Page 23 of Condemned By Betrayal
“To check on the work. I told him we’ve gotten close to Alessio’s daughter by promising to find her missing boyfriend. He was pleased. I didn’t mention the deal you made with her.”
I nod.
“By the way, how was the walk?”
“Good.”
“Did you talk with her?”
I shrug. “I answered her questions.”
He groans. “That’s not how you get the girl. You have to put in effort. You have to open your mouth, say things that replay in her head when she goes to sleep. You have to do things that make her feel like you care. Just existing doesn’t work, especially when you already have a rival.”
“I don’t know how to do any of that,” I state.
“Don’t worry, your brother’s still here,” he announces, patting his chest. “First step: start a conversation. You must have questions, like her favorite food, favorite vacation spot, favorite band.”
I shake my head. “Her favorite food is sushi. Her favorite vacation spot is Norway. And her favorite band is Hamster and Plot.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “How the hell do you know that?”
“I hacked her Instagram using the phone number she gave me this morning.”
She has a private profile under the handle flyingpickle. She hasn’t posted anything in the past year and a half, but she used to post often before that. She has only a handful of followers, all family and friends. Her family likely keeps her information asprivate as possible, there’s nothing about her in the media. To the world, she doesn’t exist.
From that profile, I learned that she used to perform at major concert halls and is a renowned pianist under the stage name Ella, whose music I’ve been listening to obsessively for the past six months. The more I learn about her, the more I realize she is the core of all my obsessions.
He snorts. “But you can’t tell her that. So ask her anyway. Girls love talking about the things they’re into.”
“I can’t fake conversation.”
He purses his lips. “You think you know everything now. I bet once you ask her and she answers, you’ll realize you know very little.”
That makes sense.
Chapter 10
Elowen
I choose a beige-brown wool jumpsuit for the party.I pair it with my dark brown boots and a fur coat.
Surprisingly, my depression isn’t all over the place despite it being the time of day when my pitch-black mood is usually impossible to shake. I’ll talk to Amber about it tomorrow, she’ll have an explanation, I’m sure.
I run the comb through my hair one last time. Today, my salon lady came by for full-body laser hair removal and brow shaping. I asked her to cut it to shoulder length. Short hair is easier to manage, I’ve wanted to do it for a long time, but I was reluctant to part with my long hair. Salvario never would have allowed it.
A faint smile tugs at my lips. He loved my hair. I can imagine his sulky face if he saw me with short hair. Another face surfaces in my mind instantly, and my smile falters. These days, his face keeps overlapping with Salvario’s. The differencesbetween them are stark enough to make them two different men, yet at the same time, not enough.
Maybe I don’t need to talk to Amber, I already know what’s behind this shift in my mood. I don’t appreciate it. It feels like cheating on Salvario, even if the reason this man is in my thoughts is his resemblance to him.
I push the thoughts down and grab my phone and bag. The phone buzzes in my hand. It’s Avi—video calling.
I answer and put in my earphones.
“Holy shit, girl. What did you do to your hair?”
I shake my head, making my short hair bounce. “New haircut.”
“Let me see.” Lyn snatches the phone from Avi with obvious excitement. “You look…” Her gaze soften. “Good.”
