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I remain quiet as they spend the next hour or so yammering about the details of the ceremony, the date and time, announcements, decorations, seating, etc.. When I recheck the clock, I realize it’s getting late, and the party will be starting soon.
I need to get the hell out of here.
“Um … Mother,” I finally dare interrupt when I can see no end to this meeting.
Her annoyance manifests the moment she looks at me. “What?”
I struggle to be polite. “I have a thing I want to do with Jessa tonight. We’re supposed to be leaving in forty-five minutes. So, can I go get ready?”
“What are you doing?” She eyes me suspiciously.
If I sayto a party, she’ll make a fuss about letting me go, so I lie. “We’re going to dinner and then to a late movie at a theater that’s close to here,” I say. “We just want to hang out one more time before … you know, the wedding … ceremony.”
She frowns at the bitterness that creeps into my voice. I sense she’s about to start a big fight, but Frank steps in for me.
“You should let the kid go, Justine,” he tells her as he puffs on a cigar. “She should say goodbye to her best friend before she takes on this responsibility.”
The room falls silent for a slamming heartbeat of a second.
Frank is one of the few people my father respects, so not even glancing up from the papers he’s reading, he mutters, “She can go.”
My mother is irate, her face red, but she won’t argue with Frank or my dad. I know that probably makes her seem spineless, and in a way, she is. But in many ways, she’s as cruel as my father.
“Fine.” She glares at me. “But remember, I have eyes and ears everywhere in this city, so if you end up somewhere you shouldn’t be, I’ll know. And you better make sure Ellis takes you everywhere you go. Got it?”
I internally grimace. Ellis is my driver. That’s his official job title, anyway, but his real job is keeping an eye on me and making sure no one tries to harm me. He’s about forty or so and has been working the position since I was about ten.
While it sucks to have an extra step to go through to get my one last night of freedom, I’ve gotten away with lying to Ellis before. I just need to devise something to tell him so if he does report back to my mother, she won’t know what I’m really up to.
I give my mom a nod then get up from the table and hurry out of the cold room, wishing I could take off and run away—run out the front door and never return. But I know I wouldn’t make it far. No, if anything, my fate would end up like the dead bird outside. And as if fate is reading my mind, when I enter the hallway, Ryder is standing there, looking as gorgeous as ever.
I hate it. Hate that even now, when I look at him, I still get this brief fluttery feeling in my stomach. But as quickly as that sensation rises, it shifts to nausea as I think about how, in a few days, I’ll belong to him. And how he can do anything he wants to me.
Anything at all.
All three of the guys can.
In fact, if he wanted to, he could probably get away with it now, which is why I should run. But I can’t get my feet to move.
Ryder’s back is turned to me, and he’s talking to one of the men who works for his father. Even though I can’t see Ryder’s face, I know it’s him by how he stands confidently, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. Plus, I’ve known him long enough that the back of his head is recognizable from anywhere. So is his dark hair that’s a little longer on the top and shorter on the sides, and the small scar that runs just along his hairline. If anyone asks him where he obtained the scar, he’ll tell them in a fight he got into at school. However, I know his father gave it to him as a punishment.
I dash toward my bedroom, hoping to make it there before he can spot me. But as I reach for the doorknob, he turns, and our gazes lock. He pauses mid-sentence—freezes. So do I, and I just stare at him, at the guy I once considered my closest friend.
Now I loathe him with everything I have in me.
I narrow my eyes at him and channel all that animosity into my expression. Yet he remains collected—completely unbothered—like always.
Shaking my head, I slip inside my room and shut the door. I have to take a few measured breaths to gather myself—I’m that wound up from seeing him.
While I can pretend I don’t care about him, or Reece, or Blaise, the truth is that, deep down, what they did to me hurt me was worse than anything anyone has ever done to me.
Exhaling, I push away from the door and try not to think about Ryder as I start getting ready for tonight. I refuse to let Ryder’s presence ruin my night. At least, that’s what I tell myself. However, I’m aware that it is affecting me by the way I can’t get Ryder’s face out of my damn mind.
TWO
ALLURA
Thankfully, by the time I exit my bedroom, Ryder is gone and the hallway is empty, so I’m able to make a quick escape. Ellis is waiting for me at the entrance of my family’s building, and the car he chauffeurs me in is parked at the curb. Ten minutes later, we’re picking up Jessa.
