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And I was free.
Chapter 20
Priscilla
“Buddy, come back,” I shouted out to the dog. Honestly, he was a pain in the ass, but he was still the best thing about visiting the Hamptons on my own. None of the soldiers were talking to me because they were scared that I might “seduce” them. Like I would ever do such a thing.
It was not my fault that I was extremely attractive.
The house staff was talking to me, but they were mostly old Italian ladies, and they looked at me like I was the devil incarnate just because I didn’t want to act like their precious traditional virgin brides. It was too damn boring.
My little brother was also totally antisocial. He didn’t even leave his room. He was too damn addicted to those video games.
Since my uncle was also not my biggest fan and was living his last days in this world, Buddy was my only friend here. He was not like my dog Precious. He had a stupid name, but I got him when I was nine, so it made sense. He was always so cuddly to me and always listened to me. Buddy here, on the other hand, was making everything harder than it should be.
“Buddy,” I shouted again. He was getting too far away in the water. Damn you, I didn’t want to get in to catch him. Ocean water ruined my hair.
I wondered if all bulldogs were like this or it was just Buddy.
Nonetheless, he was my only friend. Maybe I should have sneaked out and partied in the city until Gabriele or Michele caught me.
Probably Michele. I didn’t think Gabriele was in the right headspace to hunt me. He had bigger problems.
It had been a little over five months since Kira left for Moscow. I still missed her a lot. I might be her only friend, but she was also like my only friend. I had friends from my old school and cousins and stuff, but she was my favorite. She was the only friend I could trust not to talk behind me. I feel like everybody needed that.
I missed her a lot.
Gabriele was missing her a hell of a lot more than I did.
He was trying to act like he was okay. He was keeping an iron fist over New York, but even though his job life was great, his personal life was horrible. I could see that he had lost the glimmer in his eyes.
I knew every day he was checking to see if Kira used the credit card because that was his only way of knowing if she was okay. And she always used it. Once a week, a minimal amount but enough to send a message. Enough to tell Gabriele she was okay.
It ruined me to see my brother like that, but there was nothing I could do. I could not take Kira back here. I also could not push him to forget her or find someone else. From the way they looked at each other, I could tell that was it for them.
It was true love.
Most found my belief in true love amusing. They thought I was just a silly child, but they were the silly ones. What Kira and Gabriel had was true love, and one day I was going to have the same.
I just needed to see him.
We were going to fall in love at first sight, and he was going to do many romantic things to capture my heart. Then Gabriele was going to see our love and give us his blessing. After that, it was all happily ever after.
Just like in the books.
Just like in the movies.
It was all planned out. I only needed to see him. It was going to be so easy after that.
I realized that I was looking at the horizon with a dreamy expression instead of watching Buddy. And the little shit was too far away. I was really going to get in the water to get him back to the shore. Again.
I huffed and started stripping down to my bikini. When I was getting rid of my shorts, my butt vibrated. Huh?
Okay, my phone vibrated. I fished it out and looked at the number. It was not on my contacts, but I did my research for this moment. I knew what it was. It was a Russian number.
I almost dropped my phone while answering because I was too excited. Every thought about Buddy was long gone. “Hey,” I said breathlessly, even though I did nothing but touch my screen.
“Priscilla?” the small familiar voice asked from the other end.
