Page 98 of Masked Hearts

He pulls me into his chest and just lets me lay there, cuddled up. No expectations. And suddenly, I can feel the weight of all the adrenaline and stress wash over my body. He must sense it, too, because he pulls me even closer.

“If you did have to run away, what’s one thing you’d miss the most?” I ask, and he stays silent for so long I wonder if he’s fallen asleep.

“Probably my mamá or Mattia,” he says. The answer surprises me since I was expecting him to mention at least one of his brothers or something materialistic.

“Not one of your brothers?”

“Mattia is my brother. Not by blood, but by loyalty,” he says before falling silent again for a moment. “What about you?”

“My sister. I don’t think I could ever truly run away without taking her with me. It’s probably the only reason I’ve never tried.”

“What do you mean, never tried?”

“I think a part of me always knew if I tried to leave all of this, or tried to run away earlier, my father would just make Noelle replace me. I would never be able to live with myself if that happened. No one deserves to have their life controlled like this.”

“Neither do you,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “No one, especially not you,” he reiterates.

“I know, my mom never wanted this life for any of us; it’s part of the reason my father spiralled so much when she died. He finally had all the control, and he didn’t know what to do with it.”

“Power does some crazy things to people. Ambrose didn’t handle it well at first either after my papá died,” he says.

“Do you think your mamá would be happy with how things turned out for you?” His question takes me by surprise, because I haven’t given much thought to it—or at least I’ve tried not to, especially with how things turned out for her.

“I think at first she would’ve been pissed off, but I think she would’ve changed her mind by now, especially since I’m trying to live my own life with you helping me learn how to do that. I think she would’ve liked you.” I chuckle. “Do you think your mom likes me?”

“Not that it matters, but yes, she does,” he says.

“Of course it matters, she’s the woman who gave birth to you. And I know how much you care about her.” I swat his chest.

He breaks out into laughter. “She only calls to hear howyou’redoing. I don’t think she worries about me anymore.”

“I’m sure she worries more than you know.”

“I hope not.” He falls silent after that.

“Please, can everyone take their seat as we begin our descent intoParis Charles de Gaulle Airport?”

I sit upright and stare at Antonio, who has a wide smile across his face.

“Surprise.”

Chapter thirty-five

Theá

“Howdidyouevenpull all this off in less than forty-eight hours?” I ask as we get into a sleek, black car that collects us from the airport.

Antonio shrugs as he pulls his phone out. I can see the screen littered with notifications, but he closes out of all of them before turning his phone off. “You can get a lot done when you have money. Everything has a price, unfortunately.”

“Even you?”

“We both know the answer to that,” he says calmly before he rests his head back on the seat.

I use the opportunity to check my notifications, as well.

TheBehind The Scenesgroup chat has more than ninety-nine notifications, which seems to revolve around Natalia and her manager arguing again and Sel complaining about Gus, all of which Valerie is navigating beautifully, so I refrain from butting in.

It’s the next name with over twenty notifications that catches my eye.

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