RUEBy the time we get back, my arms are sore and I’m ready to collapse, but Claire insists on helping me “style the closet” with all the new clothes. Which really just means she lounges on my bed while I do the arranging.I’m hanging up a navy midi dress when she suddenly says, “So… there’s this party tonight.”I glance over my shoulder. “Okay?”She twirls a strand of hair around her finger. “I was invited, but I don’t know if I feel like going alone.”“When is it?”“This night.”I pause mid-hanger. “You’re just saying this now?”She shrugs. “It slipped my mind during our retail therapy. So? Will you come with me?”I hesitate, but the look on her face is already victorious.“Fine,” I sigh.Claire jumps up like she just won the lottery. “Perfect. But there’s no way you’re wearing any of those boring outfits tonight.”I give her a look. “I just bought these.”“Exactly. And they’re for school. Not for a night of music, lights, and questionable decisions. Come to my room. I’ll find somet
RUE The stairs feel longer this morning. My feet are bare against the polished wood, and there’s a lingering ache in my legs from the heels and the hours of standing yesterday. I pull Alessandro’s hoodie tighter around me and make my way toward the breakfast room. Halfway down the stairs, I hear footsteps, fast and light. Then Claire appears around the corner with her phone in her hand and that familiar mischievous grin stretched across her face. “There she is,” she says, pointing at me like I’ve just been summoned by the press. “Mrs. Vanilli, the icon herself.” I blink at her. “You okay?” She practically jogs up the last few steps to meet me and grabs my wrist. “Rue, you’re all over the internet. I mean, I thought there’d be backlash. I expected it. But they love you. Like, full-on worshipping you.” “What?” I ask, half-laughing, half-suspicious. “For the dress?” “For the whole damn thing.” She waves her phone in my face, screen filled with headlines. “‘A Blue-Blooded Bride for
RUEI sit on the edge of the bed, my fists clenched around the ruined silk pooled in my lap.The stain is deep and ugly, spreading across the bodice like a wound. It’s sticky against my skin. I can still smell the wine sharp, bitter, and clinging to everything.Claire is pacing.Back and forth. Hair bouncing, phone in her hand, muttering to herself like if she keeps moving, she’ll find the answer.“Okay, okay, we can fix this. Maybe Nina can… No, it’s silk, she can’t. God, why did she even have wine in here?”I don’t answer.I’m too busy biting down the fury rising in my throat. My heart is pounding. I can feel it in my temples.That dress was perfect.This moment was supposed to be perfect.And now I’m sitting here, cold and stained and humiliated, while Celeste probably glides down the hallway like she didn’t just throw a grenade into the middle of my wedding day.Claire stops in front of me, her eyes wild. “Rue, say something. Do you want me to call someone? Should I call Alessandr
RUEA knock comes first, then the door creaks open before I can even respond.“Rue?” Claire’s voice is chipper, too chipper for this hour.I groan softly, eyes squinting against the sunlight pouring through the curtains.Claire’s already halfway in the room before I can react. “Oh. Ohh… wow.”I sit up quickly, blanket yanked to my chest. Her eyes widen with mock scandal.“Well, well, well,” she says, grinning. “Look who decided to show up for her wedding thoroughly... exercised.”“Claire,” I mutter, my voice hoarse with sleep and embarrassment.She looks pointedly at the messy sheets, my bare shoulders, then around the room. “Where’s Lover Boy?”“Gone,” I mutter, glancing toward the door.Claire walks in, hands on her hips, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Snuck out early, huh? Probably didn’t want to risk me catching him with bed hair. Smart man.”I sink further under the covers.She laughs. “Rue, you're blushing. I haven’t seen you blush since you tripped in front of the priest durin
RUE‘s POV His mouth crashes against mine again, deeper this time. Hungrier. There’s no hesitation when his tongue sweeps past my lips, claiming, devouring, taking everything he wants. His hands follow, greedy and deliberate as they roam my body like he owns it. And maybe, right now, he does. They slide down my curves with a possessive heat, fingers tracing every inch like he’s committing it to memory. What started as a tender kiss spirals, fast, into something darker, rougher, and aching with urgency. When his hands reach my chest, he doesn’t pause. He cups my breasts firmly, squeezing hard enough to pull a gasp from my throat, muffled into his kiss. He swallows the sound like it feeds him. Then his hands are behind me, tugging my zipper down in one swift motion. Our clothes hit the floor in a messy blur, forgotten, and he lifts me like I weigh nothing, placing me on the bed with a care that only makes the hunger more unbearable. His palms find my skin again, and my back arche
Rue’s POV“What?” I breathe, the word slipping out before I can stop it, genuine surprise cutting through the rage.“She’s not my mistress,” Alessandro says, stopping just a few feet from me. His voice is steady, unwavering. “You said it like it was fact. It’s not.”I stare at him, still clutching my anger like a shield, because hope is far more dangerous. “You expect me to believe that? After everything I saw? After Italy?”His jaw tightens, but his tone doesn’t shift. “We weren’t together in Italy.”I let out a scoff, sharp and bitter. “She was there, Alessandro.”“Yes,” he says, without flinching. “She followed.”My brows knit, suspicion battling confusion.“She flew out after I did. Stayed in the same city. I didn’t see her once while I was there. Not intentionally. Not accidentally. Nothing.”I open my mouth to argue, to demand something that’ll make sense of the mess, but the words don’t come. Finally, I manage, “But she made it look like. . .”“She wants you to think we were,”