King of Wrath: An Arranged Marriage Romance

Vivian struggles to sleep after the party, recalling the way Dante pulled her closer to put on an act for the partygoers. At midnight she slips into the kitchen for a midnight snack, where Dante finds her searching for something on the high shelves. He helps her retrieve a container of Pringles to pair with chocolate pudding and pickles, and when he pours soy sauce over his ice cream, the two agree to trade one another’s distasteful snacks to see who “wins.” They both enjoy one another’s food, and at Vivian’s inquiry, Dante shares about discovering the snack when he and his brother explored the kitchen together as boys. Dante brings up Vivian’s joke from the party about Dante not being on her list of desirable husbands, a joke he did not like. Vivian teases him by listing off famous soccer players as part of her list, and when he realizes that she is teasing, their silence becomes less tense and more agreeable. Vivian is glad that she could not sleep and visited the kitchen.

Vivian video chats with Isabella while getting ready for the Valhalla fall gala. Isabella tries to convince Vivian to sleep with Dante, reminding Vivian of the uncomfortable fact that they will, at some point, have to sleep together. Vivian does, however, recognize a growing attraction to Dante.

Both dressed for the 1920s theme, Dante and Vivian head to Valhalla, the club to which Dante belongs. They mingle at the party, working far more in sync with one another than they had at previous events. When Dante’s colleague and friend Dominic pulls him away to discuss business, Dominic’s wife notes how Dante cannot seem to take his eyes off Vivian, exhibiting sadness over how her own husband frequently ignores her.

Dominic’s wife excuses herself, but Dante is still talking business, so Vivian goes to the bar, where Isabella is working her shift as a bartender. Kai overhears Isabella teasing Vivian about the condoms she has in her pocket, just in case Vivian wants them, but Kai shows thoughtful restraint by pretending not to have heard (although he teases Isabella slightly by ordering a drink in the flavor of the condoms she spoke of). Vivian and Kai speak for a time; while Kai is distracted for several moments by a work email, Vivian notices Dante staring at her. Dante’s face tightens in an emotion she cannot read when he looks at Kai. She and Kai return to conversation, but she feels Dante’s stare as they do.

Dante, jealous over the way Vivian laughs with Kai as she does not with him, interrupts their conversation to steal Vivian away. She teases him over his jealousy before he takes her on a tour of the club. The tour ends at the magnificent library, where Dante enjoys watching Vivian’s pleasure over the room.

Kai comes up again, and Vivian balks at Dante referring to her as “his.” In a power play, he engages in foreplay focused on Vivian, pointing out Vivian’s desire for him as “proof” that she belongs to him, despite their mutual dislike. He comments that their relationship is business and that he takes business seriously.

While Dante is in California for business, Vivian thinks of their encounter often. She is frequently distracted but tries to focus on work. While out and about, Buffy Darlington, for whom Vivian planned a party, calls and asks Vivian, despite her lack of the right “lineage,” to take over as hostess of the Legacy Ball. The chosen hostess’s husband was arrested on embezzlement charges. Vivian agrees, despite her discomfort at the clear prejudice against her.

She walks into the Russo jewelry store, intent on buying two pieces of jewelry so that she can start representing Russo companies rather than just her father’s jewelry empire. Luca is the salesman helping her, and when he is cold with her, she confronts him. She can tell that his explanation–that Dante never wanted to marry and that his sudden engagement worries Luca–is only partially true, but she focuses on improving the relationship. She firmly tells Luca that they need to develop a civil relationship for the sake of the family, and Luca, impressed, smiles and softens toward her, saying that Dante could have had it much worse.

They turn at a disturbance at the door. Armed men have entered and order everyone to the ground. Vivian is the only one who, stuck in freeze mode due to her fear, remains standing. One of the thieves clearly hopes for an excuse to be violent; he shoves his gun in her face and tells her again to get on the ground. Vivian believes that she may not live past the day.

Dante receives a call informing him of the robbery and of Vivian being held at gunpoint before his backup security team arrived to neutralize the situation. He cannot shake his concern and anger despite being told that she is safe at home, so he orders the meeting with a major wine brand to be moved up, getting them to agree to acquisition by the Russo Group and fleeing immediately to fly home a day early.

The chapter switches to Vivian’s perspective. She exits the shower, cold despite the heated floors and a hot shower. She has realized in the aftermath that if she had died, she would have done so without truly living her own life. She hears a door slam open; it frightens her after the trauma she experienced, but it is Dante, who flies into her room. He does not ask her if she is unharmed; he asks if she is alright. He presses slightly and is concerned when Vivian says that the rooms feel freezing. When Vivian’s voice cracks, she finally breaks down into sobs, coming to a little while later wrapped in Dante’s arms.

Dante, who usually allows his men to do the dirtier work of his security team, takes over beating the men who robbed his store in retribution for holding Vivian at gunpoint. The cops pretend not to know how he handles security, since Dante makes sure that his men don’t cross a line, and they make things easier for the cops. After a brutal beating of the leader who pointed the gun in Vivian’s face, Dante leaves with the knowledge that his men will arrange for the robbers to turn themselves into the police the next day.

It has been two days since the robbery, and Dante is still concerned for Vivian, who is napping (when she never did before) and who seems not completely recovered. He takes some soup to her in her room, and when he notices her softening toward his thoughtful gesture, he offers to eat with her. Over their afternoon meal, he shares a funny story of Luca’s past brushes with danger and then checks in with Vivian about her own well-being. He reminds her that the Russo Group has some of the top counselors in the area available for her use if she needs one. In response to her gratitude, he attempts to identify unfamiliar feelings he has about her, unsettled by them.

Dante observes that, since meeting with one of the Russo therapists, Vivian is doing better and getting back to her old self. They fly to Bali for Thanksgiving with his parents. Janis and Enzo Russo are a whirlwind, overwhelming Vivian with their fussing and their openness about things like sex, leaving condoms in the guest bedroom, and offering more if needed. The chapter switches to Vivian’s perspective. After lunch, Vivian asks Dante about his parents while they walk on the beach. He shares more about his childhood and about how his parents left soon after Luca was born to jet-set around the world, leaving him and Luca to be raised by their grandfather. He openly notes his parents’ inability to be true caregivers, and Vivian finds herself feeling sympathy for Dante and enjoying the more vulnerable person she is beginning to see under his façade.

Vivian and Dante both relax during their week in Bali. On Thanksgiving, Luca teases them about how well they’re getting along now, but Dante stops him before he can say anything that would give away the business nature of the engagement to his parents. During the same dinner, Vivian tells Dante that he should let Luca make his own mistakes rather than taking on so much responsibility himself.

After dinner, Janis shares how glad she is that Dante has Vivian, noting that he needs a partner and sharing how thoughtful Dante is. Vivian recalls that several weeks ago, she would not have described Dante as thoughtful, but now she understands where Janis is coming from. She tentatively brings up to Janis her and her husband’s abandonment of the boys. Despite Vivian’s attempts at being subtle, Janis understands what she is hinting at and admits that she and Gianni tried to be the parents the boys needed. They realized that they were not cut out for parenting, and she claims that the boys were better off without parents who tried and failed to be good parents.

Janis says that she is glad that the engagement is not a business arrangement (as she thinks), and she claims that she can tell that it is not business because Dante looks at Vivian like he never wants to look away.