I ignored him and stared at Isa. She was beyond gorgeous, beyond anything I deserved. She wore a fitted gown of ivory without a veil. It fitted her personality: modern, simple, and stylish, no trace of what one would expect of the daughter of one of the richest men in Germany.
I was about to bring her into a world that could destroy not only my family, but hers. But I was a bastard, and instead of telling Jonas to fuck himself, I was taking the empire and the woman that came with it.
The passion and joy I’d seen every time Isa looked at me was gone, replaced by anger and hurt.
The hard edge to Russo Benz’s face said he wasn’t any happier about this wedding than his daughter was.
The moment he placed Isa’s hand in mine, he said, “I don’t care who you are or what you do. If you hurt my baby, I will tear you limb from limb.”
I didn’t respond, just led Isa to the altar.
The ceremony went by in a blur of vows, rings, and prayers. The latter being something I felt was sacrilegious considering the business both families engaged in.
“You may kiss your bride.”
Isa and I gazed at each other before I cupped her face and drew her to me. The kiss was gentle and soft, but cold, with none of the passion we’d shared a week ago.
“Isa,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”
She said nothing, only gave me a slight smile, meant for the photographer who hovered near us.
She turned to face the church as did I when the crowd stood and clapped.
We moved down the aisle and toward the holding room. We would wait there until security had cleared the church and my driver arrived with the car. I knew Isa had been briefed about protocol.
The second we entered the secured room, Isa shoved me back.
Fury blazed on her face. “How could you? You made me… You let me believe… I’ll never forgive you.”
“Please, Isa, let me explain.” I reached for her, but she stepped back.
“No, you had your chance. You had plenty of chances. It wasn’t as if I wasn’t going to marry you.” The tears glazing her eyes were like a stab in the heart. “I don’t even know if everything that happened between us was real or if it was all a game. What I do know is that I will never give you again what you stole.”
Before she could move farther away from me, I grabbed her arm, stopping her escape from me.
“What you saw was the real me, not Jonas Weber’s son or the man the public believes I am. Everything I shared with you was the truth.”
“Bullshit.” She clenched her jaw and tugged her wrist, but my grip was too strong for her to free herself.
“It’s not bullshit. You know more about me than anyone else.”
“If that’s true, then why is your name Sebastian? You told me it was Baz Klein.”
Her blue eyes blazed with anger, and her breath was uneven from struggling to pull free of my hold.
She was so damn beautiful, and all I wanted to do was haul her to me and kiss her senseless.
“No answers,” she bit out.
“It is Baz. Baz was the nickname my mother gave me when I was a kid. No one has called me by that name since she died. And Klein was her maiden name.”
Surprise flashed in her cobalt gaze then disappeared. “It doesn’t matter what your name is. You lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie to you. I just kept things from you.”
My answer sounded lame even to my own ears.
“Not telling me the truth of who you are is just like lying.”
“I’m sorry, baby.”
“I’m not your baby. I’m the prize my mother sold to yours.”
“You’re more than that. I swear I was going to tell you.”
“When? After you spent the night fucking me and pretending to be another man?”
“I was going to tell you in the morning, but when I came back to the bedroom, you were gone.”
“What did you expect? I overheard your conversation.”
Fuck. I ran a hand through my hair. She wasn’t supposed to know anything about that aspect of my life. No one in my world as Sebastian Weber knew.
I was just building up all the lies.
Before I could respond, the doors opened and I released Isa.
Drew, my driver, peeked his head in. His gaze went between Isa and me. There was no doubt we were in a heated argument, but he kept his reaction schooled.
“Mr. Weber, the car is out front and ready to take you to the Benz house.”
“We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
The door closed.
“We’ll settle this once we get to the penthouse. Until then, you can hate me all you want. Just pretend to be accepting, if not happy. Your family needs to see you aren’t angry.”
“Why do you care how they feel? As of tomorrow morning, you’re the heir to everything Papa built, and your father will get a big fat inheritance.”
“Despite what you believe, I’m nothing like my father. He’s a bastard who would have ruined my family if Opa hadn’t ordered him to let me step in. I’m a victim of this mess as much as you are. I can only hope one day you’ll see it.”
I offered her my elbow. “Let’s go. Our families are waiting.”
Chapter Ten
Isa
Around one in the morning, Sebastian and I entered his penthouse in silence. Unlike the last time, I wasn’t the idiot who’d fallen for a man who didn’t exist.
The reception was a somber affair, with everyone on their best behavior. Well, with the exception of Jonas Weber. He’d sat at his table all smug and making jokes.
Sebastian hadn’t looked at him twice. I hadn’t realized how much Sebastian disliked Jonas. Maybe Sebastian was a victim of Jonas’s scheming as I was. That still didn’t give him the excuse to lie to me, to pretend to be
