Prologue

"Where's the ring?" I spoke loud enough to be heard over the chatter of my father and his business associates. This was not at all how I expected this to go. I knew my fate was to be married off to strengthen my father"s mafia but I thought it would at least be romantic. I thought my future husband would at least present me with a ring and maybe a few gifts. This was anything but.

Kashus, my now fiancé, wasn't even here. His dad, Marco, had asked for my hand in marriage for his son and continued talking to my father as if I wasn't in the room. As if I wasn't the one being affected by this arrangement. It was causing my skin to boil.

"She wants a ring." Marco laughed in his thick Italian accent, causing everyone in the room to join him. My head cocked to the side. I didn't see what was funny. Proposals were supposed to come with rings. My question was a valid one.

"Kash will take care of that soon. You worry about looking pretty and minding your manners." My father, Jacob, patted my leg under the table. "You don't interrupt men while they are speaking." He whispered the last part, causing my eyes to roll. It was always the same thing with him. Be seen and not heard. Don't upset the men.

My father carried on as if we lived in the eighteen hundreds. Hell, my whole family did. This was the lifestyle I had been born into. There was no room for women to think or speak in the mafia. We had a specific purpose—to be wives, take care of the home, and produce heirs. I was ready to leave my father"s suffocating house, even if it meant moving in with a stranger. I had been researching Kashus and his family since I discovered he would be my husband. They were a part of a crime family from Valdosta, Georgia.

Kashus was Marco's only son, and he was mixed. Marco had broken tradition and reproduced with a black woman. The decision had weakened their status in the business, and now they were trying to gain respect in my father"s all-black mafia. Marco had been married to Kashus"s mom for a few years before she died. A marriage bonded by love was something I'd never witnessed. My mother and father were arranged and had eventually learned to love each other. That was different.

On social media, there were pictures of Marco Grant and his wife, Tammie Grant. They looked happy, and I hoped their love meant they'd raised their son to value and respect women a little more than my father did.

"Sorry, I'm late." A deep baritone caused me to turn on my heels. My eyes bulged as who I assumed to be Kashus Grant entered the room.

"Damn," I whispered loud enough for only me to hear. The pictures I'd seen of him did him no justice. My eyes traveled the length of his body. He was gorgeous—probably the most attractive man I'd ever laid eyes on. He was tall and stocky. His yellow highlighter colored skin coated his chiseled body like a work of art. His dreads were freshly retwisted and pulled into a man bun. There was no way he didn't get attention everywhere he went. He was so pretty but in a street sort of way. The man looked like he had the type of dick that made women lose their minds.

"You're always late, Kash." His father scoffed.

"I'm always handling business." He walked further into the room. I stared at him. The man even walked sexy. If this was going to be my husband, I was a lucky girl.

"Where's the woman you bought me?" His eyes traveled to me.

My breath hitched at his statement. Bought was such an ugly word to describe this arrangement, but I guessed it was technically what they'd done.

"Kashus, don't start your bullshit." Marco grunted.

Kashus waved his hand to dismiss him. My eyes darted between the father and son pair. They looked nothing alike. There was no doubt that Kashus had to favor his mother.

"You put me in this bullshit, Marco." Kashus spat back. He was bold, and I was smitten. He moved to me. I was the only woman in the room, besides the server, so it had to be obvious who I was. Besides, I was sure he'd seen pictures of me.

"Are you my soon-to-be wife?" His tongue swiped over his lips, and my insides heated. I nodded. I was too turned on to speak.

"I'm Kashus, but everybody calls me Kash." He approached me, extending his hand. I glanced up at him. His body towered over me from where I sat at the table, but he wasn't much taller than me. At five-ten, I probably came to his chest.

"Monroe Iris." I extended my hand. He didn't waste any time kissing it. His gaze was on me intensely, but I couldn't read him. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Nice to meet you, Monroe."

