"I knew it."
"You're missing out. My book is forbiddenish."
I gave thought to it for a moment. That piqued my interest, but I knew her better.
"Ish. You lie. That probably means a boss can't date his employee. Lame. And, Ave, have you forgotten I'm living the forbidden life? The book can't possibly be better than real life."
* * *
"Have you spoken to Konstantin since coming home," Mom inquired after her third glass of vodka. She was putting them back faster than Dad.
This was the first thing she'd said to me in days and it left me momentarily speechless. A feeling of doom settled on me the moment I walked into the dining room. It was the same feeling that struck me when I pulled through the iron gates only a handful of days ago. I stared into my mom's eyes trying to muster an answer. She was goading me.
The two of us were seated at the grand table, across from each other, little appetizers placed sporadically around us. Dad and Xavier were in the other room refilling their glasses. I hadn't touched one morsel of food. I was too on edge.
Steadying my heartbeat so the lie would sound authentic, I said, "No, I haven't."
It wasn't entirely a lie. I had tried to contact him after my mother ambushed me with the newspaper article. He wouldn't return my texts or phone calls. But there was no way she could've known that.
"No?" she repeated, soft and patronizing. Delicately, she twirled the glass on the table, staring me down with nothing but animosity for reasons I could never fathom. "No," she said again, so regal. "I know you're lying."
I ground my teeth and looked her straight in the eye. "I'm not."
"I should be proud with how well you've managed to live a lie. It sure isn't for the faint of heart."
It was so easy for Mom to get under my skin with her refined manners and the confident yet clipped tone she loved to use. My stomach churned viciously. I didn't like the way this conversation was going.
I subtly shook my head. "My life isn't a lie. I don't know what you're talking about."
"Want to try that again?" she asked. Her eyes were too knowing, and it made me queasy. There was no way she could've known I tried to contact Kova.
"I don't know what this is about, but I haven't spoken to him, Mom," I said confidently.
She took a long sip from her crystal tumbler and licked her lips. "You can't fool me… I know you're fucking your gymnastics coach."
I inhaled with an audible gasp, my heart nearly stopping. She said it so soft, in such a gentle tone it terrified me. Pure evil. My world tilted, my face fell. I was starting to feel lightheaded. The room was at a standstill. Our eyes bounced back and forth, she was spewing fire in my direction.
"That's not true," rolled off my breath, but no one heard me. I shook my head, I could hardly breathe. "It's not true." My heart was racing so fast and hard it hurt. I clutched my chest, trying to ease the pain. The walls started to close in, everything was shifting.
This was it. She knew.
I shook my head vehemently. "No," I whispered.
A glimmer of malevolence sparkled in her eyes, one that scared me. One I'd never seen before.
"You're a little whore."
"No, I'm not," I gritted out. I'd never been called such a vile word in my life, and it didn't take long to realize it hurt being called that when I was anything but.
I thought back to my time here so far. The times I’d left my phone unattended. I didn’t think I had to worry when I was home. But I always made sure to lock it before I put it down. And my phone had a passcode on it.
My forehead creased together, my mind running a mile a minute.
The beating of my heart was so loud I could hear it in my ears, pounding away louder than a marching band as my mom's eyes blazed with fire.
She took a sip from her glass and watched me as I hopelessly tried putting two and two together. The air in the room dropped and I grew cold. My stomach rolled with anxiety and I actually thought I might get sick all over the table.
"I found your phone late the other night, you were in the shower and it was sitting on your bed. I felt bad for what I had said…that is, until I read the text messages." An evil smirk slid across her face. "Tsk, tsk, Adrianna. Going after an older man like that. Who knew you had such a promiscuous, trashy way about you. The photos were one thing, but the video? That was icing on the cake." She sipped her vodka. "I planned to apologize, you know." Her eyes hardened. "But I don't apologize to whores."