Page 5 of My Sunfall

Nathan wrongly interprets my flinch for confirmation. “So, I’ll talk to Santaluccia, then.”

Oh god, no. I shake my head vehemently. That’s not how things work in the famiglia. As an outsider, he’ll put himself on too many radars.

“Nathan no, please don’t do this. You don’t know how dangerous it is.”

He pulls me closer, gaze intense. “I’ll do anything for you.”

“No,” I say more forcefully than necessary as I push his chest back. “No, Nathan, I don’t want to be your wife, and I don’t want you to talk to anyone. Now excuse me, I need a moment.”

I whirl around and almost run out of the room, mind spinning.

This night isn’t going as planned at all. Could it get any worse?

Apparently, it could.

Chapter Three

Chiara

I am running down the corridor out of the ball room, looking for a quiet corner to recollect, not caring how crazy I might look to someone walking the hallway. My heart is racing and I am lightheaded from the adrenaline. Nathan is a nice guy, but I don’t even know him that well. How can he say those things so casually? Plan a life with someone he barely knows?

Hypocrite, my mind screams. You are supposed to marry a man your family chooses for you, too. How is this different?

This is your duty as a Bianchi daughter. My mother’s voice echoes, sounding so real that I almost turn around to look for her. The reality of my life and the weight of the role that has been mine since birth come crashing down on me, and I barely suppress the bile from creeping up my throat. I really need some fresh air.

I stumble blindly along the dim, narrow space, willing my heart to slow down and the whooshing in my ears to abate. The hallway is quiet, the silence only disrupted by the muted sound of my heels against the carpeted floor, and I stop and look out at the moonlit garden through the window. Where is the door leading outside? I rush down the seemingly endless hallway. But after only a few steps, I stop dead when I hear Lucas’ voice drifting in from a door that must be leading to a terrace.

I take a step but freeze when another voice answers him.

Then I hear my name. My heart stutters to a halt.

I stand completely still, every nerve on alert, straining to hear.

“What about Chiara?” Lucas’ voice drifts inside through the open double doors. I lean slightly forward to peek through the doorway. He is standing with Tiffany Greco at the balcony railing, with their backs to me. They are close, almost touching, and my heart kicks painfully in my chest. They had briefly dated almost two years ago. Are they seeing each other again? I take a step back before they can spot me but remain rooted with my back to the wall next to the door, barely breathing.

“Are you and her…” Tiffany asks, and her voice trails off.

Lucas scoffs. “What? Dating?” He barks out a laugh. “Of course not, bella. She and I are just friends.”

“But you seem so close.”

“That’s because she has no one, and I am there for her as a friend. After what she went through, she needs people in her corner, and I am there to support her.”

My heart hammers so hard against my ribs that I am sure they must hear it. My head spins.

Tiffany asks something I can’t hear.

“She’s too soft and delicate for the likes of me.” His voice drops at the end of the sentence into a purr, and I can’t hear the last part. He is flirting with her.

“So there is no one to stop you if you were to leave with me tonight?” she asks flirtatiously.

My chest hurts so much I can’t breathe.

“No, bella, no one. You look good enough to eat—”

I don’t hear the rest, my heart shattered, and I can feel the shards pouring into my bloodstream, tearing me up from within.

A sob escapes my lips and I hastily retreat, afraid they might have heard me. I stagger blindly down the hallway, looking for the way out. Eventually, I end up in the ballroom again. I dash through it without looking left or right, barely able to hold myself upright.