Chapter 4

"Here. This lipstick is brighter. Put some ice cubes on your t*ts and make them perk up. That blouse?" She gave me a once-over, unimpressed, "It's not quite what I expected you to wear tonight."

"I don't want to do that, mum."

She scoffed, "At least put on some lipstick, you look like an ugly widow in mourning."

I said nothing, just lightly caressed my stomach, my secret was safe and healthy.

She flung the lipstick on the bed and turned to her vanity mirror, powdering an already flawless face.

"You kissed Rio the other night and ran away like a coward, Jackson felt bad you didn't stay for the rest of the party. I thought it was rude." She jabbed, and I sighed.

Rio was part of the reason I ran away. But the real and bigger issue was the man who put the rock she made sure to flash at everyone on her finger.

"It won't happen again," I said flatly.

"Why not?" She turned to me with a soft chuckle, "Make it happen again."

My brows creased too tightly. "Why?"

"Well," she turned and elegantly folded her hands on her lap, "I took it upon myself to do some… digging, and I found out, Rio Romero is wealthy enough to give you anything you desire, on a platinum platter, for the rest of your life."

"Mum, you hate Rio, and you saw what happened between us ten years ago; sometimes you make me want to believe you had a hand in it."

Celeste smirked, "People change, Gia darling, and so has his fortune and his influence. Ten years ago is the past; you should forget about it."

I opened my mouth to talk, but she beat me to it.

"I heard he just opened a luxury hotel in Dubai. He isn't some reckless little boy anymore; now he has power, and he owns this high-end company that produces motorcycles. And last month, he was featured on the cover of Forbes. Can you imagine that? Besides, he is a great friend of the president…."

My hand curled into fists. "Mum, what is wrong with you?!" My voice went up in anger, "You're marrying his father, why are you…"

She cut me off with a lazy wave. "We can make some arrangements." Celeste turned back to the mirror to continue peppering her face. "People will gossip, sure, but what matters in the end is the money. It'll keep you warm while they're gone," she muttered quietly, enough for me to hear.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. Being around her was toxic enough, and I was feeling suffocated. "I'm going to get a drink."

"Gia?" her voice floated to me, and I stopped at the door. " Take something strong and unwind. I haven't seen you drink all night. You sound tense. And stop frowning, it gives you wrinkles."

"Do something else with your free time, mum, leave me alone," I said and slammed the door shut.

"Gia"

Ellen Connor caught me right outside the door, like she had been lurking, eavesdropping. She was one of my mum's closest friends. A mischievous mother with a knowing smile, like Celeste.

She sauntered towards me with a glass of wine in hand and too many pearls dangling on her neck. "Hey darling, your mum was saying something about inviting you to our tea parties. We would love to have you."

"And I would really want you to meet my son. He's also a brilliant surgeon, my Bryan, such a good boy, really." The way she sipped her drink told me it was a lie.

She didn't even know me.

I forced a smile, "Thank you for inviting me, Ellen, but I'm not quite at that level yet…"

"Nonsense," she said, grabbing my hand with a sly grin, "Celeste told me you'd try to downplay your achievements, you're too modest." She laughed alone.

"Being in the medical field is not for the faint-hearted. Bryan is always whining and complaining about how he doesn't want to be in the spotlight. You know, you should take credit for your good work and own your success. Honestly, I think you two should meet."

"Ellen, I'm …."

"Please don't say no, Bryan will be thrilled to meet you. In fact, he's having a conference next week, I could call his assistant and slip you into his schedule."

F*ck. No!

A stupid conference landed me here in the first place; it won't happen again.

"Ellen, I really don't think…"

"Your mum tells me you're ripe for marriage, and I swear you'll adore Bryan; he's good with women. You should see how he takes care of me. Do you know he won an award for…"

"Mrs Connor, how are you enjoying the party?" A deep, smooth voice cut through us.

Jackson.

"Oh, Mr Romero," Ellen purred and let go of my hand with a flourish.

"I am enjoying the party as much as I can." Her voice had dropped to a whisper, as her hand lightly brushed his chest with a smile too bright.

Oddly, that gesture made me feel an emotion I couldn't quite name.

I wonder if my mum knew her best friend was hitting on her man.

"That's wonderful," Jackson stepped past Ellen, walked towards me, and took my hand in his. His hold was warm and somewhat… possessive.

I tried to get a hold of myself, being this close, his scent, everything about him was overwhelming. "I'd like to steal Gianna away for a moment," he said, and Ellen's eyes widened in protest.

"Oh, but I was just telling her how wonderful my Bryan is…"

"Mrs Connor, I believe Bryan should be in a position to properly introduce himself to Gianna. I believe that's the gentleman's way. If you'll excuse us," he gave her a quick smile and gently tugged me away.

"You left so abruptly yesterday, I didn't get a chance to have a word," he whispered as we walked hand in hand.

"And honestly, I don't want to be here today, at this stupid party either," I muttered as he pulled me out through the back door.

The cold air hit my face, and I exhaled, "Fckng Christ, I needed this."

"You have a filthy mouth," he chuckled lightly, but I was too wound tight to reply.

"It's your mum's party. Do you want a drink? It might help you relax.

"No!" I snapped too fast, "What's this party for anyway?"

He shrugged, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I don't know," he was too calm compared to what I was currently going through. "Celeste likes throwing parties. I'm starting to get comfortable with the commotion."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Tell me about it."

"She's happiest when she spends money, I'm fine with it," he smiled, and I turned to look at him silently for a while.

"Of course," I smiled.

Jackson had no idea what kind of hell he had gotten himself into. "Do you love her?" I asked.

"I… We're getting married," he said after a beat of silence.

