Page 78 of Unmasking My Dark Knight

“I don’t like this attitude you’ve been taking with me… no.” Right when she was about to pull on my arm, I withdrew.

“I already told you, I’ll be back. Stop treating me like I’m six years old. Don’t touch me like that anymore.”

“Stop living in the clouds, Ivy Jade.” She raised her voice. “You read far too many books; your mind is delusional. Antonio will be waiting for you when you get back. You need to make this work, otherwise–”

“Otherwise, what!?” I cut her off, exasperated.

She eyed me hard and long. “Otherwise, we’re going to cut you off until you get married. Understand? No more big birthday celebrations, no more using the private jet. None of it. It will all be gone!”

My jaw clenched. The possibility of losing everything was slowly becoming a reality. That couldn’t happen. I was mentally stuck.

“Your father and I already talked. If you don’t make it work with Antonio, then we will do what we need to do until you grow up and realize this is your life. Your life isn’t just about margaritas by the pool. Or reading your books all day. No. We came to this country so you and your brother could have a better life than we did, to be something more.”

Everything she was saying hurt as if she’d slapped me across the face. How could she not see what was in front of her? Mine and Gustav’s entire lives were better than theirs. They had accomplished the impossible, and… I didn’t understand why I had to marry the person they chose. Just to appease them? I knew I had to push forward and get Mami to see things differently.

“You and Papi never let me try things my way. You restricted what I could and couldn’t do, and now my identity revolves around this marriage! I don’t know who I am without it! Would you still see me as your daughter if I say no to Antonio? Or am I just a disappointing investment that you and Papi made?” I asked, tears filling my eyes. I was falling apart in the hallway, trying to stay strong, all while realizing I was just an object to my own family.

She listened to what I said, took it in, and nodded. But the silence she forced between us started to gnaw at me. “Life doesn’t work out how we want, does it? Make it work with Antonio; otherwise, you’re out. And don’t think you’ll be able to live at our house anymore. Your room will be off-limits. You know your goal now, Ivy Jade. Forget about Romeo. He’s a nice man, but he’s not for you. He never will be, so long as you want to keep the life you have right now.”

“I have to go,” I told her, biting into my words. It was all I could say, resisting the urge to yell in her face. It would only make matters worse, and my back was already against the wall.

I ran downstairs to the ride share waiting for me outside the chateau, contemplating my options.

If I chose someone like High Jynx or even Romeo, that meant living a life I’d never known. That was terrifying to me. It was no different from someone moving to a completely different country and not knowing the language; the culture shock would be like an earthquake beneath their feet.

Look at me, what the hell was I doing right now? Riding over to some amusement park to find the rings I lost? This whole week, I’d been giddy to see High Jynx, and now… I didn’t want to see him. Amusement parks were for children, and I wasn’t one anymore. Mami was right, I needed to stop living in the clouds.

This was such a joke, and I needed to snap out of this before I made the biggest mistake of my life.

CHAPTER 31

Romeo

Ihated how awkward I was with Ivy Jade when she came to my room. The mixture of all my feelings, good and bad, rushed through me the moment she looked at me with those soft, pretty eyes of hers. I felt guilty, and jealous, and impatient, especially because I just wanted to get to the Scare Park and see Ivy Jade as High Jynx, the person she didn’t seem to reject any moment she got the chance to.

Now that I was here, in my safe space in the park, I kept digging my hand into my pocket, making sure the ring box was still in there. It was a deep pocket, but it would be just my luck that I’d lose them before admitting to Ivy Jade I had them all along.

The adrenaline coursing through my veins gave me bursts of energy, and the Halloween Eve crowd was rowdy and excited as I ran and skidded through the park, frightening anyone I could.

It had been nervous energy, too. Ivy Jade would be back, and I would finally be telling her the truth.

A million different scenarios ran through my head. Would she slap me? Curse me out in front of the entire Scare Park? Or would she jump for joy and not care that I tricked her like the total asshole I was?

Ah, fuck. Who was I kidding?

I knew I betrayed her, and I knew I deserved the worst, but fuck, I just didn’t want her to hate me. Ivy Jade was so much more than a girl controlled by her parents. She was her own woman. And though I didn’t have as much money as Antonio did, I knew that if she could forgive me, I could make her happy. We could be happy together.

I felt bad for lying to her, but maybe, in some sick way, the lie brought us closer together. It caused something within Ivy Jade to change. Her eyes were opened to a world outside of her own, and I owed that to High Jynx—a fucking clown who showed her it was okay to be scared and still move forward. Without our time at the Scare Park, would she have ever learned to like me as myself? Me as Romeo, her old nemesis?

I wanted to believe it. I knew it would all work out. That nothing—no money, no fancy house or expensive trips—could overcome the growth she made within the past week. She was better than that.

Just fucking tell her how you feel, and it will be okay. It will be okay. It will be okay. It will all be okay.

When I saw Ivy Jade walking through the crowd, looking drop-dead gorgeous with her beautiful long hair and a dress that took my breath away, I stopped in my tracks. People scattered around me, and I could no longer hear the screams and laughs in the distance or the chatter around me. It wasn’t just because she looked beautiful and made my heart skip a beat; it was because of the look on her face.

She wasn’t happy to see me like she had been the last few nights. Her brows were furrowed with worry, and her eyes were wide and cautious.

Was she worried about the rehearsal dinner and missing out on it? I hadn’t expected her until much later, when it was over. I had told Gustav I wouldn’t be able to make it because of work, and he understood. He said the ceremony wouldn’t be complicated and I would be fine.