“Maybe.” She grins. “The ultimate sabotage. Luciano is in charge of the rings. Sofia’s going to be really upset when she realizes he lost them.”
“But…you stole them. He didn’t lose them.”
“Well, he shouldn’t have made them so easy to take,” she retorts.
I stand up, slightly slipping on the old moss collected on the dock.
“Val, you have to put those back,” I demand.
“What? No. Listen, Valdes. I’m just doing what needs to be done.”
“Give me the rings, Val,” I yell.
“No!”
She stands up and dangles the rings in front of me.
I reach for them, but she locks them into her fist. As we struggle for the rings, our grunts and gasps fill the still morning air. I’m strong, but Valentina is more agile and manages to wriggle out of my grasp.
“Why can’t you give up this stupid plan?” I grunt.
Valentina freezes, her grip on the rings tightening. “Because it’s all I fucking have!” she shouts, her voice cracking slightly. She looks away, but I can see the pain in her expression.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my own anger softening as I realize there’s more to this than I thought.
She takes a shaky breath, her gaze fixed on the rings interlaced between our hands. “It’s like…everything’s slipping away. Once she’s married, that’s it. It’s over. She gets her happily ever after, and I’m just left behind. I know it’s selfish, but I can’t just let her go without a fight. I’ve invested so much of myself into her. Into our friendship. My feelings. And now, this is all I have left to hold on to.”
Just as Valentina seems to be getting the upper hand, the rings slip from our fingers, bounce off the dock, and fall into the lake with a splash. We both freeze, our eyes fixed on where the rings have fallen.
For a moment, no one speaks. The only sounds are the gentle lapping of the water against the dock and the birds singing in the distance. Then, without a word, Valentina dives into the lake, disappearing beneath the surface. I watch in horror, my heart pounding in my chest. What if Val can’t find the rings? What if she’s hurt or stuck between two rocks and slowly drowning?
Just as I was starting to panic, Valentina’s head pops back up above the water. She has a grin on her face, and her fist is held above her head in triumph.
“Got ’em!” she yells, splashing back to the dock.
I breathe a sigh of relief, but I’m also pissed.
“Why did you do that? You could have been hurt.”
She climbs back onto the dock, looking down at the rings in her hand. “Well, I had to save them, didn’t I? If anyone finds out they’re missing, I want it to be on my terms.” She pats the pocket where she stashes them, and for a moment, I see something like doubt flicker in her eyes.
“There. Safe and sound,” she mutters, almost to herself.
“It’s not all you have, Val,” I finally say.
“It feels like it is.”
“Is there really no one else you can see yourself with?” I ask, my voice louder than I intend. Her eyes widen slightly at my tone, and I feel an unexpected flutter in my chest. I shake it off, focusing on the urgency of the moment. “Maybe you should just let her go and move on. Stop this wedding sabotage. Enjoy the week. Help me solve the big mystery in my father’s journal. Just…stop.”
She tilts her head, studying me, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. “Oh, so now you care what I do with my time?”
“Well, it’s not like I want to be dragged into your mess,” I retort, though the words feel hollow. There’s something else keeping me here, an almost magnetic pull that I’m not ready to name. “Besides, it might be nice to not have to look over my shoulder every time you’re scheming.”
Valentina grins, clearly amused. “You’re right,” she says, but I can tell she’s not ready to let me off the hook just yet. “Maybe I’ll take a break from all this plotting. But only because you asked so nicely.”
She steps closer, her gaze meeting mine. For a heartbeat, the air between us thickens, and I wonder if she can sense the quickened pace of my breathing. I want to say something—anything—to break the tension, but I can’t find the words.
“All right, all right. I’ll stop,” she finally says, breaking the spell with a laugh. I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, a mix of relief and something else I can’t quite place.
