Friday came faster than Camilla thought it would. Calvin had tried and failed to talk her out of her plan for revenge. Everything she needed for the wedding was in her bag. If she had her way, that wedding would end in tears. That was if it even happened.
Camilla’s door opened, and Faye walked into her room wrapped in a blanket like a burrito. Her mouth fell open in shock.
“What is this?” Camilla asked, pointing her makeup brush at the mirror. The past few days had been kinder to Faye. Her friend wasn’t eating as much, but her hygiene had improved. “Why aren’t you dressed yet?”
Faye sat on the bed, the blanket hiding her frame. Her friend had lost weight in days while her ex partied constantly. His social media posts were proof. Vanya must pay.
“Cam, I think we should let it go,” Faye whispered. Camilla dropped the brush on the table and turned so she was directly facing her best friend. “We only dated for two years. Some women had it worse.”
“Are you, are you for real now?” Camilla asked. Vanya was somewhere out there getting ready to tie the knot, and Faye was skipping classes, isolating herself from the world and barely eating. She had moved her classes onlïne, so she didn’t miss them. No way. They would attend that wedding. Taking a deep breath, she said, “If you aren’t going. I am. I already made plans. Vinny couldn’t stop me, and you won’t.”
Tears gathered in Faye’s eyes. She sniffed, and a few rolled down her cheeks. Camilla moved to the bed and wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulders. This was the main reason she needed to exact revenge. There was something so soothing about hurting the person who made you cry.
“I don’t think it’s worth it, Cam. Let it go.”
“No. You’re tired, and that’s fine,” she cooed. Calvin would be here soon to pick her up. He didn’t trust her. “I’ll handle it.”
“Don’t do anything crazy, okay?”
“Faye, Crazy is my other name,” Camilla said. “Of course I’ll do something crazy.”
They laughed, and she hugged Faye tight. Her plan was simple. She had two invites, but in Faye’s absence, she would use only one. It was an afternoon wedding, so she would still have time to celebrate her victory. Shopping and eating out were on the celebratory list.
“When I return from that silly wedding, we will go shopping. Enough with the sulking, okay? He has moved on. You should, too.”
“Hmm,” Faye said. Camilla glared, and Faye revisited her stance. “Must it be shopping?”
“It can be anything as long as you leave the house. No more sulking over a cheater.”
Faye nodded. “Agreed.”
Camilla returned to her makeup chair to finish her preparations. Her phone rang as she was rounding up. She stood up to grab it and laughed at her best friend, who had fallen asleep on her bed. Grabbing her bag and phone, she tiptoed out of the room.
Calvin called her a second time. Getting to the living room, she picked up, and he told her, “Tell me you changed your mind.”
“Nope.” Pushing the strap of her bag up her shoulders, she sat on a couch to fix her sandal heels. It was comfortable enough for her to run in case that was needed. “Where are you? Stop trying to convince me out of this. I told Faye, and I’m telling you. I’m going.”
“I’m downstairs.”
On her feet, Camilla stomped her legs on the rug to be sure the shoes fitted perfectly. She texted her best friend, so Faye didn’t have to worry about her when she woke up. Calvin was in his car when she walked out of the building. He honked, and his hand shot out of his vehicle to wave her over.
Getting inside the car, she stretched her hand to her twin. “Where is the invitation card?” Calvin tried to speak, but she shook her head. “Don’t even try to convince me.”
“If you get into trouble, I’m not bailing you out.”
“I won’t.”
Grumbling, he pulled out two cards and dropped one on her outstretched palm. “Where’s Faye?”
“She changed her mind,” Camilla replied.
“You should, too. If she’s not going, and she was the person who was wronged by this Vanya guy, I don’t see what you’re going to do there, Camilla.” After his tirade, the only thing she did was grin. He sighed. “You’re lucky Angel was on your side. If you get into trouble, don’t call me.”
“Fine. I’ll call KJ. Who’s picking me up?”
