19. Lucia

CHAPTER 19

Lucia

" W ho's the Hulk?" is the first question my sister asks as soon as I walk into the living room at the mansion and I have to fight very hard not to laugh out loud at that.

I just know Ruslan wanted to roll his eyes. I don't look at him, though, immediately rushing forward to hug her.

"That is Ruslan. My bodyguard," I tell her with a smile. "Well, technically Ivan's bodyguard. But he gave him to me today."

"How generous of him," she drawls, giving Ruslan a critical glance.

I sigh softly before turning to the other occupant in the room, "Hey, Sab," I greet.

Sabrina Miller is my sister's best friend, but she's my friend as well. I've known her for years. She and Aurora attended college together and they've been close ever since. If I had to use one word to describe Sabrina, it would be "fiery." And that's not even including the fact that she has red hair. She's amazing and fiercely protective.

"How are you, Lucy Luce?" she says fondly, throwing her arms around me.

She's a few inches shorter than me with pretty green eyes. "I'm okay. And you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

My sister studies my face for a couple of moments. "You look good. For someone who's being held hostage."

"I'm not being held hostage," I mutter.

She arches an eyebrow. "Says who? I vividly remember Volkov barging into our home and demanding we give him to you or else death, bloodshed, gore. Or am I mistaken?"

"No, sounds accurate," I say on a sigh.

Sabrina laughs at that.

"Exactly. The man kidnapped you and is trying to force you into a marriage. He's an asshole, simple as that. No offence, Ruslan," she says, looking over my shoulder.

Ruslan simply grunts at that. I don't think he's ever said five words in my presence unless he was speaking to Ivan. The man takes his job very seriously.

"Okay, okay, that's enough," I say, linking my arms through hers. "Where's that darling nephew of mine?"

"He's asleep," she replies apologetically. "But he'll be up soon."

"Okay. And Nicky?"

"He's out."

"Okay, we can talk in the meantime, then. Ruslan, can you give us some privacy?" I ask, because I really don't need him hovering about right now.

Not when I'm about to come clean to my sister. About everything.

Oh, boy. She's going to kill me.

I don't ask Sabrina to leave because frankly, she's also like a big sister to me and I'm gonna need her to be the voice of reason when Aurora loses her shit. Ruslan leaves and we all take a seat on the couch. Aurora already has her eyebrows raised.

"Why do you have that look on your face? What happened? What did he do?" she asks in quick succession.

"Rory, chill. He hasn't done anything to me. At least, not anything I haven't wanted," I add thoughtfully.

"Oh god," Aurora says, her face growing paler.

Seriously?

Sabrina has a smirk on her face. She starts to rub Aurora's back in small, soothing circles. "We're listening, darling," she tells me.

"Okay, but before I start, I'm going to need you not to freak out, Rory. And don't be mad that I kept it from you."

"Kept what?" she asks, her eyes narrowed.

"A lot," I murmur.

Aurora sighs before nodding. "Okay. I'm a big girl. I can take it."

"Let's hope so," Sabrina says with a smile. "Go on, Luce."

"Alright. Where to start from?" I drawl. "Okay, so the first thing you need to know is that I lost my job."

My sister's jaw drops. Sabrina doesn't have too much of a reaction but her eyes do soften.

"You what? When did that happen?"

"A couple of weeks ago. It's why I didn't come immediately after you had Ale. I had to get my shit in order, pack up all my stuff. It's all in storage right now. I was going to ask if I could move back in here, until everything with Ivan happened."

Aurora raises her hand. "Wait, slow down. What happened? You were doing so well with that company. Weren't you just promoted a few months ago? Why were you fired?"

"I didn't get fired exactly. I quit," I state.

There were about to fire me but I left on my own, tried to preserve that last bit of my dignity. Aurora looks like she's about to be sick.

"Tell us what happened, sweetie," Sabrina prompts.

I tell them all about the bastard Hans Murray and how he tried to assault me. I also inform them that I made sure he didn't get far and I kneed him in the fucking balls.

