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“Can someone turn the music off?” I asked, nearly lunging for a passing champagne flute.
I grabbed it and downed the contents. The fizz was pleasant, but there was no softening of my anxiety. I went searching for another one, being stealthy in case Giada was under instructions to make sure I didn’t get wasted before the ceremony.
She smirked at me. “Knock yourself out. It’s nonalcoholic. The groom doesn’t go for passive drunk compliance. That’s no fun.”
“You’re a monster, and so is your boss. Fucking lunatics, all of you,” I muttered, setting down the glass and turning to the mirror. Somehow, I’d been transformed. The dress had taken three people to put on me, and I had no idea how I’d go to the bathroom in it. Only the veil remained, hanging on a special stand. It was so long that even if I ran from the ceremony, the groom would have a long leash to catch me by.
I looked more beautiful than I’d ever known I could. My cheekbones stood out, and my eyes were huge. Even my lips were overlined and bigger than usual. I didn’t look like myself. Maybe after today, I'd never go back to the person I was before. Maybe the old me would die for good once I took the last name of a certified killer. I'd be reborn as someone else, someone I couldn't recognize.
Lucy watched me in the mirror while the stylists cooed over the frothy concoction I was wearing. Her look of disdain morphed into flat-out disgust when her eyes reached my face. I flinched like she’d bitten me. She got up and kicked at the table next to her, sending glasses flying everywhere. She whirled around and headed toward the bedroom, slamming the door behind her so hard a picture fell off the wall and smashed on the floor. Sonny crossed himself like Lucy was possessed.
“I know she’s your little sis, but…do you want me to kill her for you?” Giada mused, inspecting her nails. “I’d make it quick, as a courtesy to you.”
I swallowed down the jagged shards of pain at seeing Lucy so upset and made my way toward the bedroom.
“She’s just upset. I’ll speak to her.”
“She needs more than speaking to, Charlie. She’s an ungrateful little brat, and she’s barely affected by all of this. She got you into this mess, and now you’re the one getting her out of it, and she can’t even be nice to you. That kid needs a kick in the head,” Giada muttered. “Volunteers for kicker position?”
She raised her hand, as did Sonny.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the bedroom door. Lucy was lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
“What’s up?” I asked her, unsure how to tackle her stormy mood.
“What’s up? Just look in the mirror and answer your own question.” Lucy’s voice was hard, full of vitriol. “You actually seem happy, you know that? It’s pathetic.”
“Happy? I’m not happy,” I disagreed.
“Are you sure? You looked it earlier. Don’t you understand that none of this is real? Renato is probably laughing at you behind your back.”
“What the hell have I done to you to deserve this attack?” I demanded, my patience snapping.
“What have you done? You’ve changed sides, by the looks of things.”
“Changed sides? I’m marrying Renato to keep you safe.”
“Maybe it started that way, but now, I think you just want to.” Lucy swung herself up from the bed and glared at me. “Admit it. You like living in his luxurious prison and not having to go to work, just sitting around, eating food that a chef cooks for you.” She folded her arms and raised her chin at me. “I bet you even like the big bad mafia boss backing you into corners and kissing you. You like him, don’t you?” Lucy’s lip curled even more. “Don’t lie to me, I already saw you two.”
“You saw us?” I repeated, shame flushing down my body in a great, hot wave.
“Yeah, I saw you. Some captive you make. It took you what? Less than a week to become a desperate housewife for your captor?”
“A desperate housewife?” A laugh left me before I could stop it. And then another. Drowning out my urge to cry, bitter laughter surged out. It came so hard it bent me over.
“What’s wrong with you? Did you finally just lose it?” Lucy watched me warily.
“Maybe I did,” I gasped. This dress didn’t offer much room for laughing your ass off. “Maybe I really did.” I sobered, the shame inside me morphing into something else.
Anger.
No, not just anger.
White-hot fury.
“Maybe it really is crazy to be relieved that there’s a solution to all of this, one that lets us both live. Maybe it’s crazy to feel relieved at not having to worry about money for once, or having a hot meal that you didn’t have to make yourself.”
Lucy narrowed her eyes at me. “So much for your high-and-mighty morals and being a good person, right? Do you realize you’re feeling grateful to the man who put us in this position? Pathetic.”
