1

With every step she took, something inside me broke a little more.

I stared into her eyes, searching for any sign at all that this was a joke.

I didn't find one.

"Lillian... what is this?"

Tears slid down Lillian's cheeks, but she said nothing.

Vittorio, who'd been quiet all this time, suddenly stepped forward and took her hand.

He looked at me with those dark blue eyes, his face calm.

"I wanted to wait for a better time to tell you.

"You'd been gone 42 days, and I missed you so much... Lillian and I both got drunk that night...

"Santina, it happened. It wouldn't be fair to keep it from you."

I stared at their joined hands, and the world tilted.

After a 12-hour flight across the ocean, I hadn't even stopped for a sip of water. All I'd wanted was to see the man I loved and my best friend.

I never expected them to have such a big surprise waiting for me.

I stumbled back a few steps and almost fell.

Vittorio tensed. He reached out to catch me on instinct, but one cold look from me made him back off.

Lillian pressed her lips together. She pulled a piece of chocolate out of her pocket and said my name, her voice thick with tears.

"Santina, you skipped meals again, didn't you? You know what that does to your stomach. Have some chocolate, okay..."

I looked at the chocolate in her palm, and my eyes stung.

Lillian and I had been best friends since we were little.

My father expected a lot from me. If I didn't finish the tasks he gave me, I didn't get to eat.

Whenever that happened, Lillian would sneak me a chocolate bar.

My throat closed up. I turned away and took a few deep breaths before I could speak.

"Shut up, Lillian. Spare me the cheap act."

With that, I turned, grabbed my suitcase, and walked off into the crowd.

I wandered the streets with no idea where I was going.

I lost track of how long I'd been walking. When I couldn't take another step, I flagged down a cab.

I gave the driver an address without really thinking. Then I leaned my head against the window and watched the neon lights slide past, one after another.

When the driver pulled over, I realized I'd come back to the apartment Vittorio and I shared.

I sat there a moment. Then I went upstairs anyway.

Running away had never been my style.

The apartment door was ajar. When I pushed it open, Lillian was standing just inside with her bags already packed.

Her eyes lit up when she saw me.

She started toward me, then made herself stop.

I took in the living room I knew so well, and my eyes went straight to the couch in the middle of it.

I'd had it custom-made for Vittorio.

Cordano family business sometimes kept Vittorio out until the early hours. I was a light sleeper, so he often slept on the living room couch rather than wake me.

I couldn't talk him out of it, so I had this oversized suede couch made for him.

But now, looking at it, I couldn't stop wondering.

The night they got drunk, did they have sex right here on this couch?

My stomach heaved. I almost threw up.

Lillian saw how pale I'd gone and hurried toward me. I stopped her.

Then I opened my suitcase and took out six boxes of cookies.

Before I left, Lillian had made me promise over and over to bring them back for her.

When I went to pick them out, I texted Lillian to ask which flavor she wanted. She didn't reply, and I couldn't reach her by phone, so I bought one box of every flavor.

Six boxes of cookies. They took up half my suitcase.

Looking back, maybe she'd been in bed with Vittorio at that very moment.

I dumped every box into the fireplace.

Flames leaped up. Lillian kept crying, as if she were the one who'd been wronged.

Vittorio stepped in front of Lillian, his voice steady.

"This is my fault. If you're angry, take it out on me. Don't scare Lillian."

He told her to wait outside.

Lillian nodded quietly. She looked at me one more time, and her lips moved, but in the end she didn't say anything. She walked out.

When the door closed, Vittorio turned back to me, looking exhausted.

"No matter how you look at it, Santina, I did you wrong.

"You've always wanted to run the Las Vegas operation, haven't you? I can give it to you."

I pressed a hand to my aching stomach and gave him a mocking smile.

"What's this? A breakup payoff?

"Vittorio, I don't need your pity."

Vittorio's face darkened.

"Santina, you're always so stubborn! I'm your man. Would it kill you to lean on me once in a while, the way Lillian does?"

"Ex. You're my ex now."

My voice was cold.

"Lillian needs you because the only way she survives is by clinging to someone strong. I don't need that. I'm the strong one."

Vittorio gave me a look I couldn't read. He didn't say anything. He just left.

The apartment was empty except for me and the boxes crackling in the fireplace.

I finally couldn't hold it together anymore. Clutching my stomach, I sank onto the rug, drenched in cold sweat.

The searing pain and one blow after another were too much. Everything went black.