He drives me to New Rome. My happy feelings last until he drops me off at the door of our home. When I walk in, I feel like I’m in the wrong place. There are no plants, no decorations. None of Mom’s paintings are on the wall.
Did Papa remove them all as soon as I moved out to go to school? I was the one watering all the plants, but I figured he would take over when I left. The walls look bare, and the breakfast nook feels empty without the giant money tree dominating the space. It used to feel like a jungle or a garden; now it feels like a tomb.
I’m glad I don’t live here anymore.
I take the elevator to the lower levels and find my father in his secret lab.
“Papa.” It’s a relief to see him. He looks thinner, his skin a little sallow, but so familiar my heart aches. He’s even wearing his microscope goggles that help him work but make him look ridiculous. He invented them when my mother was still alive, and she always teased him about them.
These days, no one teases him. He and I don’t have that sort of relationship.
Right now, I feel the urge to run into his arms, but he’s not a hugger. I rein in that urge—I’m always reining myself in around Papa—and linger in the door.
“Bella.” He looks up from his work, removes his goggles, and looks me over, his expression relieved. So he does care about me. “You’re looking well.”
And you look like you’ve been working too hard, I want to say. I want to ask him if he’s eating enough and scold him about his long hours. My mom would’ve. But I bite my tongue.
“You wanted to see me.” My arms hang awkwardly at my side. I don’t know what to do with my hands, so I fold them in front of me. “Is everything okay?”
“I merely wanted to check on you. I’m told you caused quite a stir at one of Fraternitas’s places of business.”
He called me here to chew me out for Pandemonium. I know it was a ruckus, but what happened to having a little fun?
I shrug. “It was a joke. I’ve already apologized.” To my friends. Not to Fraternitas. If they want this alliance, they’ll have to deal.
He sighs. “I told them I’d address your behavior.”
“Why? Are they going to break the engagement?” My heart speeds up. Last time we spoke by phone, I was frothing at the mouth to get out of this wedding. Now? I still want out, but I feel some reluctance. If the contract ends, will Kaiser leave? Do I want him to?
“No.” My father frowns.
“Right.” I relax, ignoring how relieved I feel, knowing that I’m still shackled to Kaiser. “Then everyone needs to chillax. I’m not a child.”
“And yet you insist on acting like one.”
“I wouldn’t if I were treated like an adult who gets to choose who she wants to marry.” Just because you like Kaiser, doesn’t mean you want to marry anyone, I scold myself. I don’t want Fraternitas to have the upper hand. It’s a matter of principle.
“We’ve been over this.” He picks up his goggles and polishes them with a cloth. I stare at his bare ring finger. He used to wear a wedding ring, but not since Mom died. It bothers me, but I’ve never said anything about it.
“We have not. I’m still waiting for an explanation.” I fold my arms over my chest, holding my breath. It’s hard to stand up to my father like this.
He shakes his head slightly. “Not here.” He glances up toward the corner of the ceiling, and I look, but I don’t see anything. But I get it. He’s warning me about cameras.
Even if this place is bugged and we’re being watched, there are many ways he can communicate with me. All these weeks, waiting, and he couldn’t just slip me a note?
“Papa, you sold me into marriage. I deserve to understand why.” If I understand the politics at play in this alliance, maybe I can craft a new, better solution. “This is all a mistake.” My voice rings out in the quiet lab. “I tried to tell them you didn’t kill Alfredo Vesuvio but?—”
“Belladonna,” he snaps, then softens his voice. “It’s done.” He closes his eyes as if he’s very tired. “I admitted that I sold the poison to Livia.”
“What?”
“Livia Vesuvio. Alfredo’s wife. Fraternitas knows she came to me, here, after hours, and I sold her the compound she could use to kill her husband.”
My mouth is open, but I don’t know what to say. I swallow. “That’s not?—”
“It’s the truth. It happened. And now I am paying for it. We both have to live with the consequences.”
I shake my head. That’s not what happened, and he knows it. “I?—”
