On the way back, Lorenzo's phone buzzed against the leather seat more than once. Every message was from Adriana, asking whether he'd made it back to the compound safely.
I unlocked the screen, meaning to send some polite reply for him.
Instead, I saw the thread he kept with one of his own circle.
【The sham betrothal is my last play. If she still won't cross back over, then I really will have to let her go.】
【Put the word out in the family that the alliance union is happening. Don't say anything more to anyone else.】
My finger stopped where it pressed against the screen, and I shut the phone off all at once.
My breathing turned ragged before I could stop it.
No matter how wide I opened my mouth, the air wouldn't seem to reach my chest.
The tears slid down from the corners of my eyes, freer and fiercer now.
No wonder he'd suddenly offered me the pact three days ago.
No ring, no home behind the family walls, no betrothal gift laid before our fathers.
Only one line: don't breathe a word of it to my family.
I'd thought he felt some shame for denying me the proper rites, thought eight years of devotion had finally moved something in him.
I never imagined the union I'd waited eight years for was nothing more than a chip thrown on the table to bait Adriana Falcone back across the line.
The last thread of reluctance I'd held onto for this betrothal finally burned out completely.
All I could do was keep comforting myself.
Since I'd already decided to slip away to the family's overseas territory, none of what they did had anything to do with me anymore.
By the time the car rolled through the gates and we reached the house, Lorenzo had sobered some. He walked straight to the bathroom to wash up.
I made him the honey water Adriana had described, every step the way she'd laid it out.
These were the last three days. I didn't want to leave myself any regrets in this betrothal.
I'd just sat down on the couch when Don Bruno called. The line was a clean one, the kind the family kept for matters that couldn't travel on the open air.
He wanted to talk about handing off my standing here before I left for his overseas operation.
The moment the call ended, Lorenzo's irritated voice cut in out of nowhere.
"Leave? Where are you going?"
He was toweling his dripping hair with one hand, his face blank as he questioned me.
I handed him the honey water and answered evenly.
"It's nothing. Family business out of town."
He couldn't be bothered to think about it, or maybe he simply didn't care about anything that touched me.
He took the cup and lowered his head to drink, only to find the honey stirred into it.
His brows knotted instantly.
He snapped at me, his voice angry.
"Who taught you that?"
"Don't go listening to whatever you hear from the wrong people. What works for one doesn't work for everybody."
He set the cup down hard on the table, deliberate enough that the sound carried, and turned to go back to the bedroom.
A bitter smile rose to my lips before I could help it.
Of course. The Falcone girl's method wasn't something I was allowed to borrow.
The next day was the date we'd set for the alliance photographs, the ones meant to be passed between the two bloodlines as proof the union was real.
Lorenzo woke acting like nothing had happened, his manner toward me as cold as ever.
But after seeing how tender he turned with Adriana in that private room, I could never again believe the coldness was simply his nature.
The moment we finished eating and made ready to go out, he glanced at his phone.
He spoke up suddenly. "Let's not take the photographs at the park. Let's go to a school instead. I hear that's the fashion now."
My hands froze over the dishes I was clearing.
"Sure, whatever. We'll do it your way."
I knew exactly why he'd changed his mind at the last hour.
Because that morning Adriana had let it slip across her circle that she was visiting her old school, missing the place where she'd grown up before the families sent her abroad.
I didn't call out the childish lie to his face. I simply didn't want to shame myself with the betrothal this close to its end.
There was only a day and a half left before I crossed over to Don Bruno's territory. I wanted to leave us both some dignity.
I'd already guessed how the day would go before we left, so I'd chosen an alliance gown I could actually walk in.
The photographer led us out onto the school field. Lorenzo gazed off into the distance for a long while, until at last he found a familiar figure waiting in the shade beneath the trees.
He didn't say a word to me. The next second, he turned and walked straight off to find Adriana.
I looked at the bewildered photographer and gave him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry to bring you all this way for nothing. Let's call it a day. You'll still be paid in full."
