Page 22 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

If I don’t, I’ll lose him forever.

Then I remember everything I had to survive just to come back.

“Yes,” I say at last. “I’ll come.”

6. Family lunch

Valeria

Sunday, December 18

At Amelia’s suggestion, I arrive early.

“That way, you’ll have us beside you,” she told me. “You’ll feel stronger when they get here.”

Stephen drops me off at eleven-thirty before pulling away again.

“Call me if there’s any problem.”

Amelia and Vadim welcome me into the sitting room in front of the lit fireplace.

I tell them about the Perezes. About Hugo, his parents, their generosity toward me.

“They became a second—”

The unmistakable roar of an engine cuts me off mid-sentence.

The Huracán.

All three of us rise to our feet. Amelia murmurs softly, eyes fixed toward the driveway,

“Bianca hates that car. Says it’s too loud. He refuses to sell it.”

She pauses.

“I think there are too many memories of you attached to it.”

The confession affects me more than I want to admit. He bought the car to celebrate our first major funding round. It was flashy, loud and completely impractical.

But it made him happy.

The engine dies. Car doors slam shut outside.

My palms turn damp.

Dante walks into the room first.

The second he sees me, he stops cold. His jaw tightens. Murder flashes across his face.

Bianca is the one who diffuses the tension. She steps around him, crosses the room, and kisses my cheek with a smile.

“Valeria, what a wonderful surprise. I’m so happy to see you.”

I smile back.

Andrea arrives a few minutes later. After the initial shock, he gives me a brief nod instead of embracing me.

“I’m glad you’re alive.”