The last few weeks of the legislative session drug by. Finally, the time had come to return to the city and hold the wedding reception for my friends. It should have been a wonderful time in my marriage, getting to introduce the people of my circle to Bella. Also, I should have been looking forward to returning to her.

The problem was, her family was still pissed, and Bella was sticking with them. There wouldn’t be a happy reunion awaiting my arrival. It was so stupid! I’d merely tried to help them. As the weeks rolled by with barely a word from Bella—mostly because she spent all her time with her angry family—I’d pretty much lost my patience. The party was tonight, and I hadn’t been alone with Bella since the morning I’d tried to help her stubborn family.

To my relief, when I opened the door to our apartment, she sat in the front room. I couldn’t help myself from rushing to her, all the worries and anger I’d held inside the past few weeks not enough to overcome my relief that she had returned.

“Welcome home,” she whispered, eyeing me as though she didn’t know what to expect.

“I worried you wouldn’t be here.”

She shrugged. “It’s part of the contract. No matter how much my parents and brothers dislike you, I have to do what you say.”

My anger immediately flared back to the surface. “If you don’t want to be here, then leave! I’ll cancel the damn party. Is that what you want? I thought we were working for more than the contract. I make one mistake, a mistake where I tried to help your family, by the way, and this is how you react?”

Though she flinched at my words, the anger in her eyes didn’t dim. “We’re too different for a real relationship, Damian. Surely you’ve realized that after what happened? Our worlds are nothing alike. I thought you’d get along with my family and that everything would work out. You deciding to buy them off was something I could have never anticipated.”

“How was I supposed to know they’d be so ungrateful?” I snarled, unable to suppress all my hurt and frustration. “I would have expected that from my own family, but I thought yours was better. I thought you were better, but you haven’t even taken my phone calls to try and work things out. What kind of wife does that?”

She lifted one eyebrow, her gaze turning so chilly I could have sworn the temperature in the room dropped. “You don’t listen to what I say when I do talk,” she replied, the ice oozing from her tone. “What’s the point of taking your calls? I told you not to offend my parents, but you did it anyway. My brothers have them all riled up now. No matter what I’ve said, Pop gets angry every time it comes up.”

“I do listen to you!”

She snorted. “Sure, you listen to me and my parents, right? That’s why there are two brand new cars outside their apartment even though they said they didn’t want them. They say you have no respect, and my brothers’ anger only grew when the cars arrived. I didn’t take your calls because it would have been a wasted effort.”

I sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to regain some sense of calm. Despite saying I’d cancel the party tonight if she didn’t want it, there was no way I wanted that. First off, it would be career suicide, but even more than that, I wanted to get things back on track with her. No matter how ridiculous I found their anger, it was my job to repent for what I’d done to Bella and make her and her family’s lives better.

Sitting on the couch, I held my leg stiff to make certain I didn’t accidentally touch her. There was no way she’d welcome physical contact from me anymore. Making my voice as soft and calm as I could, I stared her straight in the eyes. “I do respect you, but I let myself get too excited about helping.”

“But in your excitement, you never considered how taking your charity would make them feel. Why wouldn’t you listen to me?”

“You’re right. I screwed up. I wanted to make things better, but I should have listened to what you said.” I gazed at her, trying not to be upset when she wouldn’t look my direction. Given the time to think, I did understand why she was upset, even if I didn’t agree that she should be.

“I’m glad you know, but that doesn’t change what happened.”

“Okay but look at it from my perspective. All I wanted was to make things better. Don’t you want your parents to have an easier life? They’re both still working two jobs, riding the bus everywhere, killing themselves off. At their age, they should be starting to think about their retirement plans, but I’m sure they don’t have anything saved, no way to ever stop working. Is that what you want for them?”

She opened her mouth, red faced and seeming about to yell at me, but then shut it again without responding. Bella’s gaze dropped to her hands, and she wrung them together while her brow furrowed in thought.

I had to be patient. I had to make her see that I wasn’t just throwing money around and trying to buy them off. It had seemed she understood my motivation when we talked before but spending the last few weeks with her parents and brothers—likely with them talking bad about me—seemed to have convinced her otherwise.

Finally, her honey-brown gaze met mine. A bit of the warmth I was used to seeing in her lovely eyes had returned. She gave a tiny nod. “You’re right. I worry about them and their futures. If things keep going as they are, Pop especially might just drop over dead at work one day. His back hurts every night when he finishes his first job. After a little nap and some food, he then heads off to his night job, barely able to walk when he leaves the house. It’s really no better for Mom, but at least she does office work instead of physical labor during the day. The retail job at night where she’s on her feet is a lot for her to handle, though.”

