Divine Obsession (GodHood #2)

Chapter 1

Present

18 years old

Manhattan, New York City

I HAD ALWAYS PUT A lot of effort and time into my looks.

It was one of the only good things my mother taught me: it doesn’t matter who you are, but who people think you are.

The applicator smoothed over my lips with pink gloss.

I’d always been a ‘put-on-a-show’ kind of girl. Shifting between personalities and social masks depending on who I needed to be. I found strength in pretending to be someone I could’ve been if my life had gone differently. Almost like zipping myself up in a suit of confidence. Once the curtains opened, I could play any role: the perfect student, the perfect employee, the perfect candidate. It was how I’d gotten everything in my life; by lying.

Con artists seriously didn’t get enough credit; manipulating was a lot of work.

Pressing my lips together, I smoothed out the gloss before popping them. Pulling away from the mirror, I ran my hands down my pink gown.

I looked beautiful. Perfect hair. Perfect make-up. Perfect posture. Perfect manners. The perfect smile.

But my face ached from years of faking it. And the tag of the dress dug into my back, reminding me I had to return it tomorrow.

“Are you ready? The car’s waiting downstairs,” My roommate’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“Just a second!”

“Meet you downstairs in five?”

“Okay!” I shouted from the bathroom.

I met Kali at the start of fall when we both began our freshman year at NYU. Another thing I got by lying.

We immediately clicked and became close over the past three months. So, when she invited me to the annual Christmas charity gala hosted by her family, I agreed. I was hesitant at first, considering her family was the Su family ; as in the Su Dynasty , billionaire elitists of Japanese and Cuban descent. But when Kali told me how much she hated those types of events and how she didn’t want to be alone for the night, it was a no-brainer.

Kali was the rebel. The Sus had built their fortune on cybersecurity and software engineering. She went against tradition when she decided to go to NYU for something creative, instead of Columbia like the rest of her family and study something computer-related.

Maybe that was why we got along so well. Neither gave a fuck about what was expected of us. We did what we wanted. We were who we were.

After quickly gathering the rest of my essentials in my clutch, I hurried downstairs. As soon as I stepped out of our accommodation building, I spotted Kali leaning against a limo parked on the curb. The moonlight sparkled in her dark blue dress, while her usually curly hair flowed down her back pin-straight. Kali never straightened it.

“I know,” She replied when she saw me eyeing her hair. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

We got inside and the limousine took off through the busy Manhattan streets, towards the Su mansion in Queens, where the event was being hosted.

Reaching into my clutch, I opened my phone and took another look at the last text I sent Maria. Undelivered.

Maria and I grew up together in foster care. We weren’t blood, but we were family; sisters.

She was two years younger, but she’d always been the one to protect me. Goosebumps spread over my skin at the reminder of how many people she beat up to defend and keep me safe. She’d always been the fighter; fighting for a better life, respect, money…

I was the one who turned a blind eye. I didn’t fight; I let it roll off my back and pretended it didn’t hurt.

But it did.

Every time I lied and cracked my bones until I molded myself into what I needed to be to get what I wanted – the ache in my chest intensified.

Maria built a wall around herself so no one could touch her, let alone hurt her. No one knew the real her, and they knew they didn’t. She would kill to keep her honor.

I, on the other hand, slapped a fake smile on my face and waltzed through life not giving a shit who thought what about me. Nothing ever got to me.

Because I wasn’t myself.

I was always just playing a role.

After several minutes of traffic on the private community street, the limousine came to a stop in front of a large set of huge, fancy gates. Behind them, a five-story granite mansion with a perfect lawn and footpath lights guided the arriving guests to the grand entrance.

One of the butlers opened our door, and Kali took my hand as we got out. Walking the short distance to the entry pillared porch, she held onto me tightly. “Thanks again for coming with me. I hate how fake these things are–”

The mansion door flew open, revealing a gorgeous woman in a gold dress. “Darling!”

The resemblance was uncanny.

“Mother…” Kali’s excitement, however, mirrored that of a sloth.

