Page 29 of Veil of Obsession

I smile, the kind that means nothing. “I’ve been as well as you’d expect, Riko.”

She hums, watching me carefully, but there’s no suspicion in her gaze. Just curiosity. She and my brother have only been engaged for a month, and I know she had as much choice as my brother did with this engagement. They both didn’t want this; their engagement is nothing more than a business transaction. Riko is sharp—born in the Yakuza, she’s perceptive. But not perceptive enough to know what’s coiling beneath my skin.

I rest my gloved hand on the terrace railing, tilting my head. “Are you excited for the wedding?”

She exhales, shifting beside me. “I should be.”

She isn’t.

“But?”

A small, knowing smile touches her lips. “But your brother is an impossible man.”

I chuckle softly, shaking my head. “That’s the understatement of the century.”

She laughs, taking another sip of wine before setting her glass down on the stone ledge. “It’s not him I’m worried about.”

I arch a brow. “Then what is it?”

She hesitates, gaze flicking toward the ballroom. “The expectations. The pressure. The way people watch, waiting for a misstep. I’ve had to watch for that my entire life. But with your brother, I can’t exactly control or tell him what to do and what not to do. And in our world, infidelity is a dime a dozen.”

That makes me pause. I know the feeling intimately.

I glance at her, really looking. Riko is composed, the picture of elegance, but there’s a thread of tension beneath it all.

I tap my nails against my glass. “I’m sure you’ve been told you’ll adjust. And learn to turn a blind eye.”

She nods, confirming my guess. “And what if I don’t?”

I give her a grim smile. “Then you’ll realize this world doesn’t make exceptions.”

She gives me a look. “That’s reassuring.”

I shrug, unbothered. “It’s the truth.”

Riko studies me for a moment, then shakes her head, laughing softly. “You’re a strange one, Princess.”

I smile, taking a sip of wine. Strange? No. Calculated? Always.

My mother appears beside us. “Hello, Riko.”

Riko bows her head, showing her “respect” for my mother. I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

“Hello, Mrs. Gambi. How are you?”

Mother gives her a tight smile. “I have been well. Thank you. Your fiancé is looking for you. It’s time you two have a dance.”

Riko shoots me a stare that can only meangood luckbefore she scurries off to find my brother.

My mother turns to me. “You insisted on wearing this dress, yet you’re out here hiding from the others. Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

I groan internally. That can only mean one thing. She wants me to meet some man that could end up being my fiancé. I haveto tread carefully. We make our way back in, and the ballroom seems to have only gotten more crowded.

She loops her arm around mine and whispers, “Behave yourself. This is very important for our family.”

My gaze drifts over to where I know Lucio is standing. He’s by his sister-in-law, Valentina, laughing about something. Before I can avert my gaze, his eyes meet mine, and they narrow ever so slightly.

Fuck.