"Unfortunately, he's very connected in the industry. His mother's a famous designer. She's pretty close to the head of the magazine, as well. Hans only had to go crying to her and I was immediately blacklisted. No one wanted to hear my side of the story. Plus, I knew it wouldn't matter. We were alone in that office, it was his word against mine?—"

"Screw that," Aurora exclaims, interrupting me. She gets to her feet, brown eyes blazing. "Get up. We're going to New York. Nico will come with us. We'll get that asshole to confess to what he did on tape and then Nico can kill him."

I sigh. "Why is murder always you people's solution to everything?"

"You got a better idea?" she asks in annoyance.

"Yes. I have a plan to take care of Hans. Come on, Rory, you know me. Do you really think I'm going to let him get away with this? Revenge is a dish best served cold. And I'm a master at it," I say assuringly.

Hans will get what's coming to him. I'll make sure of it.

"Oh, alright," Aurora mutters, slowly lowering herself down into the couch. "I hate that you lost your job, though. You loved that job and you were so good at it."

"Yeah," I say sadly. "I hate it, too."

"Are you okay, though? He really didn't get far?" Sabrina asks gently, worry in her green eyes.

I shake my head. "He didn't, I promise. And I'm fine. Not traumatized or anything. Just really fucking angry. And in disbelief that everyone I worked with was so quick to turn their backs on me. I mean, you think you know people and then when you need them, poof, they're gone."

Even Simone, who I'd thought was fairly close to me. I gave her tickets to a Taylor Swift concert once. And she hasn't bothered to call me once since I left. Goes to show that there was never any loyalty.

"The only people you can only trust is family, sorella ," Aurora says softly, leaning forward to place her hand over mine comfortingly.

"Sometimes even family can disappoint you, though. Just trust yourself, Lucy Luce," Sabrina chimes in.

My sister and I both look at her and she shrugs.

"That's incredibly cynical, Sab," I say on a laugh.

"Cynicism is what keeps the world turning."

"I somehow doubt that," I drawl.

"Was that all you wanted to say?" Aurora questions, her eyes meeting mine.

If only.

I shake my head, my lips pressing together. There is absolutely no part of me that wants to tell her this. But she needs to know. I look down at my hands, the words leaving my mouth in a rush.

"I slept with Ivan."

There's a stunned silence for two seconds. And then Aurora's getting to her feet again.

"I knew it! That fucking bastard. He made you sleep with him, didn't he? I am going to murder him," she vows.

"What? No!" I shout. "He didn't make me do anything. Seriously, Rory. That came out the wrong way. I shouldn't have started like that. Sit down. And would you please stop saying you'll murder people?"

She huffs out a breath but when Sabrina tugs on her hand, she lowers her body again.

"If you stand up again, I'll tie you to this couch," Sabrina threatens, making me smile.

"Whatever. You." She points at me. "Speak."

"Ivan and I met like a month ago." I don't miss the way Aurora's eyes widen but I power on quickly so she doesn't interrupt again until I'm done. "I had a dinner meeting at a restaurant, with Hans Murray, but the bastard stood me up. Ivan ended up having dinner with me that night and we got on. One thing led to another and we ended up sleeping together. It was meant to be a one-time thing. Which is why I was pretty surprised when he showed up here two weeks ago asking me to marry him. I hadn't seen him again after that night. And I had no clue who he was or that he was even in the Bratva."

The silence that follows my confession is borderline painful. Aurora seems like she's having a hard time taking it all in. Sabrina looks a little confused. I don't blame them. It's a lot.

"Let's start over," Aurora says. "You already knew who Ivan Volkov was when he walked into our house two weeks ago?"

I can see that she's about to get angry.

"Yes and no," I reply. "I had met him but I had no idea who he was, Rory."

"You slept with a guy you didn't know," she says dryly.

"He gave me his name. I just didn't realize he was in the mafia. Don't judge me, Aurora. I'm a grown woman. I'm also single, which means I'm allowed to sleep with whoever I want to."

"He's twenty years older than you," she retorts. "Did you know that when you were sleeping with him?"

"Yes," I say, crossing my arms. "It doesn't matter to me."

She opens her mouth to speak, then shuts it again before looking away. I can feel that she's disappointed in me and it hurts. A lot.

"Okay, both of you calm down," Sabrina speaks up. "Aurora, your sister's right—she's allowed to sleep with whoever she wants to. She's grown and it's her body. She can make her own choices."

