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His patience is the reason I’m turning my life around.
Now I have to sit there, plaster a fake smile on my face, as I watch the only man who’s ever made me feel worthy parade his new fiance around. When, deep down, I wanted that woman to be me one day.
But he let me go. He abandoned me, too.
“I’ll go grab our jackets. Frankie will be here any minute,” Eva calls out as she darts towards her bedroom down the hall.
Sliding off the barstool, I take the full glass of champagne over to the sink and watch as the contents pour down the drain.
Shit, do I need that drink. But I’m not the same Rosa anymore. I don’t need that to feel.My destructive coping mechanisms will never fully leave me, but I can learn to curb them. I understand there is no right or wrong way to deal with trauma. But drinking myself to death probably isn’t the answer.
Scanning my outfit in the full-length mirror in the hallway, I’ve dressed the way I feel–like I’m going to a funeral.
My tight black dress hugs my slim figure perfectly,resting just above my knees. I love how the low plunging neckline shows off my full breasts. And I’m wearing the highest pair of gold killer heels I could find. If I have to do this, I want to be able to look him in the eyes and make sure he sees me.
Eva comes barrelling red-faced from the hall and shoves a black leather jacket and clutch in my hand.
“Come on, we have to go. He’s outside!” she says, then disappears out the front door. God, I love her, but she is chaos.
“One sec!”I rifle through my clutch and dig out my signature deep red lipstick and swipe it across my full lips.
I might feel like crap on the inside, but I look damn good on the outside. A part of me wants Luca to see what he’s missing.
He might not be mine anymore. But that doesn’t mean I can’t push his buttons from afar.
I sigh and head towards the front door. I bet he is dreading this as much as I am.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX
luca
“Here. You look like you need it, boss.” Grayson slides a double scotch across the gilded table towards me with a frown, his freshly tattooed wedding ring on display. “Can you believe this? Last month, it was me and Maddie in a whirlwind wedding. I shit a brick when you dropped that invitation on my table. Never thought I’d see the day you’d settle down, too.”
The ice clinks against the crystal. I grab it and don’t even hesitate swallowing the whole thing, letting it burn its way down.
“Yeah, it’s gone by too fast. I need a whole bottle to get through tonight.” I say, tightening my grip on the glass.
“She can’t be that bad.”Grayson pushes another full drink across to me.
“Oh, trust me, she is. She’s only been living with me for a month and I can’t fucking stand it. She’s already thrown out half my shit and replaced it with her tacky, glittery bullshit. And made quite clear that everything that was mine is now hers.”
I leave out the part where she’s become my full-time babysitter, reporting my dealings to her father. Or the way she flips out at the slightest thing, like me not having dinner with her. And not sharing a bed with her.
I can’t do it. No way.
“How long have you got to stay married to her?” Grayson raises an eyebrow while leaning back into the leather seat.
“I didn’t set an end date. Until I can wipe out her whole family?”If only I had access to a nuke. I’d save the world the misery of Maria.
“Fuck,” he shakes his head. “Why are you doing this? We have Maddie back,” he says softly.
Why am I marrying the ‘she-devil’?I can’t have Grayson and Keller too close to the truth. I know they will come up with more drastic measures which will free me from this marriage, but in turn, put them all at risk. I can’t let that happen.
“It’s not that simple anymore. Some things are out of my control.”
My family.All of this is for them. I am doing what I need to protect them from Romano’s threats. All while pining over a woman I can never have. At least I have the images ingrained in my mind of her spread out on my bed. I can still feel the way she shivered against my touch. The way she screamed my name when she came all over my cock.
The way every morning she would wake up smiling up at me, her big dark eyes flashing with desire.
