Yeah. Just thinking.
About tomorrow?
About everything.
Don’t overthink any of it. You’ll make yourself crazy.
Too late for that.
I pocket my phone and slide behind the wheel.
I think about Adriana. About the way she looked standing at that window, trying so hard to hold it all together. About the fear she’s hiding behind that mask of perfection.
She’s strong. Stronger than anyone I’ve ever met.
But even the strongest people have breaking points.
And when the truth comes out… not if, when… I’m going to be hers.
I pull away from the curb. The city lights glitter around me, indifferent to the mess I’ve made of my life.
Tomorrow, I marry Adriana DiMicheli.
Tomorrow, I become her ally. Her partner. Her husband.
And tomorrow, the clock starts ticking on the truth unraveling.
Because secrets don’t stay buried forever. Sooner or later, they claw their way to the surface.
It’s inevitable.
CHAPTER 9
ADRIANA
I slept three hours.Maybe four.
It wasn’t enough. And it only gave me a temporary escape from what’s about to happen.
Luna shows up at the hotel suite at ten with coffee and a garment bag. She takes one look at my face and shoves the cup into my hand.
“Drink.”
“I’ve already had two,” I say. “And they haven’t helped.”
“Have a third. You look like you need it.”
I sigh and take a sip. My lips twist when the hot liquid hits my tongue. The coffee is strong and bitter, not my usual with two sugars and oat milk. But as I’ve come to learn recently, not everything I’ve come to expect becomes reality. Sometimes what you order isn’t what you receive. A harsh lesson to learn on your wedding day to a virtual stranger.
“I saw Dad this morning. Stopped at the hospital early,” Luna says, hanging the garment bag on the back of the closet door.
“How was he?” I ask before taking another sip of the sludge in my cup. “
“The same as last night when you and Mom saw him.” Herface falls, and when she looks at me, her eyes glisten. “I really wanted him to wake up, Adri. I prayed for it so hard, anything to get you out of this mess.”
I capture her in a tight hug. “Thank you. I really wanted that, too, I mean, obviously more for Dad to wake up and be healthy than for me to get out of this wedding. But I’d have been happy to take my life back if given the chance.”
“You’re being so strong,” Luna says. “I’d never be able to handle everything you have. And you’re still running a company. You’re such a boss bitch. Dad’s men won’t know what hit them when you take over the organization.”
