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She places her hand on my shoulder, her expression softening as she vainly tries to display she cares about me. “I’m not asking you to step back solely for myself. This could destroy Riley as much as it could you. Don’t put her through more pain than necessary. She’s been through enough.”
I pull away from her touch, my heart pounding. I’m not shocked she is placing the entire burden of our family’s secretson my shoulders. She has done it my whole life. But this is the first time she’s used Riley to get me on board with her plans.
Usually, she acts as if she doesn’t exist.
“Ark—”
“I need time,” I interrupt, my tone announcing I’m not making a suggestion. It is a demand.
“Time is not in your favor. Ballots?—”
“I. Need. Time,” I repeat more forcefully.
“Fine.” My mother sighs, her shoulders slumping before she heads for the door. Never one to leave without having the last word, just before she exits, she says, “I just want what is best for you. You’re my only child, and I don’t want to see everything you’ve worked so hard for stolen from you because you’ve forgotten that being the head of the family means you sometimes have to make difficult decisions.”
I watch her exit, equally furious and confused. I know what she is asking is too much, but I can’t shake the feeling that she is also right.
I’m also super curious to discover why she left Riley out of the equation while referencing how many children she has.
20
MARA
“You should try it on.”
Even with my heart racing a million miles an hour from being snuck up on unawares, I keep my balk hidden. I doubt a day will pass when I won’t have to suppress the urge to squeal, but the more I work with Ark’s team, the more developed my skills are becoming.
I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. Even long-term employees struggled to hide their fright when Ark’s mother arrived out of nowhere for an impromptu visit at the beginning of the week. They scrambled in all directions, leaving me as the sole employee to officially welcome her.
She didn’t accept the hand I held out to her in offering so a woman as refined and influential as her wouldn’t be subjected to my annoying stutter. She dismissed my welcome with a gesture nowhere near as friendly and with her chest puffed out like a rooster.
The air stretching the material of her couture blouse deflated like a popped balloon when Ark halted my exit by snatching up my wrist. He gave me no indication I should be fearful of the repercussions of my cowardice when he told me he wouldmeet me in the kitchen, but I must not be competent in his expressions, because I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since Monday morning.
It is now Friday afternoon.
I stuff away my pathetic whine for a more appropriate time when the person who snuck up on me reminds me that they’re still present. “The color will contrast beautifully with your skin tone, and it will make your eyes even more dazzling.”
I finish taking in a one-of-a-kind Wilfred Iwona gown before spinning to face the voice. I’m not surprised by Riley’s arrival considering her high placement on Ark’s team, more relieved.
Riley and Rafael were the only two people who didn’t glare at me with disdain when I was introduced as the newest member of Ark’s team at the commencement of my placement. They smiled with their eyes before joining me in the kitchen for the impromptu brunch Ark had instigated but failed to attend.
Breakfast was plentiful. The spread that morning and each that followed was more than Ark’s team could handle. You’d swear Chef is feeding an army of a hundred, not the ten or so guests who float in and out of Ark’s apartment throughout the day.
The wastage was heartbreaking until Chef boxed up the leftovers at the end of the day and had Darius load them into the car that drove me home. The residents of my building have been eating like kings, and although it has only been a week, my uniform is already getting a little tight around the midsection.
When Riley arches a brow, impatiently awaiting an answer, I run my hand down the gown she caught me admiring. “It’s beautiful, but I don’t think it is me.”
“Why?” she asks, her tone neither stern nor angry. She’s more curious than anything.
“Because…”
I want to say that never in my life would I find it suitable to spend eight thousand dollars on a dress, but the pain in Riley’s eyes cuts me off. They’re so bright and confident, yet clouding years of hurt—possibly even decades. My stinginess could cut her down further if she mistakes my reply, so I’d rather veer on the side of caution.
“Because today isn’t about me.” My chest sinks as pain strikes my heart. “It’s about her.”
Unlike mine, Riley’s sigh is vocal when she follows the direction of my gaze. A film crew is documenting Veronika’s visit to Wilfred Iwona’s invitation-only boutique. Her charm and intelligence have had the crew eating out of her palm for the past three hours and me quickly remembering my place.
I’ll be fortunate to carry her purchases, so I don’t need to try them on.