26. Lily
Lily
26
“Raphael is just using you. You know that, right?” a voice asks from behind me. I already know who it is without even turning around, and I’m not in the mood for her. “He’s never going to marry you.”
I turn around and look directly into Emilia’s arrogant face. “That’s funny because from what I know, you’re the only one not marrying Raphael.”
Emilia crosses her arms over her chest, appearing smug. “We’ll see.”
Either the girl is delusional or desperate, and there’s no use arguing with her over a marriage that will only ever occur in her crazy mind.
Raphael explained Emilia to me in more detail after her unexpected arrival the other day. The girl is delusional in thinking she can somehow gain Raphael’s affection. He has no desire to marry a girl her age any more than he did when his father initially made the marriage deal months ago. A contract he quickly dissolved with Emilia’s father when Michael was declared heir once again.
Emilia looks at her perfectly manicured nails, flicking invisible dirt off them before her eyes rise to meet mine. “Enjoy Raphael while you can. Because when he’s done with you, you’ll still be nothing but a dirty and washed-up, used slut.”
I’m tired of her mean-girl attitude and delusional thoughts. “Continue to dream all you want, but it was my pants he had his hand down and my pussy his fingers were buried in. Remember that.”
The furious expression on Emilia’s face as I walk by brings a ray of sunshine to an otherwise gloomy day.
Leaving her behind, I continue down the hall toward the room Mei and I share. She’s just starting to stir when I walk in.
“Hi, Mommy,” she says with a large yawn.
“Morning, Princess,” I greet her before bending down to kiss her forehead. “Are you hungry?”
“Yep!”
We get dressed and head downstairs, or more accurately, Mei bounces down the stairs, and I simply follow.
When we pass the room Dominic died in, I pause in the doorway. The smell of antiseptic and bleach lingers in the air, the table gone along with his body. It’s almost like it never happened…but it did. I may not have known Dominic well or very long, but he was Raphael’s family, his cousin, and a built-in lifelong friend taken too soon and in the cruelest way.
Voices float through the air, coming from the direction of the kitchen, and we follow the sound. Alice stands at the island, stirring a bowl of some mixture. When she notices us, she looks up with red-rimmed eyes and a sad expression.
“Look who’s awake,” she says, trying hard to smile.
“Morning, Alice.”
Mei stands next to Alice, rising on her tippy-toes to try and peer inside the bowl. “What are you making?”
“French toast, dear. Would you like to help? I warn you, though, it gets messy.”
Mei smiles big. “I like messy!”
Alice peers up at me. “Would you be a dear and grab the flour for me? It should be in the pantry.”
Oh...shit. My eyes snap to the open door, and before I know it, I'm inside the room, staring at the white powder mess on the shelves and floor. We really did a number in here.
“Did you find it, Lily?” Alice calls.
I zero in on an unopened bag of all-purpose flour and leave the pantry quickly. I’m hoping Alice doesn’t know about the mess in the pantry, but when I meet her eyes as I hand over the bag, the spark in her dark eyes answers my question.
“There’s a broom in the room over there,” she says casually, pointing at a closed door.
“Thanks,” I mumble as my face burns hot from embarrassment.
“Don’t worry, dear,” Alice calls after me once I’m back in the pantry, sweeping up Raphael’s and my mess. “The DiAngelo men are very passionate lovers.”
Oh my God. Kill me now. Rose walks in with Liam just as I finish cleaning the pantry.
“Morning, Lily,” she says as I approach and take a seat beside her. From the shadows darkening her green eyes, it’s clear she knows about Dominic. I doubt Michael would have kept something like that from her anyhow. “How are you feeling?”
I sigh, staring down at my hands. If I look hard enough, I can still see his blood on my skin and under my nails. “It’s hard anytime I lose someone. Especially when I couldn’t do anything to save him. It’s even harder knowing that his death was intentional and not an accident. That Xiao planned this in retaliation for Mei and me.”
“Which doesn’t make any of it your fault, remember?” Rose stresses. “It’s terrible what happened, but you didn’t drive Xiao to do this. He chose to do it himself.”
“So I keep hearing,” I mumble. “How are you doing? You had to have known Dominic better than me.”
Rose kisses the top of Liam’s redhead, tugging him a little closer as if she needs the reassurance that he’s really there. “Dominic brought Liam back from Italy after Michael rescued me. I’ll always owe him for that, but after that, we only met a handful of times, mostly when he’d come to the penthouse.”
“Sounds like he was a good guy.”
“The best cousin a girl could ask for.” Gabriella’s voice interrupts us.
Rose and I turn to see the youngest DiAngelo standing in the open kitchen doorway. Her eyes are red, and her face is splotchy like she’s been crying.
Alice turns off the stove’s griddle and then helps Mei down from her stool. My daughter runs over to me while Alice goes to hers.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Alice says softly into her youngest’s hair while she caresses it. “It’s not fair, Mom,” Gabriella cries, breaking down in her mother’s arms.
“I know. But we’ll get the one responsible for this. Your father, uncle, and brothers will not let Dominic’s death go unanswered.”
Gabriella pulls away from her mom with a hard sniff and rubs at her eyes. Alice kisses her daughter’s cheek and gives her a sad, comforting smile before turning back to the stove.
The feeling of responsibility and guilt continues to hang heavy on my shoulders. I know it’s not my fault, but just because I didn’t pull the trigger doesn’t mean I didn’t hand Xiao the gun when I left.
“Mommy, can I have extra syrup?” Mei asks, completely unaware of the heavy atmosphere in the room.
I squeeze her tiny body closer, needing the reassurance of her presence, just like Rose did with Liam. “Of course, princess.”
Mei jumps off my lap and hurries back to her stool, where Alice meets her.
When Gabriella sits beside me, I drop my eyes, unsure of what to say. She bumps my shoulder. “Hey.”
I raise my eyes to meet hers. She doesn’t look angry, just sad.
“I heard what happened. I know you did everything you could. You did everything right. So thank you for trying.”
I nod mutely.
“I also heard about what my uncle did. It was uncalled for.”
“He was grieving.” I give her the same lame excuse I gave Raphael.
“That’s no excuse for his behavior,” she continues, calling me out just like her brother did. “He needs to apologize to you.”
“He doesn’t have to,” I insist. “Really. It’s fine.”
Gabriella hums low in her throat, like she doesn’t believe a word I’m saying, before sharing a side-eye with Rose. Thankfully, they don’t push the subject anymore.
“Who needs coffee?” Rose asks.
“Can I have it in an IV line?” Gabriella jokes.
A dark cloud still hangs in the kitchen’s atmosphere, but it’s significantly lighter now. Laughter can be wonderful medicine in times of pain and loss. Serving as a gentle reminder to savor the good moments and appreciate the gift of life. Because you never know when everything could suddenly end.