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“They’ll eat me alive when I get out of the car. Mainly because of the dress I chose.”
He looks at my rounded belly. Because I’m thin, if I wore a loose dress, I could still hide it, but with this tight and strapless dress, there’s no doubt.
“Did you do it on purpose?”
“Yes. I’m not ashamed of our boys.”
We found out we are having twins. It was a surprise and a joy, too. Two babies at the same time are a blessing. I just didn’t understand how it was possible until talking to Madeline on the phone—my cousin and, I think, the only blood relative who likes me. She told me that her mother had a miscarriage of twins once. Then she told me about cases of twins in the family, saying that’s probably why I was blessed.
She’s a sweetheart, and she’s going to be here tonight. Unfortunately, so is her mother, but life isn’t perfect, is it?
“Fuck gossip, Zoe. What matters is the two of us. Or rather, the four of us. No one will make us ashamed of our family.”
“Never. I think the nerves are more because I don’t like to be in the spotlight.”
“Not drawing attention in your case is impossible. You are beautiful. Go inside with your head held high. I will be by your side every step of the way.”
The car door opens, and I see the bodyguards already in place. Christos gets out and offers me his hand, and as I step out, I’m blinded by flashes. It’s scary because even with the security guards’ human barrier, they look like flies on honey.
It’s as if now that they’re all vaccinated, they’ve given themselves the right to forget about good manners. I’m used to the harassment, especially at the end of a fashion show, but what’s happening today is surreal.
It can only be because ofVanity,or possibly for being on Christos’s arm, or perhaps for both things together.
I keep a frozen, impersonal smile, and my face is stiff with tension. The only thing that reassures me a little is Christos’s arm around my waist while his other hand cups my abdomen.
I ignore the questions that seem to come from all sides, concentrating on not tripping.
My heart beats too fast, and my hands are cold. It’s more difficult than I imagined, and I can only breathe a sigh of relief when we finally enter the theatre.
“Everything ok?” Christos asks.
“Yes,” I lie and then correct myself. “Anxious.”
He kisses my lips. “I don’t want to be here either, but we need this public appearance. Otherwise, the world would turn upside down when they found out about the marriage and the pregnancy. It will be better this way. Tomorrow, Yuri will make an official statement in the newspapers.”
I nod, praying that the night will go by quickly.
“Zoe?” a hesitant voice calls out to me, and I turn around to see who it is.
It’s my cousin, Madeline Turner.
“I can’t believe we’re finally meeting again,” she says.
We don’t kiss or hold hands. It’s horrible, but people have avoided doing it even after taking the shot. I think this will be another scar in the collective memory: the fear of hugging and kissing.
“Madeline, I’m so glad to see you. You’re beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she says shyly. She really is beautiful. Fair skin, huge blue eyes, and delicate as a fairy. She wears a long, red, flashy dress that doesn’t match her personality at all. I’m sure she wasn’t the one who chose it.
“Madeline, this is my fiancé, Christos. Christos, this is the cousin I told you about, Madeline.”
They exchange pleasantries, and a man approaches, catching my fiancé’s attention. I turn to talk to Madeline but freeze when I hear someone say, “Zoe, how wonderful to see you again, darling!”
Oh, Jesus. Hypocrisy has a first and last name: Adley Turner, my aunt. Or rather, Madeline’s mother, since she was never an aunt to me.
And “darling”? She offered me a maid’s uniform the last time we saw each other!
I turn towards the voice begrudgingly.
