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My heart sunk to my stomach and hot tears stung the back of my eyes. I chewed on my lips and tucked it back into the envelope. She leaned closer, obviously expecting me to say something.
I knew I had to. My heart twisted in the most uncomfortable way and my lungs constricted. I wanted to scream at something and cry, but I wouldn’t give Sophia the satisfaction of watching me crumble.
I squared my shoulders and chinned up. “Thanks for the invite.”
Her head reclined and she drew her brows. “Hm.”
She tried to hide the dissatisfactory look in her eyes, but I caught it before she turned around.
“I’ll be expecting you, Mariana. Lucio,” She signaled her bodyguard and whipped her head around, swinging the tiny purse with a finger. “Take the painting.”
***
“Stop crying, Mariana.”
“But how can I?” I dabbed my eyes with a fluffy handkerchief and rested on the chair. “I feel like shit. I smell like shit. And that spoilt brat waltzed in here to invite me to their wedding.”
Christy sighed and leaned back in her seat. She gave me a look that said she understood, but still insisted I stopped crying.Her fingers drummed on the table separating us and her feet tapped incessantly on the floor.
Soft music played in the background, filtering between the gaps in the doors from the hallway. I tried to relax. Emphasis on tried.
“So, what are you going to do?”
My jaw ticked and a wave of nausea swept over me again. I pinched the bridge of my nose and shut my eyes. “I don’t know, Christy. I don’t know what to do.” I pointed to the envelope on the table. “If I accept that invitation, you know what that means.”
Her tongue kissed her teeth and she sat upright. “Mariana…”
“I’m not ready to let him go.” I shook my head and curled my fingers. “Accepting that invitation would mean letting him go. But I don’t want to. This is all too real and sudden. One moment, I think I’ve found something special, and the next it’s gone. Taken right under my nose.”
She smoothened a crease on her blouse and gestured with her shoulder. “In these types of things, Mariana, you can’t afford to be fighting alone. What ifheis ready to let you go? Come on, you’ve seen the man. Does he look like he gives a shit about feelings and all that crap? In my opinion, I think you should attend the wedding. Go! Make a bloody statement! Let the man go, Mari. He clearly belongs to another. It’s the right thing to do.”
I frowned. Why didn’t I think of that? I’d been blindsided all along, considering only my feelings and whatIwanted. But what if he didn’t truly feel the same way about me, and was okay with getting married to Sophia?
Another wave of nausea crawled up and my throat tightened.
“Mariana?” Christy’s voice reechoed from the distance but I couldn’t respond. I kicked the chair back and rushed to the bathroom. She followed, her shoes tapping loudly on the tiles as she joined me inside the cramped-up space.
I fell to my knees and doubled over the ceramic shit bowl. She held my hair up and water rushed out from my empty stomach. When I finished, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and pushed myself up.
I swayed and dark spots dotted my eyes.
“Easy, Mari.” Christy supported me, holding both sides of my waist and pressing her chest against my back while I washed off by the sink. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
A loud ringing started in my ears and my vision blurred. I felt light.
“Mariana?”
More and more, her voice reechoed like she shouted my name from miles away. My eyelids fluttered, closing, and opening as I struggled to maintain focus. It was a futile attempt.
My eyes closed, my body sagged, and my legs gave way.
***
I jolted awake and squinted my eyes, taking in the surroundings. I was in a white room with peeling off-white paint and dull green curtains.
The room and everything else smelled like floor wax, antiseptic, and pills. Christy stood by the edge of the bed with one hand on her hip and her head buried in the other. Myfingers twitched and I moved my hand. A slim transparent tube followed along.
Confused, I glanced at the drip and back to my friend.
