30

"Ok." Clara shrugged.

"Ok? That's it?" I frowned and scrunched my brows. "Didn't you hear what I said? I didn't say Lorenzo and I slept on the same bed; I slept with him, as in I f*cked your uncle. I had s*x with him. We took off our clothes and did the—"

"You don't have to get into details; I know what you meant." She cringed.

"How are you so chill about this?" I gawked at her.

"What do you want me to do? Freak out that two consenting adults did the deed because one is my best friend and the other is my uncle?" She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, yes? People would be pissed if their friends got intimate with their family member. And I know you and Lorenzo don't have the best relationship; aren't you, like, mad that I betrayed you or something?"

"No, because I know that won't change anything between us. And I already saw it coming because you are, you know, you." She shrugged.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, scrunching my brows.

"You love the thrill of danger. You live for it, and my uncle is well, danger himself. It's obvious that you'll be attracted to him. And I think you're his type—"

"I'm his type!" I beamed as I grabbed her hands. "Tell me the truth, am I really his type?"

"I said I think so; I'm not sure, but I know he loves crazy, and, well, you are, no offence, very crazy." She said, giving me a sheepish smile. "And with how hard you guys have been flirting, it's obvious he's somewhat interested in you."

"No way! No way! No way!" I squealed as I buried my face in my hands and kicked my legs in the air. "Ah! And he said I had no effect on him. The sneaky liar. I was worming my way into his twisted black heart. Do you think that he was pissed I had gone on a date with Cory because he was jealous? Duh, he was f*cking jealous! Why else would he react like that?"

"You sound really excited by that." Clara frowned as she eyed me.

"What? No, I'm not." I lied but couldn't hold back my smile. "I'm just a little bit happy that I caught Lorenzo's fancy. Just a teensy, tiny bit."

"It doesn't seem so. I hope you aren't in love with him." She crinkled her nose, and my smile dropped.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." I replied, pursing my lips together.

"Because it is. You do— Oh, no!" She gasped, her eyes growing wide, and she grabbed my shoulders. "Please, Gwen, tell me you aren't in love with Lorenzo?"

"What if I were? Afraid that I'm going to be your aunt?" I joked and wiggled my brows at her.

"I'm being serious. The last thing I want is for you to fall in love with him."

"I thought you didn't mind that I f*cked him?"

"I don’t care if you go on a thousand dates with him or sleep with him all year round, but don't make the mistake of falling in love with him. You will get hurt, Gwen. Because I said he's somewhat interested in you doesn't mean he is. His interests in women are flitting." She begged and squeezed my arms. "Lorenzo is a Don; Dons don't do love."

"You don't have to tell me; he has already made it clear to me that he wasn't giving any chance to love. Feelings are weakness; romantic entanglements are bad for business." I replied as I waved my hand in the air. "And it's fine. It's his choice. He wants fun with no commitment, and I'm ok with that too. I would be stupid to think I was anything special other than a means to burn some s*x ual energy for him."

"Are you?" She asked softly.

"Yes, I am. I'm not ready for a committed relationship either, especially with someone like him. It will be too complicated." I shrugged as I stood up and turned my back at her. "And we still have our deal, remember? Even imagining something other than a casual fling is silly. H*ll, there isn't even enough time to be his b*tch."

"I know you too well to believe that lie. You want a committed relationship; you want a family. That's why you turned down all those that asked you out because you knew they weren't ready for that. You know Lorenzo can't give you what you want though you want it." She replied, and I pressed my lips together. Sometimes having a best friend that knew you too well was a curse.

"Tell me the truth, Gwen, you have feelings for Lorenzo, don't you? It might not be love, but you want something more than friendship or a casual hook-up." Clara said, and my shoulders stiffened.

Silence settled between us for a few seconds before I slowly nodded my head.

"Gwen—"

"I know, I'm stupid, aren't I? No, I'm mad. The man wants to kill me, yet I'm falling for him. How could I be so desperate?" I let out a pained and empty laugh and ran my finger through my hair. "I swear I didn't want it to happen. Yes, I flirted and teased him, but it was meant to be harmless and to annoy him. S*x was supposed to be for fun with no strings attached, but somehow this attraction happened, and now I'm falling through a rabbit hole, and I can't stop. Out of all the men to get tangled up with, my crazy ass chose a psychopath with zero commitment values. He literally calls himself the devil, and I—"

"I understand. No one can predict how feelings work. They can be crazy and catch you unaware." Clara whispered as she hugged me from behind and rested her head on my shoulder.

"And a pain in the ass too. Ugh, f*ck Lorenzo for being a charming bastard and myself for being a crazy b*tch for being attracted to his sh*t." I huffed and shook my head. "And I'm sorry for not telling you about it since, but I didn't know how to say that I f*cked your uncle and I might have a crush on him."

"It's alright; I haven't been completely honest with you either." She breathed and held me tighter. "Do you know why I don't want to marry Silvano?"

"Because he's a pr*ck that treats you like sh*t."

"No," she whispered as she pressed her head against my back. Small droplets seeped into my shirt, and I stiffened.

Was that... tears?!

"Clara!" I gasped as I wiggled out of her grip and turned around.

"I love him! I love Silvano!" She cried and buried her face in her hands.