Page 151 of Savage Empire

My eyes widen, hearing the bold way she speaks about her very healthy marriage. I had no idea she started her relationship with Dmitri Morozov in secret, but it seems to have turned out perfectly for her. Dmitri is basically another Moretti, Ivan too.

And their children are treated like precious little beings, never to want for anything. So, while it sounds scandalous, it isn’t that bad.

“You’re in love,” I reason with a shrug. “That doesn’t seem that bad…”

“I slept with my stepbrother,” Ana tacks on, her lips twitching between a frown and a smile.

“With Killian Knight?” I gape, eyes wide. “Does Cassio know?”

Jade bursts into laughter, giggling hard while Ana fights a smile.

“No, not Killian. Cole, before he…We were together.”

Cole Knight, Killian’s brother and one of the few British mafia royalty. I had heard he was killed by his father, and that Bron Knight’s betrayal is what prompted Ana’s marriage to Cassio Moretti. I didn’t know that she was previously with Cole.

God, that poor girl. No wonder she couldn’t form a full smile while confessing.

“He died in front of me.”

“I—” My stomach drops, and my face must as well.

Ana reaches out, grabbing my hand as if to soothe me for her trauma. “Oh, no, don’t be sad for me. It’s okay, I’m not looking for sympathy. Cassio got me through it. I just wanted to give an example. We’ve been througha lot.”

Jade nods empathetically.

“You go now,” Ana whispers, elbowing Jade softly.

“Oh!” Jade blurts. “Ummm, I grew up with my aunt who was pretending to be my mom. She let her boyfriend terrorize me for over a decade. I had no idea who my dad was or that I had brothers until I was a few weeks from my eighteenth birthday.”

The information comes out like a shock straight to my stomach. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah.” Jade winces. “It’s worse than that, really. I’ll spare the details but my aunt cut me out of my mom, accidentally killing my twin brother in the process. If I say anything more about it, I’ll cry and my husband will be upset.”

I knew Jade was a lost daughter, but I had no clue on the details. It seemed wrong to ask. And hearing it summarized, I’m glad I didn’t try and investigate.

“Not that I can’t cry around him, he’s the best. But he might blame you for it before I can explain and he’s touchy about me.”

“He’s so relatable.” Ana sighs. “If someone made Cassio cry I would want to rip out their lungs and sew them into their ribs like Cat’s cradle.”

“You go again,” Jade tells her. “Something less depressing. This is supposed to be proof that we’re not perfect and it’s turning into a good old fashioned trauma dump.”

“You guys really don’t have to do this.” I swallow hard. “We don’t have to be close friends.”

The words taste like ash, but they’re true. I have a best friend. Sienna is enough, even if she can’t be physically with me for now. I like Jade and Ana, they seem great…but I don’t need them to be my friends because they feel bad for me or because they think they should be.

Just because I’m marrying Apollo, it doesn’t mean we need to become close. We can manage a perfectly healthy future while just being cordial. I can handle that.

“You’re smiling,” I realize, looking between the two girls. “Why are you smiling?”

I just told them we don’t have to be friends, and they’re looking at me like they want to hug me.

“I told Jade I didn’t want to be friends the first time we met,” Ana reveals, grinning happily. “It was circumstantial, what I really meant was not right then. But all the same, I think you just cemented your future as one of our best friends, Rayna love.”

“Definitely,” Jade agrees. “So don’t fight it, we’re going to keep blurting out our past sins until you trust our intentions. Aren’t we, Ana?”

“Sure are.”

I watch in utter bewilderment as the two girls go back and forth, listing out things they certainly shouldn’t and most likely wouldn’t confess to a stranger. Or a Priest.