Chapter 62
Chapter Sixty-Two
Audrey
Weddings were stressful. I didn’t know if I ever wanted to get married after dealing with all of this mess with Carina’s. I didn’t think there was anything that could convince me all the fuss was worth it. Not even love. But at this point in my life, I didn’t know if I would even find love to get married. I was so close to tasting it with Alexei. It was right there, I was ready to fall completely head over heels but then it all came crashing down around me.
“One week,” Carina held a paper bag up to her mouth and started breathing into it.
“Where’s Ace?” I sat down at the dining room table and rubbed my hands together like a greedy troll. There was never a day that I wasn’t absolutely overjoyed to have Georgie’s cooking.
“On business for his father.”
“What kind of business?” All I wanted was a hint that Carina knew what Ace was up to.
She shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s all so private.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Carina leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. “What are you implying my sly friend?”
“Do you know where he keeps the key to his office?”
Her smile was slow and feline. “Absolutely I do.”
“Why don’t we sleuth a little?”
Not only would it keep her mind off of the stress of the upcoming wedding but it would also give her an idea of what Ace was really up to. I would have been lying to say I wasn’t a little curious myself. I knew what Alexei did, but I had no idea what Ace actually did for their father.
We tip-toed down the hall like we weren’t the only ones in the penthouse. Carina raced up the stairs and then raced back down a few minutes later holding a big skeleton key. She shoved it into the lock of his office door and then flicked on the light. It was all dark moody colors. The desk in the middle of the room was mahogany and the chair behind it was a navy leather. The plush rug covering the entire floor was a cream but it did nothing to brighten the area. The walls were just as dark as the desk and covered in books.
“Does Ace like to read?” I wanted nothing more than to explore the books surrounding us.
“Oh, yes. He always has a book in his hands if he isn’t on an assignment for his dad.”
In the corner of the room was a bar cart with a couple of crystal glasses and expensive whiskeys. Carina flew across the room and threw herself into his chair. She pulled her legs up to her chest and inhaled deeply. “I miss him.”
A deep pang rang through my chest. I missed Alexei. Or rather I missed the man I thought he was. When my best friend let out a gasp, I ran across the space separating us.
“What?”
She slapped a folder closed. “Nothing.”
“Carina, what did you find?”
Did you find out that your future husband is a drug lord, kidnapper, pimp, or worse?
“It’s really nothing.” She wouldn’t look me in the eye. I rounded the back of the desk and tilted my head to get a better look.
Sitting in the middle of Ace’s workspace was a navy blue folder. I squinted down at it, it looked so familiar. Where had I seen it before?
I reached forward and Carina smacked my hand. I didn’t stop going. She was trying to hide it from me without actually hiding it.
With shaking hands, I snatched the folder up and brought it to one of the chairs on the other side of the room. I tucked my legs under me as I opened it.
On the first page was a smiling blonde. The same blonde that went on the fundraising date with Alexei the night we broke up. I would never be able to forget her face or her skintight outfit.
Nausea built within me as I thumbed through the pages and saw more familiar faces smiling back at me. The last page made my skin crawl.
Alexei Cristof tends to prefer blondes but as of late has chosen brunettes. He loves a challenge and hates to be rejected. He will do anything in his power to win someone over.
Tentative engagement date— January 17th.
That was tonight. I frowned. None of this made sense. He was getting engaged? But he’d been on so many dates and never seemed to be seen with one more than once. I kept reading Ace’s handwriting.
If Audrey stays away, he will marry for the family.
I wasn’t so sure it was Ace’s handwriting anymore. Carina stood behind me now. “I didn’t know.”
I shook my head. “Of course you didn’t.”
Alexei was a pawn for his father. But what could his father possibly have to hold over his head?
The next morning the tabloids were full of pictures of Alexei’s engagement to the hotel heiress, Vina Adaire. I tried to not zoom in on Ace in the background of the photos. It still hurt, not as badly as it would have before, but it hurt all the same. I kept my phone off for the rest of the weekend.
“The flowers should be here any moment!” Mrs. Phipps announced to the room. I pasted a smile on my face even though I was a big ball of nerves. I was terrified of everything that was about to happen. The wedding. Seeing Alexei— having to walk down the aisle with him and pretend. I was good at pretending these days. I pretended at work and when I went out with Lu and Tavon, but I didn’t know how good I was when faced with the man who destroyed my heart. It didn’t help that I now knew the truth. I squared my shoulders as the camera shuttered on the other side of the room. I knew what I needed to do and I hoped it didn’t cause too big of a stir.
My hair was twisted in an elaborate hairstyle around my head. It was beautiful and scary. I didn’t know how I would possibly get it all undone to go to sleep later. My mom and dad were in attendance though I wouldn’t get to see them until later, after the wedding. They flew in last-minute and weren’t supposed to be in attendance but then my mom FaceTimed me and saw something in my gaze. She immediately booked them last-minute flights. She insisted they could find their way around the city, get a ride to upstate New York, and they would see me soon enough. She wouldn’t let me get them from the airport even though I hadn’t driven anywhere since I moved here. I’d barely used the subway. Why chance it when Ace had a private driver for us when we needed him? I even offered to send the driver to pick them up but my parents weren’t having it. They wanted an authentic view of Manhattan. They would definitely get that on their own. So instead of fussing over my parents like I wanted to, we left them in the city and made the long drive to the Cristof estate the night before with all of Carina’s family right behind us.
