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"Spill it, Evie. What's going on?" she asks, her voice softening with concern.
I try to deflect.
"Nothing."
Her scoff is audible through the phone. "Doesn't sound like 'nothing.' Spill!"
"Alright, alright. Just... promise you won't judge me, okay?"
"Never, sis. You know that," she reassures me, and I take a deep breath before diving into the story of what happened between Constantino and me.
"Isabella, I... I did something stupid," I confess.
She's quiet, waiting for me to divulge.
"I...I had a 'thing' with Constantino." I don't really know what else to call it other than a "thing." We didn't sleep together, but in some ways it felt more intimate than that, both of us showing our darker sides to one another.
There's a beat of silence, and I can practically feel the waves of shock coming through the phone. "Constantino? As in, Primo's younger brother, Constantino?" she asks, sounding incredulous.
"Yep, that's the one." My voice wavers, and I curse myself for letting my emotions get the better of me.
"Evie, why? What were you thinking?" Her tone isn't accusatory, just genuinely bewildered.
"God, I don't even know. It was just... it happened so fast. We were arguing and then..." I trail off, unsure of how to describe the raw intensity of our encounter without sounding completely unhinged. "It was like nothing I've ever experienced before, Bella. Passionate, primal, dangerous. It felt like everything I've been searching for."
"Evie..." Isabella's voice is soft and gentle, but I can hear the concern just below the surface.
"Look, I know it was a mistake, okay? I get that he's bad news. But there's something about him. The way he looks at me, like he sees right through me. I can't shake it."
"You need to be careful," she warns.
Her words irritate me. I know she means well and I also know I'm exhausted from my shift, but she's one to talk.
"I don't need a lecture right now!" I snap, my patience wearing thin. "I just wish you'd be more supportive about this. It's a double standard for you to say all of this when you're married to Primo! I just wish you'd be supportive for once."
"Supportive?" she scoffs. "Evelyn, I'm worried about your safety! You don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"Neither did you," I mutter, thinking about how she justified her rendezvous with Primo back when he was on trial. She had expected him not to do anything else criminal, but that turned out not to be true. And yet, here they are – married with a baby boy.
"Fine," Isabella concedes, her voice softening. "Maybe I shouldn't judge. But I just want you to be happy and careful, okay? No more secrets."
"Deal," I agree reluctantly, feeling a weight lift from my chest as we come to an understanding. It's nice, if only for a moment, to have my sister's support.
"Good," she says firmly. "Now get some sleep. You've got a lot on your plate."
"Thanks, sis," I reply, allowing myself a small smile.
"Love you," she says before hanging up the phone.
"Love you too," I mumble, tossing my phone onto the nightstand. My body sinks into the mattress as relief washes over me. I can't believe I managed to navigate that minefield of aconversation. The cool sheets wrap around me like a cocoon, and I close my eyes, willing sleep to come.
But it doesn't. Instead, images of Constantino invade my mind, the memory of our encounter playing in an endless loop. The way his green eyes had blazed with primal hunger, the rough touch of his hands, the taste of him on my lips...
"Ugh, get out of my head," I groan, turning onto my side. I try to focus on anything else – work, the weather, what color I should paint my nails – but every thought circles back to him.
"Fine," I think, admitting defeat. "Let's just get this over with." I allow myself to relive the scene, letting the memories play out in vivid detail. The crushing weight of his body pinning me down; the heady aroma of sweat and lust that filled the air; the raw, animalistic sounds we made together.
"Is this what I want?" I ask myself, feeling both exhilarated and conflicted by the memory. "Am I really ready for this kind of thing?"
