But there’s some truth in that statement. Before my mother died and Marco took us in, we had no money, so the lights were only consistently on in the winter when it was illegal for the utility companies to shut them off. Then I moved into this fucking palace and experienced what real hardship was.
“So, is this how our marriage is going to be? You being a jerk all the time?”
“Not if you behave.” I give her a smug smile.
Her eyes narrow at the sexual undertones of that statement. She switches to English for one word.
“Asshole.”
I’m wondering if that’s what she’s going to call me regularly. I haven’t even heard her say my name at all. I don’t know why that pisses me off, but it does.
She walks off, and my eyes trail down her body. Her attitude is… something I haven’t experienced before. Elena speaks her mind to me, but that’s different since she’s my sister. This is going to be anentertainingmarriage, assuming she doesn’t cause me a stroke or a heart attack from stress.
And assuming we both survive the wedding reception.
Chapter 5
Sofia
Mychestmusclesandmy arms quiver as I push the bar away from me and towards its holder. I’m finished with my bench press reps, so Hailey helps guide the bar back. I feel more like myself after that workout. After going through a period where I’d work out twice a day playing tennis in college, going days without movement makes my mind feel sluggish, so this hotel having a nice gym has been a godsend.
I needed this stress relief—I was informed by my grandfather this morning that this wedding is happening in three days.
Hailey whistles. “If you go much heavier, you’ll need to ask someone else to spot you. I don’t think I could lift this off of you if you got stuck.”
I sit up, glancing at Bianca sprinting on the treadmill, sweat falling down her face. Excessive cardio has been one of her coping mechanisms for her sobriety.
Hailey plops down onto the bench next to me, continuing on with her flashcards. She’s working on her bachelor’s degree, hoping to get into law school. She already got a fake degree from her cult’s private college, but now she’s getting an actual education.
She swears under her breath. “I don’t know what possessed me to choose geology for my natural science elective. I didn’t care about rocks before, and now I hate them.”
“How are your other classes going? Hopefully more interesting?”
She nods. “I like the history class I’m taking.” I hear Bianca breathing increasingly heavily behind me; it’s caught Hailey’s attention. “Okay, maybe I prefer studying rocks then doing whatever it is she’s doing.”
I laugh, but Hailey’s squinting at another flash card already. I decide to leave her to it and wander over to my sister, who has slowed down to a walking pace.
“Good workout?”
“Yeah.” Sweat pours down her face as she works on catching her breath. “Yesterday was… weird, so feeling like I was dying for a minute was strangely therapeutic.”
I snort. “You’re calling it weird? How do you think it was for me?”
“Worse, obviously.”
“I know,” I groan. “I’ve been racking my brain, trying to find a way out of this whole mess.”
“We can kill him.” Bianca shrugs.
“Ha! I wish it were that easy.”
Sometimes I am jealous of the men in my family because they actually can kill people to resolve their problems. Unfortunately for me, if I shot or stabbed someone, I’d immediately pass out or vomit because of my phobia.
Like what almost happened to me yesterday over Marco’s story. Not even anything tangible: just words.
I hear the gym door opening behind me, but I assume it’s a stranger until Hailey says, “Savannah!”
I give her a warm smile, happy that she could join us a couple of days early before my wedding. She’s a family friend of ours that I’ve known forever; she even babysat us for a few years when we were still kids. She flips her blonde hair over her shoulder and then gives me a quick hug before joining Hailey on the bench across from her, absentmindedly picking up a flashcard. “Yuck.”
