Ruthless Heart

LILY

It’s beenthree days since the night of the ballet, and I’ve hit a wall when it comes to Ian McKenna. I’ve done my research, looking into his staff, background, and other connections for opportunities, but so far, I’ve found nothing useful. Getting close to him isn’t going to be as easy as I hoped.

Meanwhile, I’m still a prisoner. Tied to Nero, whether I like it or not.

I spend most of my time days cooped up in this apartment. Nero is gone when I wake in the morning, and returns so late every night, I sometimes wonder if he even comes back at all.

I wish I didn’t care where he laid his head at night. Or with who.

I need to get out of here before I lose my mind, so on a whim, I call my old schoolfriend, Marissa, the one I bumped into at the gala.

“Lily!” she answers with an excited squeal. “I was literally just thinking about you. I was so good to see you again. What’s happening?”

“How about lunch?” I suggest.

“Love it. Giselle’s at noon?”

“See you there.”

I hang up, pleased. At least now I have a reason to get out, and someone to talk to, not just the doubts and insecurities circling in my mind.

I take time picking an outfit. I’ve already given Nero’s credit card a workout, ordering clothes to be delivered to the apartment. Perversely, I’ve been ordering way OTT designer things, wondering if Nero would confront me. But I guess that would mean acknowledging my existence, which he hasn’t done in days.

Not since the ballet.

I knew I was pushing it, goading him the way I did. But since he already thinks I’m a pampered princess, I couldn’t help rubbing it in.

Anything to ignore the feelings he inspired in me, that tuxedo barely containing his muscles, looking like a dark, avenging demon striding through the fancy crowds.

I shiver at the memory. Every time he looked at me with hatred in his eyes, it only turned me on more, until it was a relief when he bolted. I don’t think I could have endured a couple of hours sitting there beside him, imagining those rough hands on my body, taking their revenge.

That cruel mouth making me moan.

When I arrive at lunch,Marissa is already there waiting for me. It’s a rooftop restaurant with panoramic views of the city and a vegan menu. Marissa is flawless with her freshly styled hair and light makeup.

We do the air-kissing thing again, and it’s getting easier to take on this role of upper-class socialite. The more I do it, the more it feels like I never left.

But that’s a fantasy.

I know I’m not the same person I was before I left. That fact is highlighted by my conversation with Marissa. We both order a salad, but she’s so busy telling me all about her exciting life that she barely eats.

“And then we were all in Amalfi for the summer,” she says, glowing at the memories—and with the thousand-dollar facial she just recommended. “Oh Lils, you should have been there! The architecture… The art… It was incredible. But what am I saying? You must have been!”

“Mhmm!” I give a vague nod, sipping my iced tea, and wracking my brain for a way to deflect from what I’ve been doing for the past ten years.

Somehow, I don’t think, ‘working in a cheap strip club and running for my life’ will impress her quite so much. “But never mind travel, I want to hear all about your husband. Tell me everything!”

Marissa beams wider. “We met in Napa, his family has a vineyard there. It was like a fairytale, he swept me off my feet.”

As she tells me about their whirlwind romance, the lavish wedding, setting up house together, I try not to feel a pang of envy. After all, this is the life I would be living too.

If the Barretti family hadn’t stolen it from me.

In another world, I would be the one gossiping about travel and romance. I dreamed of attending art school in Paris, having a career, and a loving husband, and, yes, a vacation house in the Hamptons, too.

Instead, all I have is a string of fake names and shitty motel leases in my past, and Nero’s word he won’t kill me when this deal is up.

“I’m glad we’re doing this,” Marissa says, giving me a genuine smile. “It’s nice to catch up with an old friend. Now that you’re back in the city, we have to hang out more. Me and Ryan, and you and your fiancé.”