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I looked past her shoulder at Mary’s table, and my eyes met those of Jocelyn Detta, who immediately recognized me. She turned pale. A common occurrence.
“You are here with Gio’s woman.”
Mary frowned. “You know my cousin’s husband well?”
“We have history.”
“Aha. Anyway, um, our wedding is tomorrow, and it would mean a lot if you would come.”
It didn’t take much to figure out who had set her on my path. I doubted Hector knew about Gio’s diabolical plan to make me attend my brother’s wedding.
“Does my brother know you’re here?”
She blushed. “Nope. But I don’t need his permission to talk to family, do I?”
“Family?” I gestured for her to sit next to me.
“Yes, family,” she said as she scooted near me. “I know you two have been estranged for some time. And since weddings are a great opportunity to get closure, perhaps even mend fences, I hoped—”
“And funerals,” I added.
“What?”
“You forgot to mention funerals are also a way to find closure. It’s at funerals that people show their real faces and feelings. Either that they loved someone or hated him.”
“That’s quite a morbid way of thinking.”
“I’m a morbid man.”
“Clearly,” she muttered. “But since a wedding is the more preferable of the two occasions, I’ve chosen to invite you to Hector’s wedding instead of his funeral, which hopefully will be on a date far in the future. So can I tell Hector you’ll be attending tomorrow? It will be held at Gio’s place. Since you already know him, it shouldn’t be too hard to find. It’ll be a small ceremony, with just close friends and family.”
I twirled a shot glass between my fingers, overthinking her proposal. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. But please, let’s keep my attendance to ourselves. I want it to be a surprise.”
“I can live with that. As long as you show up. If you don’t, I will hunt you down.”
She smiled after that last sentence. The last person who had uttered those words to me had been buried in the desert. I decided Mary was in the dark about who I was. Her ignorance was refreshing.
“I wouldn’t want that,” I said smoothly.
“Good. It’s settled then.” She beamed as she left, looking like someone who had just accomplished an important mission.
“Poor clueless woman,” Angel said. “She has no idea Hectorexecratesyou.” He pointedly looked at his brother and waggled his eyebrows.
Leave it to Angel to use my pain to win the word of the day challenge.
Damon cut him a look. “Sometimes Iexecrateyou too, brother.”
I didn’t know two people who cared more for each other than these two. They could never hate one another. Unlike Katya and I. One day, hate would be all she would remember me by.
Just as Hector did. Hoping against hope, a little voice in the back of my mind whispered that perhaps attending his wedding could change that.
10
KATYA
I stared at the SFU sign ahead. Nearly a month had passed since my affliction with the Bulgarians. I did my assignments online, but I was glad to be back on campus. I would never take college for granted again. Or freedom. Kristoff had assured me that the kidnapped girls had been sent back to their countries of origin, except for the ones who had opted to stay. Me? I was glad I didn’t need to make any big decision like that. I had a roof over my head and a house filled with soldiers to protect me. Kristoff had doubled my guards. It had taken weeks before I’d gathered enough courage to leave the mansion. I was glad Angel accompanied me to class now, even though it was something I used to give Kristoff grief over all the time and even though I had finally gotten my driver’s license. How things had changed. I hated that Baldy still had this power over me. Something needed to give. I needed to take back control over my life. This remaining hint of a fear inside me needed to be put down.
“What time are you done?” Angel asked.
