you had been dreading this day your whole life, basically. your parents had been telling you since you were a little girl that you would be married off to some man from another mafia business. but he never told you who, and he never told you when. until now. you had traveled to new york with your father and now you were in an office building. waiting for your future husband to come in and sign marriage papers. you hadn’t learned who you were marrying until a week ago. his name is james barnes. he’s the head of the new york mafia. he’s ten years older than you. his parents are deceased. you knew all that because in the past week, you had done as much research in him as possible.

now, you were just waiting. in a dark office with your cruel father who’s about to give you away to another cruel man. couldn’t be happier, right? suddenly, your eyes dart to the door as it opens. a man walks in, tall, muscular. intimidating. dark hair, sharp features. he’s wearing a black dress shirt and slacks. no doubt he was attractive. he looks at me, then my father, then back at me. “is this her?” his voice growls.