As I started down the dimly lit path with Audrianna, silence echoed heavily around us. Each time I turned to say something, the words stuck in my throat. There was no easy way of explaining what she’d just seen, but I knew I had to. It wasn’t that I feared her telling our parents. It was more about the look of disappointment in her eyes.
When we got to the clearing before the tent, she grabbed my arm. “Your lips are all puffy,” she proclaimed.
I gasped in horror. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “And your hair is a mess.”
“Fuck,” I muttered as I tried smoothing down my hair.
“Maybe you should just pretend you and Rafe were making out,” she suggested.
I snorted. “Like Father would believe that.”
With a roll of her eyes, she said, “You could always say you mouthed off, and he hit you.”
“While that would work with any other mafia man, Father knows Rafe doesn’t believe in hitting a woman.”
“Shit. Here he comes,” Audrianna said in a panicked voice.
And then the perfect lie hit me. But one Audrianna couldn’t be a part of. “Go on. I’ll handle this.”
“But D–”
“Go!”
After she narrowly missed crossing paths with Father, I braced myself for his wrath. Father narrowed his eyes on my face. “Where were you?”
“I was sick.”
“Sick?”
After bringing my hand to my stomach, I gave him a knowing look. “I had to run into the garden to throw up.”
When a look of disgust came over him, I knew he got my meaning. “You look awful.”
Forcing a truly repentant look on my face, I said, “I’m sorry.”
With an agitated grunt, he threw up his hands. “I certainly can’t have you walking around the party looking like that. Not that Raphael would get a say in it, but for the others to see you looking like damaged goods would be too much.”
I bit my tongue to keep from replying that God forbid I don’t look like I just stepped out of a Vogue photo shoot for the sake of the fucking Famiglia. Instead, I suggested, “Maybe you can say I retired early to get my rest for my wedding night?”
Father tilted his head. “I could make that work.”
“If anyone can, I’m sure it’s you.”
My stomach then rolled for real for how thick I was laying it on for him. Apparently it wasn’t too much because Father didn’t doubt my sincerity. Instead, he stroked his chin in thought.
A few moments passed before he replied, “Fine. Go on to the house and whatever you do, don’t be seen by anyone except the guards or staff.”
For once, I did exactly what Father told me to without an argument. After practically sprinting along the pathways, I entered the side door and then escaped up the back staircase. When I entered my room, I made a beeline to the bathroom.
Desperate to wash away my indiscretions with Leo, I tore off the dress so fast I ripped the zipper off the track. After shedding my underwear, I got into the hottest shower I could bear.
I turned my face to the shower stream and let the water wash away my sins. I don’t know how long I stood like that. I didn’t even bother using any soap or cleansers. I steamed myself for so long that my skin looked pink and wrinkled.
After getting out, I threw on a set of short pajamas before collapsing into bed. As exhausted as I was from the day’s activities, I expected to fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
But I didn’t.