"Thank you," I murmur, relieved that she's seeing my side.

"At the same time, what you did was wrong, Lucia. I understand being shocked when he first arrived, demanding to marry you. But you had chances to tell your sister who he was and you didn't," she points out.

"I know, and I feel awful about it. I'm sorry, Rory. I should have told you as soon as I realized who he was."

Aurora doesn't say a word. She doesn't even look at me, her arms crossed over her chest. Sabrina pokes her side but she doesn't even budge. She sighs before turning to me.

"So what's going on now? This man, Ivan Volkov, I'm guessing he developed an interest in you after sleeping with you?"

"Yeah, something like that," I reply.

"And now he wants to marry you. What about you, Lucia? Do you like him?"

"Well… I—" I don't know how to answer the question.

"Oh god," Aurora says, looking at me with wide eyes. "He's Stockholm-syndromed you."

For some reason, that makes me laugh. Sabrina laughs as well.

"What? I'm being serious. She has feelings for a guy who's forcing her into a marriage," she states on a frown.

"Well, actually, he tried to give me an out. Ivan said I could say no if I wanted to. I'm choosing to stay with him. Because despite everything, I think I do kind of like him," I tell her. "He's much better than you give him credit for, Rory. I promise. He's a decent man and he's been nothing but kind to me."

"He's also good-looking," Sabrina says with a smile. "Your sister showed me pictures, and damn. I don't blame you one bit for sleeping with him. I would, too."

I grin. I love Sabrina so much.

"Who cares if he looks good? The man is obviously psychotic," Aurora mutters.

"As opposed to your husband?" Sabrina counters smoothly. "Plus, if I'm remembering correctly, didn't Nico also force you into marrying him? This situation isn't much different than that."

I made the right decision by involving her in this conversation. Thank God she's here. Aurora doesn't seem to have anything to say in reply to that.

"He really treats me well, Rory," I say to my sister.

"So what? You're going to marry him?"

That gives me pause. I'm still not a hundred percent sure I'm ready to get married. To Ivan, to anyone. I don't even love the man—how can I marry him?

"I'm not sure yet," I answer.

There's also the issue of Adrian and his request. I don't want to marry Ivan without knowing if he was responsible. I decide not to mention it, though. It feels personal and if Aurora knew Adrian asked me to go ahead with the marriage, she'd be even more angry.

Like I summoned him with my thoughts, Adrian himself appears in the doorway. His walks into the room with a charming smile.

"Hello, ladies," he says smoothly. I stand up to give him a hug. I kind of missed him over the past two weeks. We've barely texted. "Hey, chipmunk. How've you been?"

"I've been good."

"How did you know she was here?" Aurora asks, her eyes narrowed.

"I know everything, Rory," he says, releasing me to look down at the two women still seated. His expression becomes flirty when his eyes land on Sabrina, who's doing a good job of pretending he didn't even walk in. "Hey, shortcake. How's it going?"

I slap his shoulder. "Would you quit it with the terrible nicknames? They're not cute."

"Sabrina likes her nickname," he states with a grin. "Don't you, shortcake?" He nudges her shoulder and she slaps his hand away, rolling her eyes.

"I would say it's nice to see you, Rossi, but it's really not. Crawl in a hole and die, would you?" she asks, looking up at him, green eyes filled with fire.

Damn, harsh.

Adrian should be offended by that but his grin is still as wide as ever. "We're best friends," he tells me with a wink.

"No, you're not," Aurora speaks up. "Sabrina hates your guts, and with good reason."

I'm about to ask why exactly she hates him but Adrian speaks up before I can.

"So, what were you gorgeous ladies talking about before I came in?"

The tension in the room returns as soon as he asks the question. Aurora's face falls, while I sigh.

"You don't need to know," I answer simply. "But it's good that you're here. I need to talk to you."

After one last look at my sister, I pull Adrian out of the door. Aurora needs time to take in all of my revelations. Adrian's here for a reason, so we might as well get it out of the way now. I lead him outside, toward the bench we sat on the other day.

We're both silent for a couple of moments.

"Come on, talk to me. What's been going on at the house of horrors?" he prompts.