He let go of my hand and walked to his seat, which was located directly across from mine. His eyes found me once more. His tongue grazed over his thick, juicy lips before he looked away. That was it? That was all he was going to say to me?

"That's it? Where's my ring?" I voiced my concern, causing everyone to turn to me. Without hesitation, Kash reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and slapped it on the table.

"My bad, ma." His voice was nonchalant as he slid the paper over to me. "Here go a blank check. Knock yo'self out."

He had to be kidding me. My eyes shot to my father. I waited for him to correct the disrespect, but he didn't. Glaring across the table at Kashus, I tried my best to gain my composure and remain ladylike, but this light bright negro had me fucked up. I slapped my hand down and attempted to slide the check back across the table but was stopped by my father.

"How about you go grab a few of your things, Monroe? Us men need to discuss business." My father picked the check up off the table and placed it in his wallet before he dismissed me.

Rolling my eyes, I stood from the table. I wanted to say something. The more I thought about it, the more I didn't want to risk turning off my new family. I didn't know if I would get another proposal offer. My dark skin and the few extra pounds I carried had made it hard for my father to find an appropriate husband for me. Kashus Grant was possibly my last chance.

"I will have this check deposited into your account, and you can get whatever ring you wish."

I stared at my father. He didn't get it, and nobody in the room understood the significance of the wedding ring. Glancing around the room, I took in my audience of rich, powerful men. It was no use in fighting. I knew it would only end in me draining my energy. I needed to save that for my arrogant new fiancé.

"Wait up, Monroe." Kashus met me at the threshold of the door.

"I ain't trying to start on the wrong foot. We'll get you a ring, shawty. I ain't know I was supposed to have one today." He shrugged. I wasn't trying to hear his lame ass excuse, so I headed up the stairs. Briskly, he grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. "Don't worry about grabbing a lot. I'll have someone bring yo' shit to my crib in the morning."

He leaned close to my ear. His smell was intoxicating, and I was pissed his presence was rendering me speechless. He was an asshole, but I couldn't help but be attracted to him. I nodded quickly then turned to head up the stairs to my room. My bag was already packed and had been for weeks. I knew what was coming.

Since I was old enough, I'd known I would be married away to the highest bidder or whoever my father needed to strengthen his business. It was the rightful passage of all the Iris women—what we were born to do. As I entered my bedroom, I glanced around. This would be my last time here. It was bittersweet, but I was ready for the change. This room sometimes felt like a prison. It was where I was often sent for stepping out of line and defending myself against my father's outdated opinions about my place as a woman.

I stopped to check myself in the mirror and stared at my chocolate reflection. I looked beautiful in my floor length floral maxi dress. It hugged all my curves just right. I always believed I was beautiful, but I knew I needed to shed some pounds. I was a big girl.

"This is it," I whispered to myself.

"You ready?" My father"s wife, Contessa, entered my room. She'd been the first woman my father had married since my mother passed away giving birth to my brother when I was ten. It had been a tragic ordeal because my mom and brother both didn't make it. For years, it had just been my father and me until five years ago when he brought Contessa home and introduced her as his wife.

Contessa was only four years older than me. She was thirty-two, and I was twenty-eight. It was natural that she became more of a friend than a stepmother. She understood this lifestyle. She understood what it was like to be in an arranged marriage because her marriage to my father had also been a business deal. We bonded over that, and because I had no siblings or cousins I was close to, she'd been the closest thing I had to a friend. Turning to her, I smiled.

"As ready as I can be, Tessa. I'm nervous, and my new husband is an asshole."

"An asshole that you're attracted to." She giggled as she pointed to my hardened nipples.

"Stop!" I looked down quickly, rubbing my arms across my chest to get them to go down.

Tessa laughed. "The nerves are natural. Try to relax. He's probably just as nervous as you. You're his first wife. So that's good." Tessa moved closer to me, and we both plopped down on the bed. Tessa had six sisters who were in arranged marriages, so she'd been privy to how this thing worked. By the time her father had sent her to mine, she'd seen all her sisters go.

