Page 78 of Embrace
I hadn't heard her come into the restroom, nor had I smelled her overly sweetened perfume. I wished I had. I probably would have stayed in the stall. While looking into the eyes of Julia Valentine, I felt my head floating away from body. I looked at the door. It was behind her.
She smirked and folded her arms as if daring me to try to get past her. “So, you’re my sister, kind of.”
I was lost for words, simply because it was surreal to be standing across from the woman who had been the villain in every story I’d heard about her. I looked for similarities between us. We both had dark hair. Her brown eyes were a bit lighter than mine. My cheekbones were higher and my lips poutier, and her lips were thinner yet formed into a bowtie. Julia had a softer, small-boned quality to her. I was built more like my mother and my aunt.
“What has Asher told you about me?” she asked.
All the bad stories, from extortion to her being toxically selfish, came to mind.
“I see,” she said, reading my face. “That bad, huh?” She smiled, and she looked harmless.
I went to the sink to quickly wash my hands, and she walked over to stand beside me.
The water was cold, and I wished I hadn’t drunk two and a half glasses of wine. My reactions were slow, and because of it, I felt vulnerable.
“Well, listen. I know we’re not going to be acting as real sisters. Your mother was my father’s mistress.”
The wordsmotherandmistresssounded off in my head like two consecutive gunshots. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked, glaring at her.
“He was married to my mother, so that makes your mother his mistress.”
My mouth was stuck open as I stared at her.Does she really not comprehend what she’s saying? Or is she trying to rattle me? Or is it her goal to revise history?Maybe she needed to believe her father wasn’t a man who raped little girls. He certainly wasn’t my father—he was the man who raped my mother, and his violence against her had produced me.
“You know what…” I snatched a paper towel out of the holder. “Fuck you. Stay away from me.”
I tried to walk around Julia, but she stepped in front of me.
“Move.”
One of her eyes narrowed to slits. The other was glazed over. The woman looked evil. “Don’t you want to know?” she asked.
“No,” I said and shoved her out of my way. I could hardly believe I had done that as I took large steps toward the door, feeling the urgent need to escape.
Julia had stumbled but recovered, and she put her hand on my shoulder. “He’s not a good guy, and I have proof.” She sounded as if she was trying to keep her voice low.
Asher’s warning repeated in my head. Julia was not to be trusted. The stark bright lights of the hallway were a welcome relief. I kept running away from her.
“Get away from me, Julia,” I said as loudly as I could while thrusting my shoulder forward, trying to get her to release me. She would not let go.
Then the sight of someone else made me stop in my tracks. The woman, who was less than ten feet away from me, stopped to study me as well. We had the same dark hair. The features that were missing on Julia’s face were on hers.
Julia stood beside me, her face close to mine. Her spittle sprayed my face as she said something about being in possession of a video that showed how awful Asher used to treat her, though I would have to meet her at her hotel room to see it. That was the trap, of course. The more she spoke, the farther away she sounded. Then Asher appeared behind her, and Julia finally shut her mouth.
It took a moment to see that the woman had a hand over her heart, and she looked petrified. “I heard you screaming,” she said, watching Julia curiously.
Before I could respond, Asher said loudly, “Julia, follow me.” His eyes stayed on mine as he walked past me.
“Who is she?” Julia asked, her curious gaze bouncing between Mary and me.
“Julia, either come with me, or I’ll have security escort you out.”
I could feel Julia’s eyes on me, but I didn’t move a muscle.
“Who is she, though?”
“Now!” Asher bellowed.
After a moment, Julia stepped away from me. I listened to them walking away from me and was mildly worried about her being all alone with Asher. He could be trusted. She could not.
