Page 142 of Sinful Lies

I stopped in my tracks, irritated, but also weirdly intrigued. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I muttered, but reluctantly plopped back down.

Stella was grinning now, practically vibrating with excitement. “Jadie, you have to admit, it’s fun. Maybe it means something!”

“Yeah, it means I just wasted ten bucks,” I muttered, crossing my arms.

The man’s gaze went ice cold. Without saying a word, he grabbed the cards and shuffled them, his eyes locked on mine, like he could see straight through me.

Then, he spread them out, face down on the table.

“Pick three.”

I pointed to three cards, my foot tapping impatiently on the wooden floor, just wanting this nonsense to end. Stella grabbed my hand again, her grip tight with excitement.

The man turned the cards slowly, one by one.

The first was the Two of Cups again, then the Five of Cups, and finally, Temperance.

“You are blessed…” he began, his voice taking on that weird, mystical tone again, “You were blessed on this earth to have the deepest connection with someone?—”

“Yeah, yeah, we already know about that,” I interrupted, rolling my eyes. “Change the disc, buddy.”

His brows furrowed, clearly unfazed. He pointed to the Five of Cups. “You’re going to lose someone you love. Someone who is closest to your heart. And the grief will take everything from you. You’ll spiral… almost lose your life.”

I stared at the card.

Then he pointed to the angel on the Temperance card, his voice softer now. “But someone is going to save you. Balance you. This angel will be your salvation, your savior. Your guardian angel.Tuo angelo.”

Silence fell over us.

I glanced over at Stella, her eyes wide with wonder, completely wrapped up in whatever the man had just said. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. The man’s expression was blank as he sat there, unmoving.

“Wow, so original,” I scoffed, shaking my head. “Thank you so much, Satan.”

I stood up, gesturing for Stella to follow me.

As we made our way out of the tent, a cobweb brushed my hand, and I winced in disgust. “Ugh, seriously?” I muttered, shaking it off as we stepped back into the sunlight.

The bright rays hit my eyes, making me squint. Stella circled her arms around mine, her grin still plastered across her face.

As we turned, his voice stopped us cold. “You called me the devil,” he said, his grin razor-sharp. “But it’ll be the same thing people call you soon—Diavoletta.”

With a wink that chilled more than charmed, he slipped back into the shadows of his tent.

What the hell?

I turned to Stella with a sigh. “You owe me ten bucks now.”

She laughed, clearly unbothered. We kept walking, the absurdity of the whole fortune-telling thing fading from our minds as we neared a hot dog food truck.

The sound of the sizzling grill and the smell of mustard and onions filled the air, replacing the weird energy of the reading with something much more satisfying.

Her arm wrapped around mine, and for a moment, the world felt perfectly normal again.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

“The past beats inside me like a second heart.”

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