She leaned in for a hug, but her mother corrected the greeting to an air kiss on each cheek in true la bise fashion. “Don’t ruin the dress, my love. It’s custom Dior. You must be Natalia!”

“Good evening,” I greeted, stepping forward for my round of air kisses.

Maya Su – formally Maya Alvarez, heiress of the Cuban Multi-million air companies, before hitting the lottery by marrying Richard Su, billionaire heir of the Japanese Su Dynasty.

Although probably an arranged marriage, he was already engaged to some Singaporean billionaire when news broke out Maya was pregnant with Richard’s baby. In the nineties, their affair had been all over the world and tabloids.

I gave the perfect, polite smile. “It is so nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise.”

My eyes snapped to her husband, who came up behind her, extending a hand towards me.

I shook his hand. “My pleasure, sir. Thank you for having me.”

“We’ve heard so much about you, dear.” Maya guided me inside and handed me a champagne glass although I was underage. “How are your studies?”

“Great, thank you–”

“Let’s sit! I want to hear all about it, girls!”

I was getting whiplash.

The mansion was packed. Waiters everywhere, offering drinks and aperitives. Grand chandeliers. Jazz music. Jewels. Millionaires and billionaires in their natural habitat. I was getting rushed through the crowd and everything felt more heightened than usual.

We were sat at one of the tables in the grand hall, and the past ten minutes had felt like hours. Kali was close to falling asleep while I was in the middle of telling Maya my favorite charity cause of the night.

“Natalia Moretti ,” Richard interrupted, saying my name as if he were studying its pronunciation. “What do your parents do, again?”

“ Dad .”

He raised a brow. “What?”

“I told you…” Kali replied through gritted teeth.

“Apologies, Natalia, darling, we have so much going on right now, it must’ve slipped our mind.”

“ Mom ,” Kali pressed in a low groan.

Her parents didn’t notice; they simply looked at me, expecting an answer.

“They, uh… They’ve both passed.”

Maya gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Richard cleared his throat. “Pardon me, Natalia. I didn’t realize–”

“It’s all right. It was a long time ago.” My response came flawlessly. However, as I pushed my chair back, my smile didn’t reach my eyes. “Please, excuse me.”

Without another word, I left the table. But my heart was beating uncontrollably, and my head was all over the place. Family had always been a sensitive topic for me. And although not necessarily the truth, my answer had been close enough.

I needed a moment to regain myself.

A grip on my forearm brought me back to reality.

“Nat, I’m so sorry.” I could tell this got to Kali as much as me. “I had no idea they would–”

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault.” I pulled her in for a hug before giving her my first and only genuine smile of the night. “I just need some air. Where is the exit to the garden?”

“Straight down to your right. I’ll come find you in a bit, alright?”

I quickly nodded in agreement before walking away.

I could feel my mask slipping.

But I wouldn’t allow it to. I couldn’t not be her tonight. I needed this. Just one night around high society to scratch that itch in my brain and fulfill the need to belong.

Before I knew it, I was out of the reach of the party and into a quieter area of the mansion. Ugh. Where is the exit?

I advanced through the dark hallways, my chest getting tighter and my breathing heavier. With the champagne glass I didn’t even realize I was still holding in one hand, I scrambled for my phone with the other.

I checked my messages to Maria: still undelivered .

Why wasn’t she texting me back? And her location was off–

I turned a corner and ran straight into someone – the thousand-dollar champagne spilling all over their shirt and the front of my pink gown.

I gasped. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry–”

“You fucking blind?” The man pulled at his soaked shirt.

Frustration finally escaped me like an eruptive volcano, and my mask slipped before I could stop myself. “You don’t need to be a dick about it.”

I abandoned the glass on a decorative table and focused on patting my dress dry, trying to save myself from the embarrassment of returning to the gala with a stain.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed the man’s movements slow as he raised his head towards me. His gaze burned my cheek like frostbite, but I refused to give him my time of day. However, the temperature suddenly dropped to minus as his eyes examined me, and I became awkwardly aware that it was just the two of us in a secluded corner of the house.