My dress was off-the-shoulder, deep red, and had a thick crop coat to go over it. A few of Carina’s cousins flew in and were in matching dresses. After all, she needed fill-ins for all the Cristof brother’s to have someone to walk with. It was strange seeing them all together. Carina didn’t speak much about her extended family. They belonged on her mother’s side. Mrs. Phipps apparently stopped speaking to them when she lost everything to her ex-husband. She was tired of the judgment. I wondered if she didn’t mind them now that they could see her living a life of luxury. The tables were turned in her favor this time. Mrs. Phipps exchanged smiles with her sisters as they all gushed over Carina’s in-law’s home. They couldn’t believe the luck.
“It wasn’t luck,” My voice was flat.
One of the sisters turned my way, a little coy smile playing at her mouth. “What was that?”
“None of this,” I waved my hand around the massive bathroom we were all getting ready in. It was one of the guest bathrooms that one of Mrs. Phipps’ sisters was staying in. There were four of them with two daughters each. One of them had a son but I couldn’t remember who. They were all staying in their parent’s rooms on the floor. It was just a little taste of the luxury they would never know. Now that they were speaking about my sister, I was over it. They could eat dirt. They didn’t deserve to have a single sliver of this. “Was because of luck. It was because of love. They matched on a dating app that they both downloaded and fell in love.”
One of the cousins snickered and I was so close to flying across the space and showing them just how lucky someone could get. “I would have fallen in love with him too if I’d seen all of this.”
I gritted my teeth. I was pissed off that Carina was upstairs because there was nothing I could do to these fucking idiots. I hated them. I scowled as Mrs. Phipps painted a smile on her face. The look screamed for me to behave. She’d given it to me on many field trips growing up if my parents couldn’t be there— which didn’t happen often. It was a common look even at sleepovers.
“She didn’t see all of this. She knew nothing about this life or the money or anything.” The words came out quick and clipped. I hoped she knew I was on my last thread. I hope she knew that if she kept pushing I was going to takeout all of my pent-up frustration on her pretty tanned face. I would love it too, every single second.
The girl rolled her eyes and turned back to the makeup artist. The camera started clicking again and I could have slapped myself. How dare I make drama during Carina’s big day? I hoped and prayed that wasn’t in the wedding video or the photography taken.
Mrs. Phipps pinched me under the arm. “Get it together. I know today is going to be stressful but it’s about Carina.”
“I know,” I hissed as I yanked my aching arm away from her.
I was the Maid of Honor. Technically, I didn’t have to be down with the other fake bridesmaids. I should have been upstairs with the bride. So I did just that, I carried my sorry ass up the stairs and knocked twice on the door. The photographer on my heels the entire way. I hadn’t seen Carina since the night before when all of her family got in and caused a big fuss. It was probably a good thing for the photographer to capture this moment.
Emeline opened the door for me and her face fell for a moment before she recovered. She pulled me in for a hug and it took everything within me not to burst into sad tears. I loved them all—except her husband—so much. When Alexei and I spoke—when we were together—I pictured a future with all of his family. I loved them dearly. I thought this was going to be my future. “How are you feeling?”
“Wonderful.”
One of her blonde brows went up. “You’re a shit liar.”
I’d never heard her swear before, but it was nice. Refreshing even. It took me out of my panicked state of mind and I was able to laugh a little.
“Who is it?” Carina called from the bathroom, breaking our little moment together.
Emeline grabbed my hand in hers and pulled me toward the bathroom. There she was sitting on a big, cushy white chair as someone applied makeup to her face and another person curled her hair. She was radiant and they weren’t even finished yet. Her gown wasn’t on yet, but the little lacy robe was just as breathtaking on her. I fell to my knees at her feet and wrapped my arms around her.
“You look so magnificent,” I cried.
“I feel like a princess,” she whispered.
“You are a princess.”
We both gritted our teeth and smiled at each other even though I knew we both wanted to cry. I couldn’t believe we were here. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
“How are you feeling?” She pulled me to my feet.
“This day is about you,” I reminded her.
She swatted me. “I don’t care about any of that. I care about you. Do you need anything?”
I shook my head. “I have everything I could possibly ever need.”
“You look beautiful.”
Even with the impending doom of seeing Alexei in just an hour, I could do this. I was breathtaking. The entire team Emeline hired did a fantastic job on all of us. We were ready for anything. Maybe not a monsoon, but anything else.
“Have my parents made it yet?” I asked Emeline as she came into the room with a pair of glittering heels.
Emeline beamed. “Yes! Just a few hours ago. I got them set up in one of the guest houses and they have full staff to help them with anything and room service on speed dial.”
Leave it to Emeline to go over the top for only my parents. She hadn’t done that for anyone else, not that I knew about anyway. I didn’t know how much I wanted to be here after the wedding anyway. I’d been considering it all afternoon, what I would do when Ace and Carina left for their honeymoon on the other side of the world. Ace booked a private house on the beach in Australia. My heart beat painfully in my chest. I would have that one day, maybe not all of the money that came with it, but I would have the love and the elaborate honeymoon. Even though all of this fuss didn’t seem worth it, I wanted it all the same.
I would have it. I vowed to myself.