“Everything okay, darling?” I smile serenely while dabbing my lips with a tissue as he scans me from head to toe to make sure I’m not injured.
“Peachy. Enjoy the rest of your evening, stepmother dearest.” Vivian lunges forward and tries to scratch my face, but Angelo intervenes.
“Touch my wife and I’ll end you.” She freezes, knowing full well he means it. Tim Remington is corrupt and rich, with many powerful connections, but when push comes to shove, he won’t risk an all-out war with my husband’s family.
“You’ll pay for this,” she hisses.
Angelo chuckles. “The marriage contract was a one-time deal, Vivian. You won’t get another cent from us.”
My lip curls at the reminder, but I shove it down. Angelo doesn’t have to protect me from the poisonous bitch who ruined my life. He could have left me to deal with her, and I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had. But despite everything, he’s always willing to protect me.
The ice around my heart melts as he places his hand on my lower back and leads me away.
20
Luka
The heavy thump of bass pulses through me, rattling my teeth and making it hard to think. Although my jumbled thought processes could have more to do with the piles of empty shot glasses and the weed I smoked.
I realized way too late Vasily had laced it with ket.Fucking asshole. Thankfully, not too high a dose, or I’d be a sitting duck by now. As it is, I’m dissociated rather than zombified.
A woman in a short leather skirt drops onto the velvet banquet next to me. She thrusts a joint in my face, but I shake my head.
It’s been a long time since I did anything other than weed. Before Chiara.
Everything in my life is now before and after Chiara.
Before Chiara, it sucked. All I did was perform for the cameras, go to parties full of people I didn’t know, and play video games. My existence was shallow and pointless.
It wasn’t until she showed up that I cut back on the drinking and recreational drugs. Not because she’s anti all that. I chuckle to myself. Chiara is happy to share my weed and have a few drinks.
No, it’s more that I don’t feel the need to numb myself when she’s there.
Tonight was supposed to be a quick drink before I headed back to Angelo’s, but one drink turned into ten, and now I’m no longer in control.
“Dude, you ready?”
“Paarrrttyyy!” The woman next to me shrieks so loud I swear my eardrum just burst. She tries to stand but ends up falling into my lap. Glazed hazel eyes stare up at me. Her smeared lipstick is gross. She looks a bit like Harley Quinn from theJokermovies, only way less sexy. Crimson bleeds into the small lines around her mouth.
Smoker’s lines. Do I have them?
I rack my brain trying to recall who she is as she cackles.
“Party?”
Vasily rolls his eyes.
“Fuck, dude, how wasted are you? Party at Vik’s place. Remember?”
No, I don’t remember. I can’t even recall how long we’ve been in this bar. It feels like hours, but it can’t be that long, surely?
I remember leaving the casting director’s office on a high, feeling like I could walk on water, and then I randomly bumped into Vasily and Marie.
My plan had been to call Chiara and then head back to my apartment for a shower. Only Vasily said he had a potential business opportunity he wanted to talk about, so I reluctantly agreed to hit a bar with him so we could chat.
I recall him ordering drinks, but after that, everything is a blur.
“I like Vik,” the woman slurs. Her fingers dance across my chest, dropping dangerously close to my belt. The discomfort of her touch burns away some of the fog in my brain. “I like you,Luka.” Hazel eyes struggle to focus on me before she giggles again.
