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Breathless, I ask, “Did he know you were coming? On the night you took me. The night I was supposed to get engaged.”
“He should’ve suspected. It was foolish of him not to.”
It all makes sense, now—Evie’s hesitation before leaving for the party. She wanted to say something. In the end, all she said was, “Never mind.” That’s how easily she brushed it off, how little I mattered. They knew if it was going to happen, it was going to happen before the engagement. That’s why Warren made it easy for Roman to take me.
Warren always planned it. When he took me ten years ago, that night had been his only objective.
I was never a decoy.
I was always the target.
Fuck.
I clutch my stomach, feeling like throwing up.
Roman grips my shoulder. “Me and you, it was always meant to be. The sooner you accept it, the easier it’ll be.”
Breathing through my mouth, I suck in air. Fuck. Roman is going to kill me when he finds out the truth. I’ll bet my life Warren has already married Evie and Nathan in secret. That’s how Bell’s mind works. That’s how he plays his games. He’s like a snake in the grass.
Fuck.
Eden.
Roman’s voice is hard. “Evie, breathe.”
Eden.
My sister.
Warren won’t protect her. Like everything else, he lied about it. He used her as a sword over my head. Roman will kill me and Eden will be left to her own devices.
I cover my mouth with a hand under the veil. I have no idea what to do. I don’t know how to save my sister or myself. I’m out of options, out of plans.
Roman takes my shoulders and gives me a shake. “Get a grip on yourself. Now isn’t the time to be weak.”
No. Not now. Not now when I don’t have a plan.
Play the part. Win time.
It’s all I know. It’s the only strategy I’ve been taught.
Dragging air into my lungs, I blow it out slowly. In and out. “I’m fine.”
His features soften. “If I could, I would’ve given you something to take off the edge, but I need you lucid for later.”
“I don’t want drugs.”
His smile is approving. Encouraging. “That’s my girl.”
Offering me his arm, he says, “We have to go. The officiant is waiting.”
I place my palm on his forearm and walk next to him on autopilot while my body goes numb and my brain shuts down.
The information is an overload. It’s too much. I can’t process it. I’m trying to get around the bitter taste of betrayal, of how stupid I’ve been, while coming up with a way of saving the only person I care about, the only family I have left.
The walls and the floor vanish as I float down the hallway. It’s like an out-of-body experience.
I’m lost.
I’ve been lost for as long as I can remember, but Roman grounds me, leading me to where he wants me. No, he’s just making sure I don’t run away.
When we get to the lounge, everything happens in a blur.
Mateo and Andrew wait next to a marriage officiant. There are flowers on the mantlepiece, cocktail food too pretty to eat on the table, and champagne cooling in an ice bucket.
The officer speaks, but I only see his lips moving.
Roman says, “I do,” and slides a platinum band over my finger. Like the engagement ring, it’s one size too big. My fingers are thinner than Evie’s.
The officer asks a question.
Roman squeezes my fingers.
I look up at him. His expression is dark. Dangerous.
It’s happening too fast. I’m falling down a hole, tumbling to doom.
“Evie,” he says, his hold on my hand turning painful.
Play the part.
It’s who I am.
It’s what I’ve become.
“Evie,” he says again, this time with a warning in his tone.
My chest burns. My throat is thick with tears. I don’t want to play this role, any longer. I can’t do it, anymore.
He wipes a thumb over my cheek, catching something wet. “It’s going to be all right. I’ll take care of you.”
No.
Either way, I’m dead.
I know it, but I’m also strangely numb about that. What hits me the hardest isn’t dying. It’s wasted time. A wasted life.
No.
Stop it, Christina.
It’s not wasted. I wipe the back of my hand over my cheek. It can’t be. It has to be for Eden. She won’t live my life. She won’t be a shadow. She’ll be happy. She’ll be free.
“Evie,” Roman says again, gripping my upper arms and stroking his thumbs over my shoulders. “Look into my eyes. Stay here with me.”
Play the part.
Just one more time.
“I do,” I say, the world falling away from under me.
Roman presses a ring in my palm.
Mateo curses. I look at him. Why does he look so furious? So unhappy? Did I do something, again?
“Here, sweetheart,” Roman says. “Keep your eyes here.”
I turn my gaze back to his face.
“That’s better,” he says, his tone appraising.
