“For what? You didn’t kidnap yourself!”
“Because he didn’t get to marry me. And he wasn’t the first man to touch me. And now that I’m not a virgin, he hates me. He said he always hated Zia, too.”
Margot lifts her wine and drinks deeply. I lay a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t believe Teresa is gone.”
My heart aches for her. She and Zia were never close, but it’s awful to know someone was murdered.
“It’s okay. I mean it’s never going to beokay, but Zia was asleep and on medication. She didn’t feel anything. And Adriano gave her daughters a lot of money which I know doesn’t make up for it, but at least they’ve been looked after.”
Margot casts another look at the door. “Adriano… He’s the big scary one with the face scar?”
Again, I want to correct her, say he’s so much more than that, but I bite my tongue. “Yeah.”
“And are you going to keep living with them now you’re free?”
I feel my face heat. “Um, yes?”
“JJ, you can’t do that.”
“Why? You’re the one who says women should play the field and explore.”
“That means being with different guysone after another,not living with four of them and banging them all at the same time!”
She sounds so disgusted, it’s hard to hold her gaze. “Maybe that’s what ‘exploring’ means for me.”
Margot sighs. “God, you’ve been sheltered for way too long.”
Unexpected anger flares in me. “Yeah, I have been sheltered. More than you. More than anyone, and you know why? Because our stepmom sold me to Mr. Parker when I was a baby and tried to keep me as innocent as possible for him.”
Margot flinches. “Don’t say that!”
“Why? It’s true! And you know it’s true. That’s why you were getting drunk at the wedding and saying you wished daddy was there. It’s why you hated Mr. Parker so much. You knew.”
Margot looks away. “At least you’re not acting like she’s our real mom anymore.”
Margot’s voice has none of her old angst. All at once, she looks a hundred years older. I take the wineglass from her hands and put it on the counter, then thread my fingers through hers. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you. I blame her. And now I’m free! I don’t have to marry Mr. Parker because of Velvet House.”
Margot pulls her hands from mine and reclaims her wineglass. “So, you’re not coming home?”
It never occurred to me that Margot might think Iwas. Then again, she doesn’t know about our stepmother emptying out my bank account or giving Mr. Parker my passport. “I’m not coming home, but we can still be close. Now that the contract’s signed, we can text and meet up in the city and hang out.”
“What?! January, you have to come home!”
“No, I don’t. I’m going to live at Velvet House and work in a bar. Or a café.”
“But…” Margot looks around the room as though it’ll give her ideas… “What about Fine Arts at Columbia?”
“I don’t want to go to college, that was mom and Mr. Parker’s idea. I want to get a proper job and… I don’t know… hang out.” I give a little laugh at how ridiculous I sound. Margot doesn’t join in. She doesn’t look well. She’s so pretty and I was so excited to see her, I didn’t notice the lines around her mouth and shadows under her eyes. “Are you okay? Have you been sleeping?”
“No, but that doesn’t matter.” Margot grips my hand. “Weneedyou to come home. Me and Harris and Lachlan. We need you, okay?”
A cold stone forms in the pit of my stomach. “What are you talking about?”
Margot’s gaze slides sideways. “Just, like, we miss you.”
She’s lying, I can read it in every inch of her face. But I don’t know why. I remember Adriano staring at me through the bars of my cage. How his silence made me feel like I needed to talk. I don’t answer, instead I wait for Margot to explain why it’s so important to her and my brothers that I go back to our big, chilly Park Avenue mansion.
