Redemption: (Dark Desires Book 3) by Kourtney King

have
her. He'd rather have a piece of her over nothing at all. He opened his crystal
blue eyes and stared into her almost black irises. "Then let’s get
married.”  He didn’t want to give her time to change her mind. “Today,” he
added.
    “Weddings don’t happen in a day
Vlad. I need time to plan.”
    “All we need is you and me. We can
go to the courthouse and have it done in under an hour. Everything has always
been complicated between us. Let's make this, us, simple.”
    This is not how Valerie had
envisioned her wedding day. She wanted her family and friends around her on the
big day. Looking into Vlad's eyes, she saw the sincerity in his words. He just
wanted her to be his, without the fanfare. In truth nothing that had happened
in her life recently had gone according to plan, but she was learning to ride
the waves as they came. 
    “Okay, let’s get married
today.”
    She would wear the white silk
pants and the beige top he had bought for her on the first weekend they’d met.
It was symbolic; a testament to how far they’d come from the first time they’d
met. When she told her children and grandchildren about her wedding day, once
they were old enough to hear the story in its entirety that is, it would be a
great tale of their turbulent love affair.  
    *****
    Natasha was having a lazy
Sunday with Mandla over at her apartment. They were watching her all-time
favourite movie - My Best Friend’s Wedding. She sang along to every song and
Mandla groaned in frustration. He loved his girl, but someone needed to tell
her that she couldn’t hold a note. Unfortunately, he didn't have the heart to
be that person so he steeled himself to her high pitched screeches and hoped he
didn't burst an eardrum. The phone rang which cut her off. Thank God, he
silently praised.
    Natasha’s face went from jovial
to concerned with the duration of the call. "Okay, I'll be there,"
she said before she hung up.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked
picking up on her change in mood.
    "That was Valerie. She's
getting married, and she wants me to be her maid of honour.”
    “Isn’t that good news?” he
asked confusedly.
    "It would be if she wasn't
marrying that asshole, Vladimir."
    “You mean the guy we went over
to meet with for Sunday lunch a few months back?”
    “Yes, the very one.”
    “I think he’s cool,” said
Mandla with a shrug wondering what had happened that had turned his usually
affable girlfriend against the dude. “When’s the wedding?”
    “Today. And you’re coming
with.” Natasha walked into her bedroom to find an outfit for the ill-fated
occasion. She wanted to be supportive of Valerie, but when it came to Vladimir
and what he’d put her through, even if he was indirectly involved, she just couldn’t
find it in her to encourage her best friend’s relationship. Anybody who knew
the truth would feel the same way.
    Had Valerie thought through
what she was doing by making a commitment of this magnitude to him legally? Her
mind raced a mile a minute as she rummaged around in her closet and debated on
what she should or shouldn't say at her best friend's wedding. The irony of the
situation would have been funny, considering the movie she had been watching a
few minutes ago, had there not been a rape in this fairy tale. Natasha shook
her head to rid any negative thoughts. She wouldn't ruin this day for Valerie.
Instead, she looked for something old, something new, something borrowed and
something blue. If he hurt her after this, all bets were off.

Chapter Nine
     
    Their
wedding ceremony was a small, quick affair. At Valerie’s request, they had
found a priest who officiated over their union. The bureaucracy that followed
afterwards was more complicated. Since Vladimir was a Russian citizen marrying
a South African national, he had to complete a series of forms. Natasha and
Mandla signed the marriage register as the witnesses, and the couple was issued
their marriage certificate.  Vlad and Val were now man