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Her words almost knock me off balance. “Me?”
“You’re strong, unapologetic, while all I want is to be loved.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” I hope she’ll never experience being disappointed like I did. With every slap, every punishment, every time my father glared at me as if I were a nuisance, he broke something in me. And then he sent me away. Destroying my faith, my trust in him, in all men. No man is trustworthy.
She tilts her head. “I’m doing it, but please take care, okay?”
“I will.”
At the breakfast table, I wear the dress my mother suggested, and one of my many self-made pieces of jewelry to act on my passive-aggressive rebellion. My father studies me, and my heart pounds in my chest. Maybe I overdid the good-girl act, but he nods. Pride from thinking he tamed the wild animal stretches the corners of his mouth. Oh, Father, the surprise you’re going to have shortly. A chill skitters down my spine, envisioning what my father’s punishment will be, because even though he hasn’t used violence lately, me being locked in my room isn’t necessarily better.
But I will survive this. My best friend is worth whatever Daddy Dearest has in store for me.
***
I thought it would be easier to get out of the house unnoticed, but it’s not. I’m almost at the gates, behind a bush, where I have to wait for the security guy to look somewhere else for a few seconds. Two cabs and two Ubers came and went. I am still waiting when his eyes finally divert to his phone. I bend myself into a squatting position under his cabin and slip through the gates with my heart pounding in my chest in a deafening thump.
I close the gate behind me when our eyes connect, the guard’s widening in recognition. He already has his walkie-talkie to his mouth when I jump in the third cab.
“Drive, now,” I cry out, slapping my palm against the headrest.
When my heartbeat normalizes at seeing no one following us yet, I lean my head against the window. With the city passing by, it’s in the middle of the drive I realize I have absolutely no money on me, which makes me burst into hysterical laughter.
I decide not to tell the driver, at least not until we reach the address.
“We’re going to be there in five minutes.”
God, you made wine out of water, perhaps you can make some money out of air? Pretty please. My gaze then lands on my engagement ring. I knew you existed, God.
We stop in front of a thick, wrought-iron gate. Behind it, the landscape expands as far as the eye can see. Lush greenery, trimmed bushes, impressive oaks, and an alley of cobblestone lead to an opulent limestone mansion, decked with a gray rooftop. A security guard intercepts us. With a sweet smile, I say, “I’m here for the wedding.”
While he talks into his walkie-talkie, I whisper to the driver, “I don’t have money to pay you.”
He snaps his head toward me so quickly, I flinch, thinking he might have broken his neck.
“What?”
I tilt my head and say with a big smile, “But I can give you my engagement ring.”
“Do you think I’m a fool?”
His loss. I toss the ring on the passenger seat, shrugging, then open and close the cab’s door. He can believe what he wants, but I need to save my best friend. I leap into a sprint with not only the security guy but also the angry taxi man at my back.
My eyes connect with Aurora’s blue ones.
She runs to me, and we collide in the middle of the lawn, holding each other.
“Am I too late?” I take in the pavilion behind me, decked with flowers, my friend wearing an elegant white lace dress and a despondent expression, her long blonde hair flowing down her back in styled curls.
“You’re crazy, coming here. Your father will kill you.”
“It was worth trying to save my best friend.”
We end the hug, and she wipes the tears away, saying over her shoulder to a man with sharp edges that could cut. “This is Chiara. My best friend.”
“What are you doing here?” Cato booms, and I blink, my body frozen in shock at seeing him here. My mouth opens and closes. One blink more and he’ll be gone. Surely.
His hand shoots to my arm, but Aurora slaps it away.
