Chapter 5
The aisle was long. From the doors to the altar, it stretched like a river of white roses.
Alessandro Costa smiled. That old fox smile.
“I’m not greedy.” he said. “The ceremony doesn’t matter to me. Just give me the certificate.”
I laughed softly.
“It’d be a shame to waste all this.”
I looked up at the crystal chandeliers overhead.
“Flowers. Orchestra. Three hundred guests. Michelin-starred catering.”
“Free” I said. “Why not use it?”
His smile didn’t shift. But something behind his eyes deepened.
I stepped closer and lowered my voice. “And you. Alessandro-”
I met his gaze.
“You had a car parked in the alley behind the cathedral. Your suit was in the back seat. You changed in the car.”
The ceremony doesn’t matter to me?”
His lashes flickered.
Just once. Like a stone dropped into still water. The ripples spread, then vanished.
But I knew I’d hit something.
A glint of recognition flashed through his eyes. Like a chess player who’d just met his match.
“Rebecca,” he said.
He didn’t explain. Didn’t deny it.
“Free wedding. I’ll play along.” He leaned closer. His breath brushed warm against my temple “But what you just said-
He paused. Drew a small circle on the back of my hand with his thumb.
“That’s interest.”
I looked up at him.
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Without another word, he took my hand and turned toward the altar.
The organ struck the wedding march.
We took the first step.
Along both sides of the aisle, guests murmured and pulled out their phones. The groomsmen looked like they’d
swallowed glass.
Alessandro didn’t rush.
His grip on my hand was steady. But not tight.
Step two. Step three.
The white roses trembled faintly beneath our feet.
I glanced at him. He didn’t look back.
But the corner of his mouth lifted. Just barely.
That curve said: *You’re not getting away.*
Behind us, chaos rippled through Luca’s side of the family. His uncles were red-faced, muttering in furious whispers.
Someone hissed, “This is beyond inappropriate.”
The groomsmen tried to shift their bodies, hands reaching for their phones-only to find them already taken.
Finally, it hit them: this wedding had never been theirs to control.
The priest opened his book.
‘Rebecca, do you take this man-
The cathedral doors slammed open.
‘She doesn’t.’
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