Chapter 23
Chapter twenty-three
Alina
“You look happy,” Scarlett says, her fingers tugging at the knot of the pink apron around her waist.
“Do I?” I reach up to my face, realizing I’m smiling like a goddamn idiot. I shake the smile off, but just as quickly it reappears.
“Yeah, you do.” Madeleine steps to my side, dropping a bin of dishes into the sink.
We’d spent the afternoon volunteering at St. Elizabeth Jean’s Center for Women and Children, elbow-deep in prep work for their annual fundraiser—an event Cecilia Alarie herself runs every year.
With it just a couple of days away, the three of us offered to help in the kitchen, freeing the staff to focus on the final details.
Madeleine nudges my shoulder, her smile knowing. “Being in love suits you.”
The word hits harder than I expected.
I bite down on my bottom lip, my chest tightening as a single thought echoes through me.
I can’t be in love.
Not when it’s against the rules because this marriage is only temporary. Something I’ve been consistently having to remind myself…
And not when I’ve been lying to Mauro about everything.
That thought alone sends guilt swirling inside me like a relentless storm.
But I know what I need to do to make everything right.
I just hope it’s not too late.
“I heard Mauro whisked you off to Paris last weekend.” Scarlett playfully bumps her shoulder with mine, and I quickly shake myself out of my head.
“Yeah, he did.”
It was one of the best moments of my life.
And it was all thanks to him.
To the man who has done everything to put a damn smile on my face when I haven’t deserved it.
“Oh, he has it bad for you,” Madeleine says, tugging off her hair net and letting her black strands fall loose.
“I’ve never seen my brother in love. Come to think of it, I’ve actually never seen him with another woman before.
” She shrugs. “Thought he was going to spend the rest of his life living alone up in those mountains, but I have to say, I’m happy that’s not the case anymore. ”
“Yeah…” I turn the faucet, letting the warm water run over my hands as I scrub at the remnants of flour and sauce.
My chest tightens at the thought of ending this arrangement.
Especially since I can’t remember a time in my life I’ve ever felt this happy despite everything else swirling around me.
Speaking of… “I have to make a call,” I say, forcing my voice steady. “I’ll be right back.”
“We’re just about finished here. Do you want us to wait for you?” Madeleine asks, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Eli won’t mind.”
“No, no. Don’t worry.” I wave them off. “Joey’s waiting in the car out front for me, anyway.”
“Okay.” Scarlett turns on the dishwasher and then straightens, smiling. “Guess the next time we’ll see you will be at the fundraiser.”
“And please go spend my brother’s money on a new dress,” Madeleine insists as she walks away. “Something that says glam and not library chic.”
I scoff, raising a hand to my chest, pretending to be offended. “Are you calling my black dress library chic attire?”
She lifts a shoulder and smiles. “Yes.”
The two of them disappear down the hall toward the exit, and since the place is now empty, I pull out my phone.
A shiver washes through me as I scroll through the list of contacts, finally finding the one I want.
Pressing my back against the wall, I inhale sharply.
“Here goes nothing.” My finger hovers over the contact, trembling just a fraction before pressing down and then lifting the phone to my ear.
It rings.
And rings.
Maybe he won’t pick up—
“Alina,” he answers cooly, his voice sending an unpleasant shiver across the back of my neck. “You’ve been ignoring me. Thought I was going to have to come out there and pay you a visit.” There’s a warning in his voice. An underlying calm threat to his words.
“I’ve been busy,” I say, keeping my tone steady, though my stomach twists with nerves.
“Busy or not, you will still be expected to—”
“I’m not doing it,” I spit out.
The silence that follows is suffocating, constricting my lungs.
I can almost feel his gaze on me, though he can’t possibly know where I am.
Or could he?
“Come again? I think I misheard you. It sounded to me like you said you weren’t doing it.” His words crackle with fury, cold and unrelenting, eliciting a chill across my skin.
I force out a breath. “I can’t… I can’t do this.”
My fingers curl around my neck, as though to ease the pressure of his invisible grip tightening like a noose I can’t escape.
“You’ll regret this.”
The line goes dead.
Fear surges through me, sharp and frantic, but underneath it, a steady pulse of relief thrums through my chest. I did the right thing. I know I did.
Now, all I have to do is find the perfect moment to explain everything to Mauro. And hopefully… Hopefully he won’t hate me too much after I tell him the truth.
“Everything go okay today?” Joey asks, his gaze in the rearview mirror as he maneuvers the SUV with ease.
“Huh? Oh, yes.” I smile, not feeling an ounce of the happiness behind it. “Yes, everything went great, thank you.”
He nods and positions his eyes back on the road.
I look out the window, my mind feeling all over the place.
There are too many thoughts floating freely through it.
Too many worries.
Too many fears.
My biggest one is that Mauro will never forgive me for lying to him. For not telling him the truth about this marriage.
And if he won’t forgive me… My knuckles tighten around my bag, my stomach twisting as if I might heave up this morning’s breakfast.
I can’t think about that right now.
We slow as we approach a red light, and I force myself to take a controlled, deliberate breath.
Everything will be okay.
A flash of light blinds me for a moment as the sun catches on a passing car. When it moves on, I glance across the street, squinting against the glare.
And then I see him.
Mauro.
I didn’t know he’d be here.
I thought he had a meeting this afternoon…
He stands in front of a building, holding the door open.
I roll down my window, ready to call out to him, but then—
She steps out.
A beautiful, tall, blonde, slender woman wrapped in a dark green pea coat.
She places her palm on Mauro’s shoulder, just so, and leans in to say something. His expression softens, and then…he smiles at her.
My throat burns. My chest tightens until it feels like it might cave in. Hot tears sting my eyes. I blink rapidly, but the image before me remains unchanged.
A car pulls to the curb, and he opens the door for her, waiting for her to gracefully enter before shutting the door behind her. His hands slip into his pockets, and he turns down the alley, walking with that calm, easy stride I know too well.
Maybe I’m overthinking it.
Maybe it was just a meet-up with an old friend.
Or maybe…
Just as we begin to move, my eye catches on the sign above the door, causing every muscle in my body to freeze.
The Starlake Hotel.
My heart stops beating altogether as it splits perfectly down the middle.