“There will be no need for that. I’ll wait for you outside,” he said. She clicked her tongue, and he scoffed. “Didn’t you say it wouldn’t take time? You’ll go in while I wait outside, do what you need to do, and come back. That’s the only condition, Camilla.”
“Fine.”
“I’m serious.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, his forehead breaking into lines. “I didn’t like the story I heard about these guys. None of them were good. Mafia. Drugs. Vanya is not worth this shit, Cam.”
“Okay, okay, Vinny. Enough. This isn’t one of Hana’s story. It’s real life. I’ll be fine.”
Her sister-in-law was a writer, a great one, at that. But her brother had to learn to separate real life from fiction. The Vanya she saw that day couldn’t possibly know how to defend himself against another man. He was only good at scaring women.
Calvin turned the key in the ignition. Before they left the parking lot, he said, “I warned you.”
Yeah, he could keep the warning to himself. Camilla sifted through her bag to be sure the test result was intact. She wouldn’t have to do much or spend time there if the wedding had started. Just breeze in and out of the church and be done with her plans.
Noises increased and reduced around them as they joined the traffic. She adjusted the ring on her middle finger. It was time for her to show the world once again she was an exceptional actress. Vanya would suffer.
They arrived at the church, and Calvin had a hard time finding a parking spot. Big brand cars were parked near the entrance, the brands too many for her to remember or pronounce. He stopped behind a black car.
At the door of the church stood two men in suits on each side. They were both wearing sunglasses, hands folded below their bellies. With their glasses, she could still feel their gaze on her. For the first time, she faltered. What if Calvin was right?
“Do you really want to do this?” Calvin asked.
Sweat gathered on Camilla’s palms. She brushed them over her dress and nodded. “Yes.”Their eyes met, and he nodded. Pulling her into a brief hug, he said, “I really tried, Cam.”Camilla smiled against his neck and broke the hug. He stayed back in the car while she sashayed to the entrance with as much confidence as she could. Calvin was watching her, so she couldn’t fuck up. One of the men at the door stretched out an arm to stop her from entering the church.They didn’t speak to her, their lips tilted in a grim smile. Everything in her head yelled at her to turn back and join her brother. It wasn’t too late. But she ransacked her bag for the invite Calvin gave her and offered it to the man on her left. He took a long look at it and nodded. The man on the right opened the door, and she stepped into the church. The doors shut behind her, and her heart drummed faster.Why did she feel like she had walke
Maksim was livid. He had been since they left Nightfall Hills. He paced his office, going unbelievably still when his right-hand man, Ivan, entered. The curtains were closed, how he liked it, and the entire place was dark, save for the corner light and lamp on the table. He snapped his fingers, a sign for the man to talk immediately.“Did you find her yet?” he asked.Ivan stood at ease, a wire curling from his ear to inside his suit collar. “Not yet, boss.”Rage coursed through Maksim’s veins. He sank into his chair and laughed bitterly.“Boss?” Maksim said, disgust slithering into his voice. He gripped the armrests so hard his nails broke. God help that lady because if he found her, he would wipe her off the face of the earth. She should have taken the subtle warning the priest gave him. No one, not even the don, the Grand Sinner himself, could end a wedding. “You have twelve hours to find that young
Photos was the first app Maksim checked. She had too many pictures for him to sift through. Nothing in there showed her name. Just tons of pictures of her in different poses and various hairstyles.She was pretty. But weren’t the evil ones always the prettiest? Who sent her to him?Soft knocks on the door had him shoving the ring and test into his drawer. He asked the person to enter, and a maid walked in with her head bowed down. Her black-and-white uniform creased as she bent to tilt the dead man’s head. He never killed senselessly, but Boris’ death would serve as a warning to everyone. If he could kill his own men, how much more a foe?Two men entered after the maid. He waved off their greetings as they dragged the dead body out of his office. The maid quietly cleaned as he resumed searching the phone. He could easily guess who the maids next subject of gossip would be. Him. As long as they served the meals and made themselves availabl