"Right," I pressed my lips into a smile and turned away.

"Gianna…"

"That's all the answer I need, Jack. I want my mum to be happy, really," I said.

But before he could talk again, a waiter appeared with a silver tray and a glass gleaming with a dark liquid.

"Your mum asked me to give you this."

The sharp smell of alcohol hit me instantly and made my stomach churn.

I closed my eyes, taking a step away from him, hand held out instinctively. "I can't drink this, take it away…"

But Jackson already had his hand out, reaching for it, "Give me that."

He took the glass and poured the alcohol into his mouth in one effortless swallow.

"Thank you," he handed the glass back to the waiter and dismissed him with a pat on the shoulder.

As soon as the waiter disappeared…

"How are you going to tell your mother we fckd?"

Yeah, he needed that drink more than I did.

"That is a cheap question, and the answer, of course, is no comment," I said flatly.

"Yeah?" He laughed under his breath, stepping closer to me.

"Jack…"

"Now that we have all this time alone, again," his voice rich with tease, "why don't we have a little introduction, Gianna?"

"Please don't…"

He went ahead anyway.

"I'm an ER surgeon, I have a son, I play tennis in my free time…"

"I don't have to tell you anything about myself," my tone was sharp.

"Okay, you don't have to." his smile deepened. "I'll find out myself."

"It may take you a while to dig up anything on me," I said through clenched teeth.

"That's alright," he didn't budge, " I don't mind waiting for the things I want."

I froze.

My mouth opened, and then it closed.

That was… wrong. So wrong of him to say, and so stupid of my heart to flutter.

I dropped my gaze to my hand, staring at my fingers and searching for something… anything to say to break the silence.

"It's late," I muttered, "I need to go ahead before I get stuck in traffic. It's almost Christmas, the streets are crazy," I said instead.

"You don't stay with your mum?"

I almost laughed. That was like a death wish.

The thought of staying here overnight? A bad idea. This house held too many painful memories and secrets; I doubt I could survive a night here.

"No," I simply said.

"Okay, I'll drive you," he offered in a smooth voice.

"No!" I snapped, sharper than I intended.

He blinked. "Is there something wrong?"

"No." Everything about him was getting under my skin.

"Then why won't…"

"Stop talking to me!!" I exploded.

A passing waiter offered some unrecognizable hors d'oeuvres, and the awful smell wafted into my nose. I closed my eyes as my stomach turned hard.

Jackson's voice dropped low, "Gianna, please, we need to talk." My eyes flew open. "About that night…"

"We have nothing to talk about, Jackson. Whatever we had that night was in the past; it's over. You're getting married to my mother, she's happy, you should be too, don't let one stupid night ruin everything."

"I know," he said quietly.

But my stomach churned again, and nausea rose hot and sickening. I subtly practiced breathing exercises, trying to hold my stomach down.

"Celeste is a wonderful woman, and I'm glad I met her. I just…" he exhaled, "we're about to be family, we need to get rid of any bad air between us. What happened two months ago…"

"Was a mistake!" I snapped, my eyes flashing, "I want you to stay away from me. As far away as possible. You are one sick twisted man."

"What?"

"You found out where I worked, even after I told you we were done that morning before I left your place. But somehow you still found me and transferred there!"

"I did no such thing, Gianna."

My eyes narrowed. "Well, congratulations," I spat, "you should be happy, you finally get to see the girl you fckd, who managed to slip from your fingers. And by the way, she's the daughter of the woman you're about to marry."

"Gianna, don't you think you should hear me out?"

"No!" My voice was shaking. "How do I know you didn't orchestrate the whole d*mn thing? Screw me, get married to my mother, and play house with your pretty secret. Was this a sick fantasy of yours? For all I know, you might be crazy as…" I glanced at the house. I wanted to say my mother, but that'd be too insulting.

His jaw clenched. "Why the hell would I want to do that?"

"You tell me," I hissed.

"It's not…"

"And if you did, you'd better get that stupid idea out of your head." I said, cutting him off, "What happened between us was in the past, it's dead, and I've buried it. And no one, no one can know about it, especially my mother."

Jackson looked stunned. "What are you on about?"

His brows scrunched. " I'm trying to put this behind us, Gianna. Goddamn, this is already a very complicated situation for me, too. I admit what we had was great… it was real to me, but we're about to become family. It's over, I know that."

"Good," I said, the word spilling like venom.

But my stomach rebelled again, bile rising to the back of my throat.

"This is just one big, messy situation. The wedding is…"

I didn't wait for him to finish talking before I turned on my heels and ran away from him.

"Gianna, wait!"

But I was already back inside the house, pushing and weaving through guests before running down the hallway as fast as my legs could carry me. My heels clicked wildly against the floor.

I barely registered colliding with someone until warm arms held and steadied me.

"Gigi? Are you alright?"

Rio.

I didn't even know he was also at this party today. I had hidden in my mum's bedroom all day, avoiding everyone.

I pushed him away, shoved the bathroom door open. I barely made it before I dropped to my knees, retching everything in my stomach into the toilet bowl.

Strong, warm hands gathered my hair away from my face and pulled it back gently. "Was it the food?"

Rio's voice was calm and reassuring.

"I don't…" I didn't finish talking before I doubled over again and retched for the second time.

As I gasped and wiped my mouth, I shook my head while Rio rubbed circles into my back softly. "Are you allergic or something?"

I shook my head again, trying to catch my breath.

"It's alright," Rio kept rubbing my back. "I'll get you a glass of water."

"Are you pregnant?"

The question sliced through the air like a knife.

And when we both turned, the silence that followed was heavy.

Jackson was in the doorway behind Rio, his eyes locked on mine, a horrified look on his face.