Page 71 of The Forbidden Villain
“Oh, damn,” a woman mutters and winks at me, and I cover my face until they pass.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I think it’s called calling out hypocrisy.”
“Do you now?” I can’t understand myself, because as embarrassing and confusing as all this is…part of me is thrilled at the interaction.
“Oh, yes.”
“I have lunch with my sisters-in-law planned. So no, I won’t be going with you.”
He places his palm on the roof of his car and sucks through his teeth. “Trust me,moy cvetochek. Whatever I have planned is way more entertaining than a simple lunch.” He extends his hand to me. “Come on.”
I watch his outstretched hand, still processing all this while wondering if maybe I should do it.
Like it or not, our families are forever connected. Only death would separate my brother from his future wife.
If we don’t talk about what happened last night or learn to get along, it will be awkward during family gatherings or in the future.
And would it be so bad anyway? It’s not like he’s going to kill me, and judging by how he reacted to the whole drunk comment, he won’t physically hurt me either.
So against my better judgment, I let the newly discovered part of me win and nod. “I’ll go.”
I just hope I won’t get myself into even more trouble.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“They say be careful what you wish for, or it might come true.
It seemed so stupid to me because why would I be careful about the things I wanted?
Some wishes, though, are meant to shatter our lives and break us in ways we never see coming.
Too bad I realized it too late.”
Lavender
Lavender
I rest my back against the leather seat, looking out the window at the ever-changing scenery. The piano music from the radio is the only thing interrupting the silence inside the car.
We’ve been on the road for almost half an hour now, and neither of us has said a word, which is a disturbing fact in itself.
I glance at the message flashing on my phone’s screen.
Aileen and Emmaline sent a photo to the group chat, smiling into the frame while holding their coffee cups.
Wish you were here.
Guilt once again washes over me at the fact that I ditched them, and that’s probably against the whole girl code thing, as well, that Scarlett mentioned earlier about friendship.
“Stop it.” I almost jump out of my seat at Levi’s harsh yet firm tone, and my head swings to him as his palm glides over the steering wheel. He turns to the right, driving us on a road with endless trees on either side of it. The veins popping on his forearms shouldn’t be doing things to me right now, but they remind me of when his arms were locked around my body.
Get a grip, woman!
“What do you mean?”
“Stop feeling guilty about lunch.” Is everyone a mind reader around me, or is my face that expressive? “They won’t cry into their pillows because you missed it. They love you, but they have better things to do.” Commenting on the fact that, to love me they’d have to know me, so it’s impossible, seems useless, so I keep my mouth shut. “Won’t be surprised if she decides to buy the whole bridal shop so she can choose a dress in peace. She’s our little perfectionist.” A rare, soft smile graces his lips that lets me know how much he adores Aileen.
