Me: What about dinner?
Lucian: I’m only hungry for your pussy.
Oh. My. God.
I let out a giggle, my cheeks heating from his words. Wanting to tease him as well, I type out a reply I never thought I’d type in my life.
Me: I’m aching to have you fill me with your cock.
My eyes widen at the message, and before I can change my mind, I press send.
Lucian: Christ, now I’m walking around hard as fuck.
Me: Good, because my panties are soaked. We’re even.
Lucian: You’re killing me.
“Are you ready?” Aunt Ursula asks.
“Yes.” I type out a last message.
Me: I’m going shopping with Aunt Ursula. I love you. Be safe.
Lucian: Love you most.
I tuck the phone in my handbag then walk out of the house with Aunt Ursula.
“Let’s start at that little boutique we were going to go to next,” Aunt Ursula says as we climb into the back of the other G Wagon.
Leo gets into the passenger side with Marcello behind the steering wheel. The rest of the guards fill the car behind us as Marcello steers us off the property.
“Okay,” I smile at her. “These jeans are really comfy. I’d like to get another pair.”
“And they sit well on you,” she compliments me.
“You have a good eye. You picked them.”
She lets out a chuckle. “Years of practice.”
I’m changing out of a red cocktail dress into my own clothes when my phone begins to ring.
Slipping my foot into the one high heel, I dig the device out of my bag, and seeing my father’s number, I frown.
What does he want?
I press answer. “Yes?”
“Elena,” a woman’s voice comes over the line. “It’s Eva… your mother.”
Stunned, I quickly place my hand against the wall to keep my balance as my legs go numb. Goosebumps spread over my skin.
What?
“Mamma?” I ask, not sure I heard right.
Is this real?
“If you really have to call me that,” she says, her voice biting.
My heart begins to race, and my mind spins into chaos.
Oh my God.
She’s alive?
My mother’s alive!
A cold sweat spreads over my body as the shock hits full-on, ripping the air from my lungs.
“I thought you were dead,” I manage to whisper, not even sure if this is real or a dream.
“I was.” She takes a deep breath. “I have Lucian. Come to your father’s villa, and I’ll let you say your goodbyes before he dies.”
Her words pour over me like acid, eating away the blissful happiness. It feels like my mind short circuits, not able to make sense of what I’m hearing. Unable to think of an appropriate reaction.
A strangled sound escapes me. “Don’t. Please,” I repeat the words I’ve said so many times before when I was faced with the horrors of life.
“You have fifteen minutes. Come alone, or you won’t even get a goodbye.”
The world spins around me as the call ends, and I stand frozen, my breaths rushing over my lips, not able to form a coherent thought.
Lucian.
No.
No.
No.
Keep calm, Elena. You need to save him.
Somehow I think to slip on the other shoe and gather my handbag.
Deep breaths.
God.
Focus, Elena. Lucian needs you. You can deal with the shock later. Right now, you need to focus on what has to be done.
Leo and Aunt Ursula can’t know.
A sob ripples over my lips, but I swallow the shock and fear back. I take another deep breath, lifting my chin and forcing a smile around my lips.
Taking hold of the red cocktail dress, I close my eyes.
You can do this.
You have to.
For Lucian.
I open the door and stepping out, my voice is filled with false excitement. “Oh gosh, I love it. Can you pay while I run to the restroom? My bladder’s going to burst.”
I shove the dress in Aunt Ursula’s hands, and she chuckles at me as I turn to the attendant that’s been helping us. “Where’s the restroom?”
“Just through that door, to the left,” she smiles at me.
I glance at Leo, where he’s standing near the store’s entrance, as I run to the restroom. I shut the door behind me and lock it, then turn to the gold stained glass window.
Panicking, I can’t find a way to open it, and picking up a trashcan, I smash it through the glass. Knowing someone probably heard the noise, I hurry through the opening, slicing my arm open. I cover the cut and run down the alley toward the street.
My heart hammers against my ribs, my breaths bursting desperately over my lips as I pray one prayer after the other for Lucian’s safety.
God, my mother’s alive.
She’s here.
As the shock keeps hitting me in waves, I dart away from the store, praying Leo doesn’t see me. The high heels make it hard to run, and I stop to quickly take them off.
“Mrs. Cotroni!” I hear Leo shout somewhere behind me.
Just then, I spot a taxi and rush toward it.