Page 73 of Maddening Fixation

“Don’t ask me to repay that by marrying a man I’ve never even met.”

A man I’ve never even met?

Another lie.

Another desperate pretense.

Because I had met Romeo Flynn.

Ten years had passed since that day, yet the memories remained as vivid as though they had happened only yesterday.

He gave a single nod, acknowledging the truth in my words, but his expression remained unchanged.

His jaw stayed locked, his posture rigid.

Yarina shifted beside me, smoothing an invisible crease from her skirt.

She had remained unusually quiet throughout the reading of the will, despite the fact that she had been left with nothing.

Now, at last, she spoke.

Her gaze shifted between Father and me.

“So... are we all going to pretend we don’t remember that Romeo and I were close before he went to prison?”

A faint smile tugged at her lips.

“Some might even say Romeo and I were in a relationship.”

My chest tightened.

Of course I remembered.

Romeo had grown close to Yarina after the incident at the lake.

After the day I pulled him from the water and saved his life...

Only for Yarina to take the credit.

The memory remained painfully clear.

The first time I ever laid eyes on Romeo Flynn.

I was fourteen years old, standing beneath the fading gold of a warm summer evening at the Flynn family’s sprawling dacha.

Father had brought Yarina and me to the annual gathering hosted by the Flynn family—an extravagant affair attended by mafia dynasties from across Europe.

Every year, the Flynns hosted it for one reason: to display their wealth, influence, and power to the underworld.

Yarina, only a year younger than I was, hadn’t originally been invited. She had pleaded with Father until he finally relented and allowed her to accompany us.

While the adults disappeared into the grand ballroom to drink, negotiate, and celebrate, the children scattered across the estate.

Yarina quickly joined a lively group playing games across the gardens.

I wandered off on my own.

Crowds had never been my thing.