Maksim spat out blood. Poor maid. She would have to redo the cleaning. Pinching his nose to ease the bleeding, he grabbed the tissue box on the table and stuffed some of it up his nostrils. Papa drew closer, but Maksim stood his ground, ready for another attack. He should have expected the first.“She was right,” Papa said, stabbing him in the chest with his finger. “You’re a bastard.”“Papa.”“Don’t call me that.”“I. Don’t. Know her,” Maksim said.The lines on Papa’s forehead deepened, a sign that this was a futile conversation. His father always believed the worst of him. Why should today be different? He had long accepted that fate. Gently pulling out the soiled tissue, he tossed it to the trashcan by the door and sank down on the table.“One bastard is enough for the family,” Papa said. “You don’t know her, yet she&rsq
Revenge was a dish best served cold. Camilla didn’t agree. Revenge was a dish best served in the church with a fake pregnant test result and an astounding slap. To celebrate her successfully executed revenge, she was on a shopping spree today. The clothes she didn’t get the day Vanya interrupted her, she would get them today.Stomping out of her room with her purse swinging from her hand, she paused in front of Faye’s door. She wanted her best friend to join her on the spree. Faye was lively this week, but she wasn’t satisfied yet. Her friend loved movies, but they had watched nothing new this week.“I’m coming in,” she said, already opening the door. Her best friend was sprawled on the bed, her laptop and books open in front of her. The thought of being in the same position made her shudder. “Seriously? What’s all this? I don’t envy you.”Faye laughed. “I don’t envy me, ei
Vanya smirked, and Camilla inched closer to her door. That meant she had really seen him earlier. It wasn’t her imagination at the window. It was him.Was he stalking her? What did he want now? To take her new phone? She wasn’t releasing it.“I’m not giving you my phone,” she stated. Hitting the back of the driver’s seat, she told Alvin, “Why did you let this fool into my car? You should have at least called me.”“A fool?”“Look, Vance or Viper or Vagabond or Villain or whatever your name is,” Camilla started, turning to the man with a look akin to disgust. “I don’t have time for this.”“Your life stopped being yours the moment you walked into that church,” he replied. Camilla could only stare at him in shock because he had a lot of nerves breaking into her car. Smashing her phone wasn’t enough, and now, this? She retrieved her ph
Calvin would die if anything happened to his pregnant wife. They were lucky that she didn’t lose her pregnancy after that nasty incident with Hana’s father. She couldn’t take the risk. But she couldn’t go with him.“Van—” The glare he cut her made her shut up momentarily. “Let’s say I agree to your crazy offer. How long will this last?”“Until we get that child out of your womb. It’s mine, right? We slept together. How dare I choose to marry someone else?” he teased. Camilla’s blood froze in her veins. That… would be impossible because she wasn’t pregnant. She hadn’t even seen this man naked. “Be ready. I’ll come pick you up by 4 pm tomorrow. No luggage. Just you.”Vanya exited the car and shut the door. She didn’t relax, and when he opened her door, she was surprised one of her arteries didn’t burst. Too tensed to move
Camilla had to call her twin brother. She had contemplated leaving without telling Calvin, but it wouldn’t end well. She had to at least let him know now, so he could get her replacement for the series. He had a few days until production and rehearsals started. He might not understand it, but she was doing it for him. For Hana. For the rest of their family. They always joked that she was the least responsible McKenna. It was time to prove them wrong.The phone shook in her hand. She brought up his contact but delayed hitting the call button. Her bed, which usually brought her comfort, filled her with fear. She wouldn’t be able to sleep in this bed for as long as Vanya was after her. But he wouldn’t find her. She would run far, far away from him.Camilla was about to call him when a scream rang out from the living room. Her phone clattered to the floor, and her blood ran cold. Was Vanya in the house? No, he couldn’t be. It was a few hours until 4