sharply. Dark fury erupts in his eyes. “I should’ve broken every bone in his body.”

Tears spring to my eyes so fast, I don’t get a chance to blink them away. They fall down my cheeks. Suddenly I feel as vulnerable as a snail with a broken shell. I look away quickly, hoping he doesn’t notice as a dull ache starts in my chest.

I don’t know why I’m crying. Sebastian isn’t being mean. As a matter of fact, he’s being entirely too kind. I’m used to people being cruel, and I never shed a single tear when they fling nasty comments or judgmental glances in my direction.

“I’m not upset with you, Luce,” he says softly.

“I know,” I whisper, my breath hitching.

He reaches out as though to cup my face, then drops his hand. “Look at me.”

I stubbornly keep my gaze on the foundation brush I left on the vanity after getting ready for the party.

“Luce.”

“You should probably go back downstairs.” I can’t return to the party looking like this, but our guests expect us to be there until the end.

“Don’t worry about it. My brothers are handling it.”

“We can’t both be absent,” I insist.

In my peripheral vision, I can see his jaw tighten. “Who cares about the damn party? It’s not important. You are.”

I finally turn to look at him. His face is twisted with pain and recrimination.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, unhappy I ruined our first event together as a couple.

“No.” He lightly dabs the tears with the cloth. “Never say you’re sorry for what happened.”

I blink, and more tears stream down my face. “Why aren’t you upset with me?”

He looks at me like I just slapped him. “Upset with you?”

“I ruined the party. I should’ve known Karl would crash it, and I should’ve done a better job to make sure he couldn’t. And if I couldn’t do that, I should’ve had security drag him away as soon as I realized he was there.”

His mouth parts, and he just stares at me like I unloaded all that in a foreign language. “You did nothing wrong.”

“But—”

“Listen to me. You didn’t do anything wrong, Luce. Karl’s the bad guy, not you.”

“But I could’ve done something—”

“No. You didn’t have to do anything. If he were a decent human being, he wouldn’t have crashed the party. If he were a decent human being, he wouldn’t have cornered you in the pantry. If he were a decent human being, he certainly wouldn’t have hit you. It was never about you. It’s all about him and what a subhuman piece of garbage he is.”

Sebastian’s saying all this like he means it. His defense of me is absolute, I realize. And he’s being so kind and understanding, like he was all those years ago. The ache in my chest swells, and I can’t breathe. I put a hand over my breastbone, feeling my heart pulsing erratically.

I clench my teeth as the air in my lungs shudders. Something crumbles in my heart. Tears fall endlessly, and I can’t stop them.

Sebastian pulls me to him until I’m in his lap. His arms wrap around me protectively, shielding me from the world.

I cry until I’m out of tears. Even then, he doesn’t let go.