Page 99 of The Bridesmaid

There are a lot of emotions in Leopold’s face. We’ve always bonded over being immigrants. Being strong. But there’s something in his expression I’ve never seen before.

‘Tell me the truth, Petra. Simone got access to parts of Silky’s court case. The whole school thing. Did they do that stuff to Adrianna and Georgia?’

I felt my jaw stiffen. ‘No,’ I lie. ‘They didn’t.’

‘It’s just … Isn’t it weird? What Silky said happened in school. And Adrianna’s kidnap …’ He looks at me. It’s the first time I’ve ever lied to him, and he knows it.

‘We loved each other once, didn’t we?’ he says sadly.

‘Right up until you asked me to marry you,’ I tell him. ‘You might think yourself a New Yorker, Leopold, but having a mistress is part of the look.’

He looks at the floor, then back at me.

‘I wish I had,’ I tell him. ‘I wish I had married you.’

‘Then why didn’t you?’ He sounds angry, suddenly.

I give him a small smile. ‘Penance,’ I say. ‘I couldn’t have done that to your daughters. It wouldn’t have done either of us any good. And it’s too late now. Besides,’ I cut him a small smile, ‘you don’t have any money.’

‘I gotta go. Need to figure a way to land those guests in a storm.’

‘And if you can’t?’

His face is grim. ‘I honestly don’t know.’

I move toward him, sliding my hands around his waist, and pushing my body close to his.

‘You’ll figure it out,’ I whisper in his ear. ‘You always do.’

He doesn’t respond how he usually does, and a flash of shock and hurt echoes through me. I push it back down, concentrating on keeping him distracted as I kiss him goodbye. Leopold doesn’t see me reach behind him and slide the gun from the bedside table. He always keeps extra firearms close by on Elysium.

‘I’m going for a walk,’ I tell him. He nods distractedly, and I gauge his lack of interest.

There’s plenty of time for me to slip down to the panic room without being seen. So long as I’m back before dawn, Leopold will never even notice his gun was missing.

I’m not about to let Holly get hold of those documents and tear the Kensingtons apart. Leopold will never appreciate everything I do for him.

Chapter eighty-one

ADRIANNA

The Tower Suite bed linens are scented with the outdated florals I requested be modernized. It’s dark save for a spray of stars, and the only sound is the ocean, as it rakes rhythmically over the white sand.

Where is everyone?

I try to sit, and realize with shock that my body feels horribly heavy. There’s a pain in my head, too. Slowly, I bring the shining edge of the infinity pool into view as it tumbles away into the blackness below.

I’m getting married tomorrow. Or is it today?

We don’t put anything as vulgar as clocks in our suites, so I have no idea what time it is. But as I cast around, I see something next to me on the bed. It’s a person. So still, I didn’t notice them sleeping beside me.

There’s a pop of bright orange hair sticking out of the comforter.Ophelia, I realize with something amounting to slightly sick shock.Ophelia climbed into bed with me and fell asleep.

There’s a loud knock at the door, which takes me several seconds to process. My head isn’t working right, and my eyes are sore. Dusty.

Slowly, I swing my feet out of the bed, and that’s when I realize I’m naked. I grab at a sheet to cover myself, just as the door starts to swing slowly open.

‘Dri?’ A shadowy figure. Familiar male voice.