Page 41 of Heir of Darkness

Relief filled her immediately. Finally, someone normal enough.

“I didn’t know you were here,” Gianna told her, a bright smile on her face. “I just saw Blair with her mom and Cecilia is hiding out somewhere. I’m sure you’ll see her eventually.”

“I just got here,” Luna said. “Unfortunately, I was stopped before I could find any of you.”

Valerio smirked, leaning into her. “Don’t sound so bitter about it. You agreed to be my date after all.”

He handed her the drink. The rim was lined with sugar that she didn’t hesitate to lick off before taking a sip of the drink. He watched the whole time and she would have thought it was amusing if the hunger in his gaze didn’t send a shot of pleasure up her spine.

It was easier to pretend she wasn’t attracted to him when she remembered that they were in an arranged marriage she didn’t want. But even that line was beginning to blur more and more as they spent time together.

He had substance and she hated it. Why couldn’t he be like the other assholes in this room that bragged about how much money they had and couldn’t hold a conversation?

Luna turned back to Gianna completely ignoring him. “Would you like to sit and hang out with us?”

“No.” Valerio’s answer was immediate. “I think she has to go mingle.”

Despite the pleading look Luna gave her, Gianna shook her head. “As much as I would like to sit in this weird sexual tension the two of you have going on, I would actually rather be anywhere else. Sorry.” She walked away without another word, shooting Luna an apologetic look.

“Bitch,” Luna muttered under her breath.

“I’m not that terrible of company, you know?”

She sighed. That was exactly what she feared. She swallowed down her entire glass sitting it down on the bar a little too aggressively. “Order me another one,” she told him.

He did just that, giving her a cautious look. “We still have to go say hi to people.”

“I know. You seem to forget I’ve been doing this my whole life. I know how to play nice with people I hate,” she told him.

“Everyone except me.”

She thought for a second. “Well, if I’m stuck with you for the rest of my life, I might as well learn to play nice.”

He handed her the drink once the bartender set it in front of them. She began walking away, but his hand grabbed her wrist stopping her. He frowned, a deep intensity in his gaze.

“On second thought, don’t. I don’t want anything from you if it isn’t authentic. I would rather you hate me but know it’s real, than have you pretend to tolerate me.”

His hand intertwined with hers and they walked into the crowd of people as if what he said hadn’t squeezed Luna’s heart in the most uncomfortable way. She couldn’t understand why he would ever want hatred over tolerance, but as they mingled with people and accepted congratulations, it hit her. They were surrounded by inauthenticity. People smiling and playing nice for the sake of closing deals and keeping their reputations.

There was one thing Valerio had asked of her: honesty.

That felt like the hardest thing to give when she couldn’t even offer it to herself.

Valerio talked with the couple in front of him, but she was long done with the conversation and with her drink. The only interesting thing was their reflection in the mirror that hung on the wall in front of them.

She looked like the spitting image of her mother; so much so it made her stop, her breath catching in her throat. She looked every bit like the dutiful mafia wife standing beside her powerful husband.

Valerio found her lower back, his hand heating the skin. They looked so good together. Every bit like the powerful couple everyone wanted them to be.

A part of her hated it. Hated how much it made her feel like her mother, hated how powerless she felt. Why? She wasn’t even sure herself. Maybe it was the entire notion of their relationship catching up to them. It wasn’t her choice. The foundation of their relationship was built on force, on an arrangement making her feel like she was an object to be bought in the first place.

The other part of her made her feel sick because a part of her didn’t mind standing beside him.

She didn’t mind how he introduced her first and seemed so proud that she was his fiancé. He held her like they were meant to be together, acknowledging how perfectly their bodies fit against each other as if he had always known.

He listened to her talk and cared about what she had to say and it shouldn’t have seemed so groundbreaking, but no man in her life had ever done the same for her.

She was confused beyond belief.

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