Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 132498 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132498 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
I stay quiet.
Because she’s right. Because every truth I want to say is dangerous. Because my feelings for Victoria are the one thing I’m terrified to confess out loud.
She steps closer, lowering her voice. “You’re going to get us both thrown out.”
“So what?” I snap, louder than I should, chest heaving. “Why are we even here? Why are we hiding? You never give me real answers.”
“Because they don’t concern you.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“Language,” she snaps.
“No,” I fire back. “I’m done pretending we’re not in some kind of exile. I’m done walking on eggshells. Tell me the truth.”
She exhales and closes her eyes for a long second.
When she opens them again, there’s something older in her face. She looks tired.
Honestly, she looks afraid.
“The truth is,” she says slowly, “you don’t know what these people are capable of. What will they do if you ruffle the wrong feathers?”
“Feathers?” I scoff, stepping forward. “You think I give a damn about their feathers?”
“You should, because we need this job. Because this is the only roof over our heads. Because the moment we stop being useful, we disappear.”
I stare at her.
And for the first time, I see it. Fear. Not anger. Not frustration. Fear of something bigger. Something behind her eyes she refuses to name.
“Why did we really come here?” I ask, voice softer now.
She presses her fingers to her temple like she’s holding in a scream.
“We came here because it was safe,” she finally says.
“Safe from what?”
She looks at me. And then, maddeningly, she shakes her head.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“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 sneak back 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—”
“Spare me the lie.” He cuts in. “You think I didn’t notice? Half the fucking staff saw you sneak out like some rebellious little brat.”
My stomach twists. “I went for air. That’s not a crime.”
He laughs. The sound is strange and not normal.
“Air? Is that what we’re calling it now? Because what I saw was you sneaking off with that boy.”
“His name is Lorenzo,” I hiss.
“You are going to destroy everything,” he snarls. “Do you understand that? Do you have any idea what your little rebellion costs this family?”
“Costs you,” I bite back, heat rising under my skin. “Not me. You. Because you see me as a bargaining chip, not a daughter.”
He storms down the stairs toward me, voice rising with every step. “You are seventeen—”
“Eighteen,” I snap. “Today, remember?”
“You are a child,” he spits, “who is about to ruin a billion-dollar deal because she got wet over a boy who fixes the goddamn gutters!”
His words slap me across the face. Tilting my world until my ears begin to ring. I want to hit him. I want to scream. I want to disappear. But my voice comes out cold. Steady. Lethal.