"What's expected of me tonight? Do I have to sleep with him?"

I was curious. I wasn't a virgin, but I wasn't extremely sexually active either. I had been with two men intimately. One was my high school boyfriend, Ricky. We were young and just wanted to explore sex. The other was a guy who used to work for my father, Jansen. Jansen was young and charming, and we loved each other. He treated me nicely, but he wanted us to remain a secret. I was young and foolish and believed that we had a chance.

I thought if I talked to my father, it could be arranged for us to marry. I was wrong, and the moment I confided in my dad, Jansen disappeared without a trace soon after, just like Ricky. I assumed they'd both suffered the same fate for getting involved with me… death. This was why I'd sworn off sex and dating altogether. I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else losing their life because of me. I was already spoken for… promised to someone else. It was no use mingling around anyway. I'd decided to take care of my needs myself.

"Sex is going to happen, Monroe; he's your fiancé," Tessa blurted.

"I know, but is it expected tonight?" I wanted to know, not because I was thinking about fucking his arrogant ass, but because I wanted to be prepared.

"Every husband is different, and so is every arrangement. You"re lucky because you don't have to give him a baby since he already has two kids."

I sighed. I wasn't too excited about Kash already having two kids, but I had no choice. Plus, it did mean the pressure to produce an heir was off. Still, I wanted to have children of my own one day. I hoped that would still be an option. I wanted a marriage full of love and happiness, even if it was arranged.

Contessa and I lay there for a minute, staring at the ceiling. I was going to miss her. We spent a lot of time together, confiding in one another. I was only going a few hundred miles away, but it felt like millions.

"I'm going to miss you." I turned to face Tessa.

"I'm going to miss you too. You won't be in prison, though. We can link up whenever."

"Still, you won't be right up the hall. My dad could have found me a closer husband." I pouted. Valdosta was nearly an entire day's drive from where we lived in Bristol City.

"Hey, what's a few miles when we have a private jet and can FaceTime all day?" Contessa sniffled as tears rolled down her cheeks. I joined her, wrapping my arms around her where we lay on the bed. I think Tessa was sadder than I was. She would be in this house alone with my dad for the first time since she and my father had gotten married four years ago.

"Monroe!" That was my father. Slowly getting up from the bed, I grabbed my suitcase and moved to the door. Contessa grabbed my hand and pulled me into one last hug.

"Don't forget who you are. Don't lose yourself," she whispered into my ear. I nodded. Don't lose myself. I repeated her words as I rolled my suitcase down the hall to the staircase.

Our butler greeted me. "I'll take that, Miss Monroe."

I descended the stairs one at a time, staring at my fiancé. Everything I'd prepared for all my life was about to begin today. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, Kashus approached me.

"Let's go home." He took my hand and led me to the front door. My knees buckled at his touch. I glanced at my father's house and waved goodbye to Tessa. I looked over at my father. There was emotion on his face for the first time. He almost looked sad.

"Monroe." He called me over. My body moved to him, dropping Kashus's hand. His arms wrapped around me in a warm embrace. I hadn't gotten one of these hugs from him since I was a little girl.

"Obey your future husband. This union will strengthen our family—our business." He whispered into my ear, killing the warmness of the moment. This was my father. He didn't show emotion, and he followed the code of the mafia no matter what. Everything was always about the family business, tradition, and honor.

"Yes, I know, Daddy," I responded. Our embrace ended, and I was back hand in hand with Kashus.

"I'm daddy now, beautiful," he whispered in my ear. My eyes shot to my fiancé. The cockiness of this man was unbelievable. I knew deep in my heart that he wouldn't be the husband I longed for. Still, I was hopeful for our marriage. I had to be. This was everything that I'd been taught to aspire for. As we climbed into the car, I stared at my family home. My stomach was in knots. My father's voice was on repeat in my head.

Obey your future husband.

That was my task.