ŷ������

His mouth returned to my ear. “I’m going to fuck you hard right against this tree. I’m not in the mood for fucking foreplay, so you better tell me now if your pussy is ready to take my cock,�� he growled.

“Say it.”“Yes.�� I didn’t even recognize my voice. He turned me around, so I had to support myself against the tree. The bark of the fir was dry and rough against my palms as I braced myself against the tree trunk. I stared at it, breathing shakily, tears stinging my eyes. He pulled down the zipper at the back of my leather pants and shoved them down. My panties followed. The cold hit my skin and I shivered. “I like your ass,�� he rasped. He pushed my legs further apart with his foot and squeezed my ass cheek once. I couldn’t connect these actions with the Danilo I desired and loved. It would hurt. He’d tear me apart.

I couldn’t say anything, couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could hardly breathe. I’d stopped living, merely existed now. I was gone, gone, gone.

I was going to kill Remo Falcone for stealing my fiancée, for breaking her in ways that made it impossible for her to marry me. I was going to destroy everything that mattered to him. I wouldn’t rest until I’d ruined his life like he had ruined mine.

After a short chat and a few more drinks, we stumbled into the restroom together. I fucked her hard against a bathroom stall, her front pressed against the wall, her back to me. I focused on her blonde hair and let out my frustration and anger. Remo had taken Serafina from me, had stolen her innocence and her heart. I could imagine his feeling of utter triumph every time he fucked her, knowing he’d taken this from me. I came with a violent shudder and untangled myself from the woman in front of me . I wasn’t sure if she came, but I didn’t care.

The door opened and a tall woman with long blonde hair stepped in. She was dressed in a white wrap dress matching the theme of the room . In my exhausted , half-drunk state, she looked like a bad replica of Serafina. Fuck Marco, the bastard. He could read me like an open book. Only her seductive smile and her sexy movements betrayed her true identity . Accepting her was admitting weakness; sending her back would send the same message. Either way, I was a fucking mess. “What do you want?�� she said in a beckoning voice. “No talking,�� I growled, jerking her against me. “Now suck my cock.�� She fell to her knees and I tilted my head back, staring up at the ceiling adorned with ancient Roman mosaics. I didn’t look at her as she sucked me, didn’t look at her as I fucked her. Images of another blonde woman entered my mind, and my thrusts turned almost vicious as the prostitute knelt before me, but the images were distorted, clouded with bitterness and a sickening need for revenge.

“Still,”Anna said pointedly. “It’s weird how he picks all those blonde bimbos. It’s been years. Why can’t he get over his hurt pride?��

“You weren’t supposed to be at a party, Sofia. We weren’t married yet, so I was still well within my rights to do as I please.��

Danilo with blonde girls. Nobody had taken Serafina’s place in Danilo’s heart. With every new conquest, he seemed to look for a replica of her. For the first time, a flicker of anger mingled with my usual feelings of inadequacy.

My stomach sank. Danilo and his cousin Marco stood off to the side of the large wooden patio, talking to two girls. Naturally, Danilo was with a blonde�� again. Always with blondes. Always with women who resembled Serafina but couldn’t hold a candle to her beauty. They were less, a copy of the original. Less. So was I. Not what Danilo wanted. I was the consolation prize, would always be.

Even if my hair wasn’t blonde anymore, my resemblance to Fina was unmistakable. Suddenly, I didn’t want this anymore. I wanted to be different. As long as I looked like Fina, but not quite, people would keep comparing us.

My fingers trembled as I smoothed down my wedding dress and lowered the veil over my face. This was my day and yet . . . . . . it wasn’t my name they would whisper in the pews today. Because I was the consolation prize. The surrogate bride. Worst of all, I was not my sister.

Dressed like this, I almost looked like Serafina, minus the blonde hair. Still less. Always less. But maybe Danilo would see the similarities between my sister and me. Maybe, for a second, he would look at me with the same longing he used to direct at Serafina. Before he realized I wasn’t her. Before that look of disappointment settled on his face again.

“Why is it so hard for you to believe that you mean the world to me?”“Because I’m stupid.��

Nevio? How’s the little daredevil?�� Fina laughed in exasperation. “Don’t get me started. He tests my patience on a daily basis. He and his cousins stir up nothing but trouble. But I can’t really stay mad at him for long because he’s such a caring boy when it comes to Greta.��

�� Sofia (h) being infatuated with her older sister, Serafina's, ex fiance, Danilo (H) (), then Sofia becoming Danilo's new fiance making her feel like the consolation prize/second best but of course nothing happens for years because they were betrothed when she was only 11 years old but Sofia is still pining over Danilo while he's still hung up on his failure??

"I'd tried to imitate her, but an imitation would never be the original. I was an echo of the perfect melody. A shadow of an immaculate image. Always less. Never enough."

"I wished I could turn back time. I'd spent so much time regretting the past and what was lost that I hadn't focused on what fate had given me."

☞︎ SPOILERS AHEAD ☜︎

"Be selfish for once, Sofia. In this world, we women get so few choices, so little freedom. We have to grasp happiness by the collar and drag it with us. We can't hope for happiness to jump into our lap. Be selfish. You deserve it."

"I'm going to fuck you hard right against this tree. I'm not in the mood for fucking foreplay, so you better tell me now if your pussy is ready to take my cock."