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I give her one last hard look before turning on my heel and striding out of the studio.
PART III
THE ENGAGEMENT
20
ARIA
A week before the engagement party
Iwake to the sound of my door bursting open.
Before I can fully grasp what’s happening, Angelica strides into the room, and I bolt upright in bed, heart pounding. The intrusion slices through my drowsiness like a knife.
“Christé mou, Angelica. You scared the shit out of me!” I cry out, rubbing my eyes as I try to shake off the fog of sleep.
The merciless throb in my head reminds me of my hangover. I drank way too much tequila in bed last night.
I press a hand to my forehead, hoping to quell the persistent ache, but my entire body conspires against me.
My best friend stands in the doorway, arms crossed, a frown plastered on her face.
“Glad to see you’re alive,” she says, dryly. Though I can see the concern hiding behind her joking tone.
I glare at her, the remnants of sleep still clinging to my mind like cobwebs. “Couldn’t you have just knocked, like a normal person?” I mutter, pushing the tousled strands of hair out of my face. With a groan, I cover myself with my blanket. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving you from yourself, apparently. What’s going on, Ari? You’ve been avoiding me.”
It’s been a while since I last saw her, or anyone else for that matter.
With a resigned sigh, I throw myself back on the mattress, my gaze pointed at the ceiling. “I don’t know, Ang. I’m lost. My whole life is being taken away from me.”
A pang of guilt pricks at me. I haven’t told Angelica about Dion yet, nor about what Andrew did to me, and it’s been eating away at me. She’s my best friend. I always tell her everything. The weight of the unspoken secrets presses down on me, though a part of me hesitates, a part that fears the consequences of letting the truth slip.
I know Angelica wouldn’t say a word to anyone. However, there are eyes and ears everywhere, and I worry it’ll somehow get out. That my father will find out. That Andrew’s reputation will be ruined, and he’ll make good on his threat.
Angie lies down next to me and grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers. “I can’t begin to imagine how you feel about the engagement, but staying locked up in your room isn’t going to help, Arioula.” She studies me for a moment, then adds, “You know you don’t have to deal with this alone, right?”
I swallow hard, the truth threatening to spill out. I bite my lip, silencing the words before they escape. I can’t risk it—not when rumors spread like wildfire in Cebrene. And I don’t want to worry her by telling her about Andrew. She has enough on her plate.
Tears well in my eyes, and the lump in my throat makes it difficult to speak.
“I don’t want to get married to him, Ang. I’ll have to live with him, sleep in the same bed, have sex with him.”
Angelica’s expression softens, her eyes filled with sorrow and understanding. “We have to find a way out of it,” she replies.
“How, Ang? My engagement party is next week.” I want to tell her about Dion, how I feel about him, how he promised he’d find a way out of my arranged marriage.
And Andrew…when we first met, he was charming and funny. But now, in such a short time, he’s changed into someone unrecognizable. Truth is, I’m terrified. Terrified of what lies ahead if I can’t get out of the engagement, of the future that’s been mapped out for me before I even had a chance to choose.
Angelica whips her head around to look at me, stunned. “How? Your engagement was just announced. What’s the rush?”
I struggle to find my voice, to form coherent words amidst the frustration rising. “That’s what I said! But our families want us married by the end of the year.”
When I’d asked my father why so quickly, he simply said there was no reason to wait. And with the wedding being only a few months away, Dion will have even less time to put whatever plan he has up his sleeve in motion. If he even has a plan…
“That’s six months from now, Aria!” Angelica exclaims.
