Chapter 9

MACI

Once Luca drops me back at the venue, I go to find Misty.

"Good morning," I hear shouted from across the room.

Going up to her and giving her a quick hug, I gush about how great Luca is.

"Are you two going to see each other again?" she asks quizzically.

"He says we're going to plan a future together. Oh, Misty, he's everything I've ever wanted in a man. We have so much in common, and when he touches me, it literally curls my toes in pleasure."

"That's amazing, Maci. Seeing you so happy and finding a connection with someone is what I've wanted for you for so long. I'm a proud mama bear right now."

Misty and I work as we talk, cleaning the ballroom of all the decorations.

"There is a problem, though." I pause because I feel guilty about having lied to Luca. Maybe my friend can give me some advice, because I don't know how to tell him the truth.

She stops and listens to me, knowing from my tone that I'm worried.

"I told Luca my name was Sophia. Not thinking that it would be more than a quick hookup or a one nighter, I didn't see any harm in it. But now that he wants to build a relationship and the connection that we have is so strong, how do I tell him I lied to him, and my name is Maci?"

My eyes glaze over with unshed tears. Hoping that telling a lie as soon as we met isn't a deal-breaker for Luca, I try to calm myself.

Misty brings me in for another hug. "Honey, you just have to be honest with him and hope that the connection you share is strong enough to bring you both together in the end."

"I know it's only been one night, but I can't lose him, Misty. It's like nothing I've ever felt for anyone before, and I wish I had just been honest with him from the beginning."

Once we finish cleaning, I make my way back to the condo and I'm determined I'm going to come clean to Luca about my name. Raising my hand to knock on the door, I'm startled when it opens, and a beautiful woman stands in front of me. The woman is tall, and her waist is tiny, while her breasts are huge. Her nails are manicured and painted blood red, her lips are full, and she has high cheekbones, as well as perfect olive skin. Her caramel-brown eyes sparkle and her hair is so thick and luxurious that she should do shampoo commercials. She's everything that I'm not.

"Is Luca home?" I ask, unsure of myself standing in front of this woman who is intimidating. Clinging to the hope that she is his sister or a friend, I try to tamp down my worries.

"What do you want with my husband," she asks with her brows scrunched causing her face to not look as perfect.

"Your what?" I choke out. I expected her to say a lot of things but that was not one of them. My chest is on fire, and I feel like I've had the breath knocked out of me. "He's married?" A wave of nausea hits me, and I feel like I'm going to throw up.

"Oh, honey, you are another one of his one-night stands. Don't feel bad, you aren't the only one. He's done this lots of times. He dates younger women, fucks them, and tells them he's going to give them the world, only to never contact them again."

A stray tear runs down my cheek as I look at this woman in shock. She goes on talking to me. "We've been married for five years, and he's had hundreds of affairs. I know about them, but what am I to do? I love my husband. But I'm constantly reminded of his infidelity, especially when his whores keep coming to my doorstep." She sniffles as if she's crying, but no tears are visible.

Being called a whore should piss me off, but this woman is a victim of her husband's callous serial cheating, and if I were in her shoes, I would be angry too, so I let the words pass.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know he was married." Not knowing what else to say, I turn and run out of the building as fast as my legs will carry me.

Once I'm a few blocks away, I stop and cry.

I can't believe Luca made me the other woman. A mistress, a home wrecker, a whore. He fed me all of that garbage about me being the one and wanting a future with me, and the whole time he was married to another woman.

What an idiot I've been. I should have known that no one declares they want a person forever after just one night together. Every word he said to me, I took to heart and believed.

Ashamed and not knowing what else to do, I go back to my apartment. It's tiny and in a terrible neighborhood, but I have been putting my extra money in savings to open my bakery. Now I'm thinking it might be time for me to make a fresh start somewhere else and use that money I've saved up to do it. No way can I ever show my face in this town again after sleeping with a married man.