I couldn’t believe the struggle they endured. Did people really live like this all over the state? All over the country? It didn’t seem fair. While I’d always considered my father a hard worker because of what he did for a living, I realized the scale was nowhere near what so-called ordinary people did.

“I just want to help them,” I said softly. “While I can understand them having pride and not wanting to accept a handout, I’m not just some stranger now. I’m family, aren’t I? Or have you changed your mind about keeping with the contract or any sort of relationship?”

She sighed. “Mom wants to forgive you. Every time she almost gets Pop convinced, one of the boys comes home and riles him up. If I’m being honest, Mom nearly took the car to her night job the other day. She hates going on the bus after dark.”

“I wish she would take it.” Even though that was a good sign, I could sense from Bella’s demeanor that there was still a long way to go to fix this. “Perhaps I could speak with your brothers. Maybe we should host a family dinner this coming week. If I explain why I want to help, do you think that could ease the way to reconciliation?”

“I’m not sure. The boys think you’re some rich prig who hates your wife’s poor family. They’re convinced you did all this to look better during your campaign.”

“And what do you think?” If that was truly what she believed as well, I was wasting my time.

Her hand edged toward mine slowly, until her index finger came to gently caress my thumb. “I think you don’t care about them not having money, except for the fact that money makes life easier. I believe you did this from a place of goodness, not disgust with their life.”

“Then why the silent treatment for the past few weeks?”

She sighed, letting her finger fall away from my thumb and retreating her hand back across the cushion. “I’ve been busy helping plan our wedding reception.”

“Stop lying! You had a whole staff to take care of most details. You would’ve had a few minutes to speak to me if you wanted to. Why are you avoiding me?”

“Fine. The truth is... I’m scared.” Her voice quavered, and she hid her face behind her hands. “Why would you care about my family? What would make you spend that kind of money? This can’t be love, it can’t be. You don’t know me. Yet you’d go that far. I don’t trust it. I don’t trust you!”

Dammit! With everything she’d been through, I could understand her suspicions. The worst part was, she had every right to be suspicious of me. It was weird that anyone would spend that kind of money when they’d just met people, especially for a contract bride. Bella must sense there was another reason for my actions, and it made her uneasy. As much as I wished I could fix the problem, telling her the truth wouldn’t do it. That would only make her hate me. So, what the hell was I supposed to do?

Gently, slowly, I reached out, claiming her hand and entwining my fingers with hers. “What can I do to fix this? I want your family to like me, but more important than that is you. Whether you believe me or not, it’s true that I’m falling for you. I’ve been so lonely not getting to hear your voice every day since I went back to Albany. You’re all I can think about. So many times, I started to make the trip home, determined to force you to talk to me so we could work this out, but then I’d get scared and returned to Albany without ever seeing you.”

She looked up at that, and her lips twitched just a bit. “Coward.”

The sparkle in her eye told me not all was lost between us, and I chuckled and squeezed her hand tighter in my grip. “Yes, I’m a complete coward. If you turned me away for good, I knew my heart would break. I couldn’t handle that. Today’s the party, so I had no choice but to come face you and hear the verdict on our life. How do I make this right? How do I make you love me?”

“I—” She shifted on the couch, looking uncomfortable. “You know I’m screwed up, Damian. What if I can’t ever love you the way you want?”

“Then I’ll take whatever you can give me. You don’t have to push yourself. I’m here for you, no matter what happens.”

Bella yanked her hand from mine, frowning. “That’s what doesn’t make any sense. Why are you so devoted to me?”

Maybe a partial truth would help here. She obviously wasn’t going to accept that I loved her. Heck, maybe she was right and I didn’t. I had no clue. What I knew was I owed her, and I wanted to give her everything it was in my power to give her.

“Your past story is horrendous, Isabelle.” I intentionally used her full name, hoping it would show her how serious I was. “The man who hurt you deserves to be punished for what he did, but more than that, you deserve a good life. I want to be the one to help make up for everything that happened in your past. That means helping you, helping your parents, and helping your brothers. I care for you so much. All I want is to see you smile, have you by my side, and know that you’re safe and happy because of me.”

“So... you pity me?”

“No! That’s not what I...” Well, that was what it probably sounded like, since she didn’t know I was the one who deserved punishment. “I love you. I want to take care of you.”

