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Everyone turned to face us, just as they had done when we first arrived. Except this time they were collectively holding their breath. Waiting to know what I had said.
“She said yes.” he announced, and everyone rushed to congratulate us.
As my Brothers,no,notmyBrothers anymore, surrounded Lorenzo I felt something hard hit the back of my hand. I looked down and noticed that he was passing me his phone. I looked up and met his eye and he winked at me. I took his phone, the screen was unlocked, and right before my eyes was the message thread between him and Giorgio. I looked at the most recent message and my breath caught.
Lorenzo
Stay with her for at least another hour. If I call, shoot her. If not, do whatever you want with her.
I exhaled slowly as I read the message over again. He had lied. I’d already said yes though, why did he lie? Was he just that fucked up that he thought it would be entertaining?It fucking wasn’t, it was sick.
His hand grasped my waist and I slipped his phone into his pocket as he pulled me close to his side. The Brothers had all dispersed now and I realised that none of them had spoken to me. They’d not even looked at me. I was nothing to them now. I was the boss’s fiancé. I was below the wives.
Cooper and Adonis approached us last and congratulated Lorenzo and both tossed me forced smiles. I bristled as I saw the pity in their eyes. I hated that. Lorenzo made some comment about my delayed answer, and I stared into the distance. I couldn’t look anyone in the eye. I couldn’t stay here like this.
Lorenzo announced loudly that everyone should drink and then released me to head to the bar, but not before whispering a warning to me.
“Smile before I make the fucking call.”
Now…
I looked around the room. He had left me stood near the door and for a brief moment I debated slipping out and disappearing into the night. But he would make the call.
I was making the worst choices tonight. I had his phone in my hand and instead of running with it I had put it in his pocket.
An extremely drunk man who I didn’t recognise approached me and gave me a toothy grin. I kept my forced smile on my face and raised my brows at him expectantly, waiting to see what he had to say to the lucky lady who’d got engaged tonight.
He opened his mouth, leaned forward, and threw up on my shoes. My brand-new Louboutin’s.Could my night get any worse?
I looked down at the puddle surrounding my feet and sighed heavily before shoving the drunk stranger to one side and storming across the bar towards the bathrooms.
Lorenzo caught my arm as I passed him and pulled me towards him.
“Where are you going?” he asked darkly.
I yanked myself away from him, then remembered his threat.
I plastered a huge smile on my face, “The ladies’ room, I need to clean my feet.” I said as sweetly as I could manage.
He looked down and recoiled away from me as he noticed the vomit covering my shoes, little splashes had hit my legs too. He gave me a repulsed look, as though I’d done it to myself, then turned away from me allowing me to carry on to the bathroom.
Once I was inside, I let out a shuddering breath and ripped my shoes from my feet. I hopped up onto the counter by the sink, slipped my feet into the basin and turned the water on. It warmed quickly and I reached for the hand soap and began scrubbing the vomit from my skin. I scrubbed harder and harder, allowing myself to feel every stupid emotion while I was alone in here, repeating the motion until my lower legs were red from the friction. I reached for the paper towels and dried them off as best I could with the flimsy tissue, then placed my shoes in the sink and went through the whole process again with them until I was semi-satisfied that they were clean.This is not how beautiful footwear should be treated.
I slipped them back onto my feet and groaned at the damp squelching sensation. Water was better than sick though. I looked at myself in the small mirror that sat on the wall. I could see my own pain in my eyes over this. I had to push that away now. No one could see it. It’s not like I’d actually be marrying him anyway. I’d give him tonight, and then tomorrow, once I knew Gina was safe, I’d take it all back.
I pulled on my mask, the same one I used when I was a Brother, and walked back into the bar. All I had to do was put on a brave face for one hour, and then I could leave. I could fake a headache, ask to go home, and then lock myself away in the guest bedroom for the night. I hadn’t forgotten what Lorenzo’s intentions had been for me this evening, but I wouldn’t risk staying elsewhere. The best I could do would be to hide in his house. That was the only smart choice.
***
I didn’t sleep. The entire night I laid in the guest bed staring at the door. Waiting for him to break it down and take what he wanted. But that didn’t happen. I was thankful that it hadn’t, but I couldn’t handle his unpredictability. I was on edge now, but I needed to be strong to do what I was about to do.
I opened his office door without knocking and walked across the room to the huge mahogany desk. Lorenzo didn’t look up at me, he kept his focus on the papers sitting on the desk and rolled his hand at me, encouraging me to say whatever I had come here to say.
“I’m not a Brother anymore, don’t use gestures like that with me.” I snapped.Oh good, bitchy Meg is awake.
His head snapped up to look at me and his eyes flared with anger.
“Being my fiancé doesn’t give you a free pass to speak to me that way, especially when you’re locking yourself away each night.” he said, his gaze roaming hungrily down my body.
