Great.No one was there.
“Where’s Papa?”I asked her.
She smiled sweetly at me, and I knew she intended to make her words cut.“He’s upstairs with your sister and her fiancé.”
“Stepsister,” I corrected her firmly.
“Is that a ring on your finger?”Sofia’s whiny little voice caught my attention.
She was in the middle of the spiral staircase that led upstairs.Her heart-shaped face was pulled into a frown that just made her look like a doll.It wasn’t intimidating one bit.She breezed down the stairs, her heels clicking, her lush, honey-blonde waves bouncing.Her long white dress, mostly dominated by frills, kept swishing, constantly giving away her dangerously high slit that kept her glistening, flawless leg on display.
Sofia got to me in an instant, snatching my hand.
Here we go.
“Mama!”she gasped.Her mother started rushing over to her to check for herself.
“Andrea, how selfish can you be?Why would you go to the extreme to buy a ring and take your sister’s spotlight on her trip?”Lillian barked.
Oh, how satisfying to see them rattled.
“Mama, it’s a Tiffany engagement ring.She can’t afford it with the crumbs she’s being paid at that stupid magazine company.She probably snagged it off an innocent woman,” Sofia sneered, but I could see the embers of envy burning in her eyes.
I snatched my hand away from her.“I didn’t steal it.I’m engaged.”
I’d give the world to see the looks on their faces all over again.They looked horrified.I was certain I saw fear flicker in Sofia’s blue eyes.
“You’re lying,” Lillian gritted.
“And what are my favorite women discussing?”We heard Papa’s voice and turned.
He was descending the stairs with a muscular brown-haired man who looked like a typical jock with his boyish, attractive features.
My heart softened a little when I laid eyes on Papa.Because of their toxicity toward me, I had made it a duty to stay away from home.I hadn’t realized how much I had missed until I saw that my old man was growing older.
His lean, athletic figure still made it easier for him to move around, but his once-dark hair was almost white now.His brown eyes looked a little tired, and he was now showing some wrinkles.
Where was the man who called metesoroand often read me bedtime stories?
“Hi, Papa,” I murmured.
“Tesoro, it’s so good to see you.Won’t you hug your old man?”My heart cracked, and I approached him.I wrapped my arms around him, breathing shakily when he pressed a kiss to my hair.
“She stole someone’s ring!”Sofia whined.
“Yes, Marco.She lied that she’s engaged.”Lillian snickered.
I was now standing beside him, but not without catching the hurt in his eyes.Of course, he’d support them without confirming the truth from me.
The softness from earlier disappeared faster than mist, replaced by a frown.
“Are you that envious of your sister,Tesoro?”he whispered.
My heart clenched.“I—”
“I’m so sorry I’m late,amore.”Luciano’s voice swept into the room, and I widened my eyes.
No, he can’t be here.
