Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
That thought brings me to the comment Caius made last night about a baby. Is that what Santos wants me for? I know this is a marriage of convenience. But a baby? That’s a step too far. He doesn’t need to do that. With me, a De Léon, on his arm, all the doors will be opened to him. And quite frankly, with all the money and power the Augustines have now, I’m not sure how much they really need me anyway.
But then I remember what Odin had told me about the history between our families. I need to find out what exactly happened between Santos’s aunt and my father because that part is personal. The rest, like the marriage, is Santos climbing the social ladder.
At least this will be over tomorrow. We have one more event, but that will be held in Avarice. Odin will be there. I’ll see my brother, and I’ll be on home turf.
The night drags on, and when Caius announces it’s time for me to go back to the hotel, I’m grateful that I’ll be going alone while he and his mother stay. I’m also grateful that apart from Bea Avery, the rest of the Avery family was absent.
Could Santos be with them? Was Caius telling the truth about him and Camilla?
Caius walks me out to our waiting limo and opens the door. I turn to him, trying to figure out his angle. What he wants. He’s gone behind Santos’s back to tell me things. Is that to manipulate me? How much of what he’s said is true? Because from what I’ve seen, Santos trusts him.
“Sleep tight, sis. Don’t forget to lock your door.” he says and before I can get away, he plants a kiss on my cheek. “Check in on Ana, will you?”
I won’t.
I settle into the back of the limo and reach to close the door myself when he just keeps standing there but he stops me and leans in. “Let her know to get started without me and I’ll finish her off when I get there,” he whispers.
“You’re disgusting,” I say, tugging at the door.
“Offer stands if you want to watch.”
I flip him off and he laughs, then closes the door, and I’m finally free.
28
Madelena
There is a part of me that hopes Santos will be back at the hotel when I arrive. I tell myself it’s because he’s the devil I know a tiny bit more than the others, the lesser of all the evils. I’m not sure that’s the truth, though. Because I’m feeling something new with him—something akin to hope.
Regardless, that hope is short-lived because the only person to greet me apart from a soldier I don’t recognize is Ana. She’s sitting in the middle of the couch with much the same expression as she wore earlier, her arms still folded across her chest. The only difference is she’s holding a glass of wine in her hand. She swallows the contents when she sees me. I get the feeling she’s been sitting here seething all this time.
“Had fun?” she asks with a smile so fake she’s not even trying to mask her true feelings.
“No, actually, I didn’t. Thanks for asking.” A glance at the bottle tells me it’s almost empty. I’m going to assume she drank it all. I walk past her to my bedroom only to find the door open. I’m pretty sure I closed it before I left. I peer inside but don’t see anything amiss. There are no drawers overturned. The bed isn’t tossed apart. But when I turn back to Ana, the smug expression on her face tells me she has been inside. “Did you look through my things?”
“Why would I do that?” she asks demurely.
I almost start to argue with her, but what’s the point? I open my mouth but close it again and just shake my head. She’s not worth it. I walk into the bedroom. I plan on closing the door and locking it behind me, but she’s there before I can with her foot jammed between the door and the frame.
“What? What were you going to say?” Ana asks.
“Nothing. Get out, Ana.”
“He’s mine.”
“Who? Caius? Yes, he’s all yours. Congratulations. You really snagged a winner in Caius Augustine. Get. Out.”
“He’s the older brother. He should have what Santos has.”
“What?” I shake my head. “You’re drunk. Go to bed.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness. All high and mighty just like you used to be. You’d think you’d have learned your lesson, Mad Elena.”
I look at her, and maybe I’m too angry to be hurt, or maybe I’ve just gotten better at putting fury first because that’s the predominant emotion right now. Hearing her call me that again makes me angry. “This isn’t high school anymore. Your friends are gone. It’s just you all alone, just like I was all those years. And you’re fucking pathetic. Grow up.”