I didn’t even realizethat there were cameras in the shop. I try to discreetly look around, but I don’t notice any off the bat.He is really good at this stalking thing.
Royal:
You’re flawless.
You don’t need a dress to choke you in order to show off your beauty.
Tearswell up in my eyes, and it’s like they’ve come out of nowhere. I wipe them away quickly. It’s too much.
I can’t text him back because it hurts too much to even think about it. I tuck my phone back into my purse and go with my aunts and mother out into the city.
Down the block, cars are waiting for us.
Steffano stands near one, and he smiles at me. It’s almost genuine but still too calculating to be truly caring. He holds out his hand. “May I see your phone, please?”
Obediently, I hand it over, and he begins to look through it. I wait, expecting some sort of reaction from him, but the longer I wait, the less it seems like I’ll be getting one. Minutes tick by as he looks through things on my phone.
“Come, princess. Let’s get you back to the castle.” Steffano opens the door and offers me his hand so I can lower myself into the car. He tucks my phone into his pocket.
I set my purse on my lap and buckle my seat belt.
Steffano walks around the front of the car before climbing into the driver’s seat. “Tell me, wife. What did you learn from spending time with Royal Cavanagh?” he asks, speeding through the city, out toward his villa.
“Not much, they have a lot of weapons in the home. Their security is state of the art, and Royal says he can watch every part of their territory with just a few clicks of the button.” I recap the text messages I’d sent Dad, gripping the leather seat, holding myself in place as he sharply cuts around hairpin curves.
“Yes, I’m sure he can. His reputation precedes him. But I’m more wondering what he teaches you?” Steffano growls.
“I don’t understand.” I shake my head, watching between him and the road, fearing for our lives and what happens when a sports car crashes.
But Steffano is a skilled driver, and before he explains further, he pulls us up in front of the house.
My stomach is queasy from the erratic driving. “I’m going to be sick.”
One of Steffano’s servants — goons, hired help — opens my door. I’m not sure how, but I barely make it over to the edge of the driveway, lined with brown winter plants, and lose a little bit of my undigested breakfast.
“Afraid you got caught? Now you’re sick with remorse.” Steffano’s voice is so growly behind me that I wonder if I’ll see golden eyes like I did in Royal’s.
I don’t. Steffano’s are the dark color they’ve always been, his glare focused on me.
“No.” I clear my throat, looking in my purse for a tissue. “I’m easily motion sick. Anyone can tell you that I get sick in sports cars, on planes, and especially on winding roads and in turbulence.”
I don’t realize how far out of line my words are until I stop digging in my purse to look up at Steffano.
His brow is furrowed, nostrils flared, head tilted down to glare at me, and arms crossed in front of his chest.
I forgot my place, and he’s surely going to put me in it. I wait for him to be explosive like Dad. I wait for him to burst into yelling or grip my arm and yank me toward the house. But he doesn’t.
Instead, Steffano storms toward the house, shouting behind him, “Come, princess.”
The guards stare at me like I’ve grown a second head.
I follow Steffano into the house, straight to a central seating area where Dad and Berto are already conversing quietly. Drinks in hand like they’re none the wiser of something bad happening.
“Explain to me why you thought selling me your daughter as a virgin when she’s clearly whored herself out to the Cavanagh tech nerd was a good idea.” Steffano looks at Dad specifically as he grabs my shoulder and shoves me down onto a chair near him.
Berto catches my attention, eyebrow cocked. He and Antonella look a lot alike when they’re pressing for information.
I shake my head, denying it.There’s no way whatever he found in my phone can prove what Royal and I did or didn’t do.Right?