"It's not a house of horrors," I retort. "Things have been pretty great."

"Meaning you haven't found any evidence your fiancé's a cold-blooded murderer?" he questions, arching an eyebrow.

"Not for a lack of trying," I reply, avoiding his gaze.

After Ivan left earlier today, I went back into his room to look for clues or anything that could point me in the right direction. I knew Adrian would have questions as soon as I came here. He and I haven't spoken about it since he's worried Ivan might have bugged my phone. Which is honestly a legitimate fear.

"He doesn't conduct any business at the villa," I state.

"I know. Most of it is done at his hotel. It's his home base. He has an intelligence team there, top-of-the-line hackers and equipment that probably rivals that of the Shadow," he says, frowning.

"Who's the Shadow?"

Adrian smirks. "Some annoying dude. He's not important. Tell me about Volkov. Has he at least been treating you well?"

I feel guilty. Adrian's my friend and he deserves to know the truth. I know I shouldn't, but suddenly my mouth is moving and I'm telling him everything. I guess today's the day I come clean to everyone. Who's next? Nico? Explaining all of this to my brother-in-law is the last thing I want to do. I'm sure his wife will be happy to do so on my behalf.

"What the fuck, Lucia?" Adrian asks when I'm done. "So you actually want to marry him? You don't care about what I asked?"

"Of course not. I do care."

"Lucia, I told you that man was responsible for my mother's death and your response was to, what? Sleep with him?" he asks angrily.

I inhale softly. "I'm trying to help you, Adrian. I'm trying to do what's best for everybody. Calm the hell down!"

He actually does seem to calm down. Adrian doesn't like losing his shit. He's a pretty chill guy, which is how I knew I could tell him. He's quiet for a long time, thinking it all over.

"What are you planning, chipmunk?" he asks finally, his expression resolved.

"Honestly, I'm just biding my time until everything makes sense. And I'm not going to stop until the truth about your mom comes out," I assure him.

"And what are you going to do when it does?"

"If he was really responsible for what happened to your mother, then he's not the man I'm falling for," I reply, feeling brave enough to say the words for the first time.

Adrian sighs before throwing his arms around my shoulder and pulling me closer. "I really hope you know what you're doing, Luce."

"Me too," I murmur.

"And, full disclosure, I still plan on killing the man at the end of all this. He's not getting away with what he did," he tells me.

I can't even blame him for that. But I do feel a pang of sorrow at the thought of Ivan dying. I'm at the point where I don't think I'd be able to stand by and let that happen. Adrian's words make me think of something else, though.

I sit up straight suddenly, my eyes finding Adrian's green ones. "Wait, do you have anything to do with what happened last night?"

"You mean his brother going missing?" he asks dryly.

My heart drops. "Wait, really? You're the one Alexei's working with?"

"No," he scoffs.

I look at him in disbelief. "Then how do you know what happened?"

"Because like I keep saying, I know everything. Y'all need to starting hearing me, for real," he says with a frown.

"Adrian, this is serious. Ivan's doing everything he can to locate his brother. If you have something to do with it, then tell me," I say earnestly.

He rolls his eyes. "Fine, I'll be honest. I was going after Alexei, but someone else got to him before I could. It's pretty well known that Volkov's only weakness is his little brother. I planned to exploit that, but I was too late."

"This is a fucking mess," I mutter, running a hand through my hair.

"Tell me about it," Adrian says, leaning back against his hand. He glances at me for a moment before looking back up at the sky. "So… tell me about him. Why do you like the man? And try not to mention his name. If I don't hear it, then maybe I can pretend the person you're talking about isn't someone I really want to murder."

I smile at that, my heart warming. "I'm never going to say this again, but I love you, Adrian."

He's my family, same as Aurora, and Nico and Sabrina and of course my little nephew.

"I will also never say this again, but I love you too, chipmunk," he says grudgingly, his eyes warm. "Now tell me about your dumb boyfriend."

I laugh before telling him all about the night I met Ivan. It's nice to talk about it with him. Adrian listens attentively, providing snide remarks but also being as supportive as he can be, which I appreciate.

It gives me hope. That maybe, somehow, this will all work out.