AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not that ugly body, though; I could puke from the sheer sight of it,” Aria scoffs.
“Nothing to share then,” Henry lets go of my chin and lifts his hand to smack me for the fun of it. I close my eyes, but his hit never comes.
My eyes twitch, and I fear that if I open them, I will find him waiting to smack me.
I hold my breath, waiting.
Instead of a smack, I hear fingers snap in my face, and I eventually open my eyes. I know him. He is the huge, scary kid who never talks to anyone. Ronan.
I blink, and my eyes focus back on the surface of the gold cover.
It was the first day Ronan ever spoke to me.
I take off the cover and see sushi served in a fancy display, like a gourmet meal.
Sushi, which means Ronan still remembers the things I love to eat. That, or the cook thought it appropriate to serve sushi delicacies to a prisoner.
I pick up the dish and strut back to the bed.
I can get this under control, and I need to eat food.
I take my time to breathe in, then exhale. And I take the first bite.
Chapter Nine
RONAN
“Here,” Liam drops the printed guest list from my wedding on the glass coffee table before me, then settles down on the brown sofa opposite me.
“Notice anything out of place?” I pick the list up. It's nothing fancy like the hard black paper card with gold embellishment that was used on the day of the event; it's just a printout on normal A-4 paper. This document was drafted using data we gathered using the footage from the surveillance camera at the entrance of the hall because some people might have been able to slip past the actual guest list.
I have seen it happen before.
I have done it more than once myself.
I scan the list and pick up the pen on the table. Thanks to Barbara and Cesare, I have several hundred people listed here.
“Liam?” I look at him, and he shrugs.
He sips his drink, then picks up the list, a sly smile on his face.
I look away.
He has a problem, and I can’t pin it, but there is just something fundamentally wrong somewhere. At least that’s the vibe he gives off.
“Liam, stop staring at me like that,” I lean forward to pick up my glass of scotch.
“It was her, right?” He lowers his voice. “You remained single because of her, right?”
I feign ignorance and pretend I’m uninterested by sipping my scotch instead. The bittersweet burn is a good distraction from whatever conversation he is trying to have.
“You never dated because of Olivia, right or right?” I don’t answer. “I knew it.” His eyes light up in an aha moment and I grind my teeth at his insensitivity.
“Liam…”
“What was it like?” He leans back on his seat and crosses a leg over the other, waiting to be entertained, “Dating her back then, I mean…” he swings the guest list printout carelessly in the air. “Riley had told me you were in love, but I never believed it until I saw Olivia in the flesh.”
I sip, not sure what I did to deserve him in my life, but accepting my punishment nonetheless.