“Who’s date are you?”

I blinked. “ Excuse. You .”

As soon as I glared over my shoulder, a black ice gaze froze me in place, sending a chill down my spine.

Ferocity amid elegance.

My eyes dropped to his hand movements, to see he was unbuttoning his shirt. “You’re a plus one.”

“What makes you so sure I wasn’t invited?”

His movements slowed as he pulled off his shirt. My eyes unwillingly went over his rich dark skin and muscles; a silver cross hanging off the chain on his neck.

“I’ve taken off enough dresses to recognize a cheap one when I see it.”

A rage so venomous burned inside me, I no longer cared about keeping up my perfect act. “And you’re still a pig. Guess money really can’t buy class.”

He was as much of an asshole as he was handsome.

We stared at each other.

Me, with a ruined dress.

Him, shirtless.

Both, fuming.

He ran his tongue over his teeth. “James,” – He finally spoke, breaking the silence. I instinctively looked over my shoulder to see a butler. Creepy – “Escort this young lady off the property.”

I scoffed, feeling my cheeks heat up with embarrassment. “Seriously?”

“Afraid so, miss,” James replied, though he was not the one I’d addressed.

When I turned around, the asshole was already gone. Though the faint scent of his cologne was still in the air.

“This way, miss.” James insisted again, and I didn’t object. I had more pride than to be carried out like trash. I would walk out with my head help up high.

Before I knew it, we were back at the party, though the butler was right by my side to ensure my departure.

“Natalia, darling, we’ve been looking everywhere for you!” I’d never been happier to see a billionaire; Maya Su settled her palm on my back, guiding me deeper into the gala. I wasn’t banished yet.

Subtly, I checked my dress; to my surprise, the champagne hadn’t left a stain, and the material wasn’t wet to the eye. I didn’t bother to check on James’ reaction.

Kali spotted me from across the room and immediately excused herself from an assumingly boring conversation with one of the night’s donors.

“Enjoy tonight. Yes?” Maya offered me a parting smile, that I returned.

Kali took her mother’s spot. “I was just about to come find you. Feeling better?”

“Yes.” I smiled, rolling my eyes. “Though I ran into some asshole.”

“Not surprised. This place is filled with them.” Kali snatched two glasses of champagne off a waiter’s tray. “We’re going to need these to get through the night. Trust me .”

I did.

“Bottoms up.”

We did.

“Ugh. I don’t get the appeal.”

“It’s all in the buzz, babe. Just wait for it. It’ll hit you.” Kali took our empty glasses and replaced them with two filled ones. “Here.”

Before she could pass one over, someone came up behind me and took them away. I could feel the powerful presence against my back despite the lack of physical touch. I followed the hand movement as the man downed one of the glasses. A chill filtered through my chest, sobering me up.

Him.

“Get your own, dork .”

“Now, why would I do that when I got you, garden dwarf?”

Kali rolled her eyes. “Nat, this is my asshole brother. Trevor, Natalia.” She pushed between us. “I’m gonna go get drunk.”

My heart sank when his eyes met mine. Cold and dark like the abyss of an ocean. They punctured through me, seeping deep inside my chest and freezing me to my core.

Trevor Kaito Su.

Captain of Columbia’s basketball team, who’d apparently been beating our NYU team’s ass for years.

Highest ranking IQ college student on the East Coast, possibly the US.

And of course, heir to his family’s multi-billion-dollar technology empire – the Su Dynasty .

Of course, it was him. Why else would he know the butler?

“Thought I kicked you out.” Trevor’s deep, smooth voice wrapped around me like dark velvet.

“You tried.” My words came out unusually breathless. I didn’t sound like myself.

My heartbeat slowed the longer we stared at each other. The noise around us died down and everything except him blurred.

His eyes – black and unforgiving – stared right into my soul; searching .

And it hit me.

Oh, my God. I called The Trevor Su a dick.

“You’re late .” I turned my head to see Maya. His mother scolded him while stepping between us to fix his suit. “And that shirt doesn’t match...”