She stood up, feeling more distant to me than she ever had. “Stop using that word. Let’s just get ready for the party, shall we? Tonight has to be perfect if we’re to help your campaign. We can worry about the rest of this another day.”

Great. She still didn’t care enough to try and work things out. All the time I was gone, I’d worried it would come to that. She was fulfilling the contract, nothing more.

Well, if that was the way she wanted things, I could give her that. Fuck her and her family! We could be business partners in a contract. I’d spent the last eight years trying to be a good man to make up for that night. If Bella was determined to block me from doing so directly, I’d continue on my prior path.

I’d get elected and make changes that way. What did I care if some poor family had it rough? I had a lot of people to worry about, not just them. She didn’t want my help, so I’d stop offering. She was a contract wife, that was all. Tonight, our party would be flawless, and I’d launch my campaign with my new platform of helping women. Whether Bella wanted to love me or not, I’d use her and help create change.

The party went smoothly. Bella was gracious and beautiful. She’d certainly taken her society lessons to heart and learned how to behave in my world. I couldn’t complain on that account. The announcement about my bid to run for the Representative seat and the platform I’d run on created a lot of buzz. People were already promising campaign funds and help for our cause.

Bella played her role. Probably no one knew we weren’t getting along. They saw us together, smiling and happy, but the ice still radiated from her whenever we were left alone for a moment. No matter what she was willing to pretend to for the sake of the contract, she wasn’t letting herself forgive me for what she saw as pitying her.

Not that it mattered. I was done caring what she thought. If there was one thing my father had taught me, it was to use your resources. If we couldn’t have a real marriage, I’d use Bella for the original purpose I’d intended before finding out she was that woman I’d hurt so long ago.

The party was going smoothly until they walked in. Four men, rough around the edges, definitely not belonging in a gathering such as this. I recognized them instantly. It had been eight years since we last met. Their faces had matured, but they were the exact same other than that. The only one missing was the ringleader, who’d gone by the name Snake for the short month I’d been in their gang.

They swaggered across the party as though they owned the place. The invited guests gasped and whispered, doing whatever it took to keep their distance.

Bella glanced at me, alarm clear on her face. “Do you know these men? What are they doing here?”

I shook my head. I had no clue why they’d shown up, but I had to keep everyone from learning that I knew them—especially Bella.

Stepping away from her toward the small gang, I lowered my voice to keep guests from overhearing. “What the hell are you doing here?”

The second-in-command, Rider, snarled. “If it isn’t Prince Pansy. We’ve been looking for you for a few months now. Imagine our surprise when we heard about this wedding party.” Rider’s eyes slid toward where Bella continued to stand motionless, and a humorless laugh slipped from his lips. “Imagine our surprise when we recognized the bride. How’d you manage convincing her to marry you? Guess it’s good you didn’t kill her back then.”

I snarled back at him. “Get the fuck out of here, Rider. I don’t know why you crawled out from under a rock now, but I have nothing to say to you.”

The man standing to Rider’s left smirked. “Interesting,” Tony said. “I think you’d want to talk to us. Just think what might happen if we let your little secret slip? She doesn’t know what you did, does she? How about the voters? Do they know?”

Shit! I had to get them out of here before someone overheard them. “Fine, I’ll hear you out but not here.”

Rider nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Now?” I glanced back at Bella, bewildered.

“Right now.” Rider let out another growl. “Unless you want us playing a certain video of our last night together.”

Video? What did he mean? The last night I’d spent with these guys had been the night we robbed Bella and I’d cut her. Someone had a video of that? Knowing the way these guys operated, I was sure the video included parts where my face showed. Of course, it would be carefully edited to protect the rest of the members of the gang, but I’d bet my crime was there in full color. I wondered if they’d also filmed the beatdown they gave me after. Probably not. The gang beat up so many people that nearly killing me for failing wouldn’t have been all that memorable.

The question was, why? Why did they come to me with this now? And where was Snake? The only way to find out was to give in to their demands.

“Just let me explain to Bella and the guests, then I’ll be right with you.”

“There’s nothing to explain.” Tony grabbed my arm. “Give your wife a wave and smile like everything’s okay. We need to go right now.”

I gave an overly loud chuckle, smiling at the people standing at a distance. “Duty calls, my friends. Bella can answer any questions you have about my upcoming campaign, but it looks like some friends need my help. Sorry to skip out on my own party.”

Tony impatiently jerked my arm, pulling me toward the exit. Without time to worry or look what Bella’s reaction would be, I yanked my arm free of his and walked with them under my own power.