Page 123 of Sinful Lies

Of course. Perfect timing.

Here I was, trying to get him out of my head, and now I’m face to face with his ex-mistress. Because why not, right?

“Hey, Luciana,” I said, hoping she’d get the hint that I wasn’t in the mood. “Look, I really have to go?—”

I turned, but she was quicker, her hand catching my arm.

“Wait, Jade,” she said, her voice softer this time. “I’d really like to talk to you. Please, let’s grab some coffee together. Just for a few minutes.”

Her fingers tightened, almost pleading.

“Luciana…” I started, but she cut me off.

“Please, Jade. Just five minutes.”

I hesitated, glancing down at her hand still on my arm.

I didn’t know what to make of this, but something in her voice made it hard to walk away.

“Fine. Just a few minutes,” I muttered.

Guess I can kiss my new Jimmy Choos goodbye.

“I guess we’re not here to critique your taste in shoes… or men,” I said, raising an eyebrow over my coffee cup.

Luciana chuckled softly, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

She took a slow sip of her matcha latte, her fingers trembling just a little as she set the cup down. “No, Jade. I… I wanted toapologize,” she said, her voice dropping. “For that night, years ago.”

Ah,thatnight—the one burned into my brain, where I had walked in on her and Angelo in his office, doing things that didn’t exactly scream “family bonding.”

“Angelo and I… we never…” She exhaled sharply, like she was trying to force the words out. “We were never together. What you saw—” Her gaze darted away. “It was the first, and only time we ever… did that.”

I stayed quiet, letting the coffee warm my hands.

She must’ve sensed my skepticism, because she leaned forward, her voice trembling. “That night, Lorenzo and I had a huge fight about his drinking. He… hit me.”

Her words stopped me cold.

“I panicked. I didn’t know where to go, so I ran to Angelo. His family has always been kind to me, and I thought maybe—” Her voice cracked, and she looked down at her lap. “Maybe he could help me feel safe.”

I stared at her, trying to process the bomb she had just dropped.

For someone I’d mentally labeled as a snake, she suddenly looked… human.

And I hated it.

“I’m the one who seduced him,” she said, her voice shaking just enough to make me pause mid-sip of my mocha latte. “I stormed into his office, a complete mess. He was kind, promised me he’d make Lorenzo pay. You know how the Lazzios are about family; they don’t tolerate that kind of thing. Angelo was furious that his uncle had laid a hand on me.”

I held my cup a little tighter, my silence urging her to keep going.

“I don’t know what came over me,” she whispered, her gaze dropping. “I kissed him. He tried to push me away, but I think…I think he could feel how much I needed someone. Just someone to make me feel like I wasn’t falling apart. He let it happen. And then…” She hesitated, her eyes lifting to meet mine.

“And then I walked in,” I finished softly.

She nodded. “It wasn’t what you think, Jade. It wasn’t an affair. It wasn’t love. It was… a desperate, stupid moment. And I’m so sorry you had to see it.”

“Luciana, why are you telling me this?” I asked. “I mean, I have no interest—or care, for that matter—about what Angelo does, or who he does.” A sharp, annoying twinge in my chest begged to differ, but I shoved it down where it belonged. “So… why now?”

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