Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
He had to be ruthless for kindness' sake...with the help of Ynez's own sister and his future bride.
Six
Ysabel
I've completely lost track of time while struggling to wrap my head around what I saw in our apartment.
Ynez is fucking another man while dating Massimo Marchetti.
I think it's only been minutes since I ended up standing outside the convenience store across our apartment building, staring blankly in space.
Or maybe it's been hours, with how the muscles at the back of my legs have started aching a little. I honestly have no idea. The world seems to have stopped making sense, the moment I saw my sister cheating on the man I've been so desperately trying hard to forget.
"Ysabel?"
My head jerks up at the familiar voice, and I'm not sure what to feel when I see it really is Romana standing in front of me, and a pack of beer cradled in her arms.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"
Romana has been by my sister's side since they were kids, and she never seemed to mind whenever Ynez treats her more like a slave than a best friend. She probably loves Ynez as much as I do, but...
"Hey!" The other girl looks at me in surprise when I suddenly drag her with me to the back of the store, where we're less likely to be heard.
"What's wrong with you?" Romana asks plaintively.
"What's wrong with me?" It's a struggle to keep my voice low, and the only reason I manage to is because I know what it's like to be at the bad side of a powerful famiglia—-which is the fate that we're all flirting with. "What's wrong with you? How can you let Ynez do something so crazy?"
Romana stares at me oddly. "Are you drunk?"
"Are you still high?" I retort. "I saw you, Roms. You were passed out cold in our living room—-"
"So?"
"—-while Ynez and Jovanni were having sex in my room."
Romance's laugh is obviously forced. "You must be mistaken—-"
"I saw them," I hiss under my breath. "I heard them. So it's no use lying to me about it. Was it my sister or Jovanni who told you to pretend to be his girlfriend so they could get away with their affair? Can you imagine what Massimo and his family would do to all of us once he finds out Ynez has been cheating—-" My voice breaks off when Romana suddenly stalks past me and dumps the entire pack of beer in the garbage bin.
What in the world?
Romana walks away without looking back, and my stomach turns upside down when I see the other girl enter our apartment building.
Shit.
Is she going to tell Ynez I know about her affair? Will my sister then demand that I keep my mouth shut for her sake? Ynez has the tendency to fly into a rage whenever things don't go her way, and I don't even want to think about all the crazy things she could try to do just to have me do her bidding.
Perché, Ynez? Why do you have to cheat on him? Why?
I'm all thumbs as I take my phone out and type #masnez in search of any recent photos that might give a clue about the possible breakdown of their relationship.
Hmm...
Massimo's most recent photos were all of him looking like a tuxedo-clad James Bond while he plays best man in his brother's wedding. This was a week or so ago, and I belatedly remember how Ynez mentioning that she's gotten a fight with Massimo about it. He had apparently refused to ask Cesare's bride to include her in the entourage, and so she had made him "pay" for his sins by not attending the event.
Surely that couldn't be the reason why she had started cheating on him?
My phone suddenly starts vibrating inside of my pocket.
Ynez.
I bite my lip, unable to make up my mind. Do I answer the call? But what do I say if I do? What if—-
"Signorina Ossini?"
I jump in shock when I find myself suddenly surrounded by huge, scary-looking guys in dark suits. Where the heck did they even come from? And how did I not hear them coming?
"Our boss would like to speak with you."
My heart thundered against my chest. "Your boss?"
"Signor Massimo Marchetti."
Part Three
One
Ysabel loved every movie in the Taken franchise. She had watched each and every installment again and again, but that was apparently not enough...since panic now made Ynez unable to do as Liam Neeson's character did, when he had been abducted and thrown inside the trunk of a car.
Così stupida, Ysabel!
She wasn't even blindfolded or gagged. Didn't even have her hands bound, although one of Massimo's bodyguards had respectfully asked Ysabel to temporarily relinquish her cellphone to his safekeeping.
She had, in other words, every chance to memorize where they were going, but because Ysabel was in such a panic, everything outside the window had turned into a blur.