Trevor’s eyes sent ice-daggers in my direction over Maya’s head. Now, his overreaction to me ruining his shirt made slightly more sense. Perfectionist parents: check.

I almost felt bad.

“You see what I have to deal with, Natalia, darling?” Maya turned to me while still pointing at her son’s supposedly mismatched shirt. “What do you think?”

I wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong if she hadn’t brought it up.

Sighing, I gave him a disappointed one-over, before looking him dead in the eyes. “ Utterly disastrous .”

“I knew it!” Maya huffed, taking off.

My eyes never left Trevor’s.

And if looks could kill, I’d be choking on my blood.

I had a bad feeling about this girl.

But I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly about her.

I’d never been called out of my name – least of all by a girl with a stolen dress and bad manners.

Our first encounter hadn’t left the best impression, though that wasn’t it .

Now, I was even more put off by her presence.

She didn’t belong. Her brown eyes were too soft. Her aura was too warm. Her smile was too sweet.

Though there was a certain hauntingly beautiful tragedy to her, she lacked what everyone else in this room had: blood on their hands.

Well. Not for long by the way tonight was going.

She’d been at the gala for no longer than an hour and already had a target on her back.

I didn’t know who she was or what she wanted. Though I suspected she was just another fake, gold-digging, social-climbing friend of Kali’s.

That was until we sat down at our table.

And all hell broke loose when my father shared his little realization that Natalia and Salvatore Moretti – Don of one of the five New York families – shared the same last name.

Everyone found the coincidence hilarious.

I didn’t.

Miss Stolen Dress didn’t seem to either, and she didn’t even know Salvatore was a mobster. Though she offered a polite, slightly awkward smile. Just like the perfect guest would.

So, naturally… I thought I would take it upon myself and also be the perfect host.

I stood and offered the make-believe princess my hand. “May I have this dance?”

Natalia looked at me like I was clinically insane.

I forced the smirk off my lips. Guess she was smarter than she tried to let on.

“Oh, yes!” My mother’s voice came excitedly from across the table. “That would be lovely.”

“Natalia is a great dancer,” Kali added fuel to the fire, her voice carrying a suggestive tone. The only reason I could come up with was that she was shit-faced.

“Not waltz–”

“I’ll teach you. It’s easy.” This time I couldn’t hide my smirk. Natalia looked at me like she wanted to teach me how to shut my dick in a car door.

She shot me one more dagger with her eyes before standing up and heading towards the dancefloor, ignoring my extended hand.

I followed behind, ignoring the glare when I took hold of her hand. In one swift move, I settled my palm on the small of her back and pulled her into me. The softest gasp escaped her and yet another unwilling smirk formed on my lips.

Didn’t she know to never show her cards around a wolf?

She was scared of me. As anyone would be after spilling their drink on me and calling me a dick.

Thought I ought to teach her one more thing about self-fulfilling prophecies.

“Stolen or burrowed?”

Natalia’s big, brown eyes narrowed at me. “What?”

“Your dress.”

No answer.

“No retorts this time?”

Running her tongue over her teeth and pouting those pink, glossy lips of hers, Natalia turned her head to the side, ignoring me. Again.

The act was small, meaningless, and purposefully spiteful. It shouldn’t have pissed me off as much as it did.

“I must say I’m surprised. Compared to what you addressed me as earlier.” When she finally looked at me, I faked a thoughtful frown. “Pig with no manners, was it?”

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those guys that takes everything personally.”

“No. But I am one of those guys that believes in getting even,” I replied nonchalantly, her back tensing further under my touch. Leaning in, I spoke in her ear – what must’ve looked somewhat romantic, was anything but. “I don’t know what possessed you to come here tonight, but you don’t belong. You’re a bad influence on my sister. You’re obviously not passing with honors and she needs discipline, not rebellion.” I pulled back to deliver my words with finality. “Stay away from Kali. Stay away from my family. Got it?”

Natalia stared back at me with an expression as emotional as a rock. “Got it.”