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"Nope, the first thing she needs to do is eat so we don't have another episode. I swear, Gigi I'll be moving in here just to ensure you eat if you're not careful."
Vivian then walks to the fridge and pulls out meats and cheeses. I take a deep breath and try to settle my frustration with not being the one to make that vital suggestion. When Gianna glances my way, I'm not sure what she sees, but it has her crossing the room to me in no time flat.
"August, you're fucking pale. What's wrong? What hurts?"
Honestly, I'm not in any pain.
"Baby, I'm fine. Everything is fine. The LPN should be here any minute."
Her brows furrow, and her eyes narrow on me before she says, "You don't look fine. Here, put your feet up. Maybe you should be laying down instead of sitting." She starts scooting the giant ottoman over for me to put my feet up before heading to the kitchen and running a washcloth under the water.
When she returns, she straddles my lap, pushes my head back, and says, "Now don't move. You need to sit here with this towel on your head. This should help your blood flow." After the towel is positioned precisely how she wants it, she attempts to move, but I hold her in place.
"If I have to sit like this, then you have to stay right here, and while you're at it, tell everyone to leave the room."
She swats my arm before saying, "August, the last thing you need right now is me sitting on your lap constricting any more blood flow."
Ethan doesn't miss the opportunity to make a crude comment.
"You're definitely not going to be restricting the blood flow in that position. It just might not be flowing where you want it."
She climbs off my lap before storming back into the kitchen.
"Thanks, dick!" Fucking cockblock.
"August, I really don't care to watch you fondle my little sister."
"You didn't have to come back here! In fact, I made it abundantly clear, not only did you not need to, but I also didn't want you to."
Vivian cuts in. "Both of you need to give it a rest. None of us want to be in this situation, yet here we are. You guys need to finish your conversation regarding Carson so we can bury that hatchet. I'm not sure where Ethan's comments were going, but it doesn't sound good, and we need all the details to put this all to rest."
Ethan grabs his whiskey and throws it back in one go before picking up right where he left off.
"Like I was saying, you pissed me off, she wanted to take you down, I was jealous and all in. When I went golfing the next day with my dad, he mentioned that I needed to keep you and Gianna apart. Again, my interest was thoroughly piqued. How the hell did Robert know who Gianna was, and why did he care who she was fucking. That afternoon I headed over to Carson's as a surprise, hoping she would feel special and spill more details. The housekeeper let me in and informed me that Carson was in her room.
“When I got to her door, it was abundantly obvious she had someone in the room with her, and it was a male, which caught me by surprise. If she was fucking a man, it was because he had something she wanted. When I cracked the door, I found Eduard pounding into her from behind. I was about to shut the door and head out when he started talking. He said, ‘If you want your piece, you need to do your job a little bit longer. We didn't come this far to fuck it up now. You'll want your payout if you want to be done with dick. I left the door cracked and paced the hallway seeing if anything else worth hearing would be said, and as they were cleaning up, he said, ‘If any accidents come from this, you don't get paid.’ At the time, I didn't think anything of it, but as things started to unfold, I now believe it could mean—"
"That Elio could be his." Gianna chimes in from the kitchen with a mouth full of crackers.
Ethan turns around and nods before adding, "I started keeping tabs on Eduard after that day, and while I never caught him with Maria per se, I did see them standing by his car talking rather intimately the day I came to see you for the fundraiser. Sitting in my car, I watched them for some time. You could tell they were being cautious about being seen together, which struck me as odd because they work together. Talking shouldn't be awkward. When I saw him brush his hand over the top of hers while handing her a huge manilla envelope, my suspicions were confirmed. Looking back, I think he handed her the paperwork she brought to Mason's for you to sign."
I watch as Gianna drops her food to her plate. She clearly can't stomach the details of this conversation. I would imagine knowing the woman you thought to be your mom plotting your death isn't easy to hear.
"Gigi, if this is too much, we can change the subject, but you need to eat." Vivian really is a good friend. I can't believe I doubted her loyalty.
Gianna’s head snaps toward Vivian, sitting on the countertop phone in one hand and prosciutto in the other. Gianna narrows her eyes before saying, “How about you tell me who you’ve been texting all night.”
Vivian slows her chewing and takes a hard swallow before thinning her lips and releasing them with a pop. “Gigi, I think you already know the answer to that question.”
Gianna holds her eyes for a moment, no doubt silently communicating something between the two of them. I don’t even have to guess what they’re not saying aloud. I have no doubt it has everything to do with Mason. He bolted after the shit hit the fan at his place, and while I haven’t talked to Gianna about it, I think it's safe to assume he hasn’t spoken to her since.
"Okay, fine, here’s a better question. How about we skip to the part where you tell me when we can expect the blood tests back?" Gianna turns to look Ethan square in the eye. He furrows his brow before looking down at his phone.
"What's today, Tuesday? I should have them back tomorrow, but does it change anything?"
"No, it doesn't change my relationship with Elio."
I don't miss how she looks up at me when she says that before looking back at her plate. We haven't had a chance to discuss how this affects us and our relationship, and I can tell that's weighing on her.
