“It matters to me.”
“Well, it shouldn’t,” she fires back. “Because what you did tonight? That kind of recklessness? That’s the kind of thing that gets people like us erased.”
The word hits harder than a fist.Erased. Erased like we never existed. Erased like the boy I vaguely remember from childhood.
I flinch. She sees it.
“Go to bed,” she says, turning away.
I don’t move. Not at first.
Then anger floods my body, tensing my muscles until I feel I might break.
I slam the door behind me as I storm down the hall toward my room.
Because I’d rather be reckless than invisible. I’d rather burn down this whole estate than spend one more night pretending.
For the first time in my life, I have something worth losing, and I’m not letting it go.
19
Victoria
I sneakback into the house like I’m floating. My feet barely touch the ground. It’s like I’m gliding over the surface.
My body aches as I move, but it’s the most amazing ache I have ever felt.
I’ve never been so happy. Which is funny because the night started off as the worst of my life, but now, with my hair a mess and my lips still tingling from his kiss, all I can do is smile, because Lorenzo is amazing.
I should be worried.
Hell, I should be more cautious, but I’m not. I have no desire to play the perfect daughter anymore.
How could I when my whole body is still warm and weightless from everything that happened tonight?
Lorenzo’s scent still clings to my skin, sweet and real and maddeningly sexy. His voice echoes through me, making me feel weak in the best way.I’ll wait for you.
I can’t stop smiling. It’s reckless.
Dangerous. Treasonous.
Which, apparently, is my new personality trait.
I turn the corner, and everything goes cold.
My father waits for me at the top of the stairs, arms folded, jaw tight, posture carved from marble.
My stomach turns.
Fear coils inside me.
The chandelier spills gold light over his shoulders, spotlighting every hard angle of his expression.
He looks like an evil king in exile. One who is about to send me to my death.
“Where the hell have you been?”
My heart stutters, catching like a misfired engine. “I was—”
