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“What friend?”
Ana’s brows pinched. “Uh Claudio Vitello.”
Silence ensued again and then a muffled sound, as if the phone’s microphone was being covered. Ana waited awkwardly. Her questions probably sounded vague, but she couldn’t reveal any more details to a potential outsider. Anyone in the Family would’ve instantly recognized Ana’s last name–and Vitello’s too.
“Sorry ma’am.” The lady resurfaced. “I don’t have anyone like that here.”
“Oh, do you know a Cinda Johnson then? I think she–”
“No. Sorry, we can’t help you.”
“It’s just for a job–”
“We don’t want any trouble, okay? Sorry.”
Click.
Staring at the blank phone screen, Ana sat back, abashed. After the previous calls, where people had been overly friendly, this one felt abrasive. Then, again, these people were outsiders. They had no idea who Ana or Gio were. They must have thought she was a scammer.
Nevertheless, it left an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.
That uneasy feeling carried through to the next day.
Ana did not know why. All their meetings that morning had gone well; they’d even seen a spike in customer orders. Emma had connected with the web designer from Connecticut, who had been quite eager to take up the potential job opportunity and was willing to do whatever training was required to meet their needs. On top of it all, the house had been relatively quiet.
Auntie and Grandfather had been busy with their social commitments. So it had been peaceful.
And yet, there was a weight in her breast that would not lift.
Was it because of Gio?
Four days were left, and they still hadn’t spoken.
As soon as work wrapped tonight, she would call. And upon his arrival, she would tell him–everything. Her mind was resolved to it. If she didn’t tell him, there would always be this barrier between them, erected by all the truths that were left unsaid…keeping her in a state of anxiety and him in mistrust. Their relationship had come too far for her to sabotage it like this.
Ana gazed out the large bay window in the dining room at the overcast skies, dark and heavy with an impending storm. It intensified the loneliness and worries inside her as she finished her lunch alone.
When her plate was cleared, Ana thanked the housekeeper before getting up.
The woman could not seem to meet her eyes.
Odd.
Walking up to her room, she fought the eerie sensation dripping down her back. What was it about today? Everything seemed to grate at her, setting her nerves on fire.
Shaking it off, she unsilenced her phone and reviewed the calendar of meetings for the afternoon. In her messages, Emma had sent her updates on the next meeting’s location.
There was another message from an unsaved contact. In it was a screenshot of a text conversation, with the names blacked out.
Zooming in, Ana felt a chill spread all over her, blanketing her in waves of ice.
Unknown-1: Can you believe it?
Unknown-2: Omg. Are you sure it’s true?
Unknown-1: 100%. They got rid of him after her family found them in bed together. That’s why it was so hush-hush.
Unknown-2: I would’ve never pictured it…Miss Perfect hooking up with a lowly guard right before her wedding night.
