Chapter 2

Nico dropped my wrist like it was on fire.

He immediately turned, pulling Bianca into his side. The move was so smooth it looked rehearsed.

“Baby, there you are.” He kissed her temple. “I was just catching up with Aurora about her… travels.”

Bianca’s smile widened.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” She pressed closer to Nico, a flash of triumph in her eyes as she looked at me. “Aurora, you know I’ve been so worried about you. We’re cousins, after all.”

The other guests started to drift back toward us.

“Isn’t that the Falcones? I hear you two are set to inherit the family business soon.” A woman dripping in pearls approached them. “Bianca, darling, your charity work is simply divine.”

“Thank you,” Bianca said, dipping her head shyly. She played the part of the adoring wife perfectly.

More people joined the circle of flatterers.

“You’re a lucky man, Nico.”

“That donation to the children’s hospital last month…”

“You two are a perfect match.”

I was the outsider at their little love fest.

“And this is…?” The woman’s eyes slid over to me, her lip curling in distaste.

“My cousin, Aurora Rossi,” Bianca said before I could speak. “She just got back from Europe.”

The whispers started immediately.

“Rossi… isn’t that the one…”

“The scandal from five years ago…”

“Heard she was thrown out…”

“She certainly looks the part…”

Bianca’s face filled with faux concern.

“Aurora, darling, it must have been so hard for you all these years.” Her voice was thick with pity. “I always wanted to help, but you left so suddenly…”

She paused, a sharp glint in her eye.

“But now that you’re back, I know just the thing!” She clapped her hands together. “Mr. Hoffman!”

A fat man in his sixties waddled over. His bald head gleamed under the chandeliers, and his hands were covered in tacky gold rings.

I knew him. Charles Hoffman. A notorious loan shark with a filthy reputation.

“Bianca, my dear.” His voice was as greasy as he looked. “What can I do for you?”

“Mr. Hoffman, I’d love for you to meet my cousin.” Bianca’s grip was like a vise on my arm. “Aurora is quite the art expert. I’m sure you two will find plenty to talk about.”

Charles’s beady little eyes sized me up, and his gaze made my stomach turn.

“An art expert?” He licked his greasy lips. “I’m in the market for a new… protégée. Someone with an eye for the finer things.”

The people around us chuckled knowingly.

I’d had enough.

“Bianca.” I pulled my arm from her grasp, my voice dangerously calm. “Why the rush to marry me off? Worried I came back for him?”

Her smile froze.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me.” I looked around at the silent crowd. “After all, just two minutes ago, your husband was offering to set me up in a penthouse apartment if I’d just say yes.”

Dead silence.

Every eye in the circle ricocheted between the three of us.

Nico’s face turned to stone.

“Aurora, what the hell are you talking about—”

“A penthouse overlooking Central Park,” I added calmly. “His words, not mine.”

Bianca’s eyes instantly welled up. Tears gathered on her lashes.

“Nico…” Her voice trembled, full of hurt and disbelief. “Is that… is that true?”

She looked so fragile, so innocent. A flower in a storm.

The perfect victim.

The crowd looked at her with pity, and at me with disgust.

“That Rossi girl has no shame.”

“How could she say something so cruel?”

“In public, no less…”

Bianca’s tears finally fell. She clutched Nico’s arm like a lifeline.

“I… I was only trying to help her…” she choked out. “I never thought she would do this to me…”

The whole party was now focused on the drama. A charity gala turned into a gossip column.

I didn’t care. I just looked away.

“Enough.”

Nico’s voice was low and furious.