Danica POV Dmitry was only alone in the guesthouse with his parents for a total of ten minutes. But that was all it took. When he came back, he didn’t stop to share the breakfast with us. He didn’t even look our way. Cory just throws a nervous smile my way. He knew something was up. “Will you excuse me for a minute?” I ask. “Go right ahead. I’m just going to enjoy this wonderful meal.” I smiled. He was genuinely enjoying my breakfast and I loved it. I creeped around the house until I found Dmitry sitting in his office. The door was slightly ajar. He was on a call at nearly ten at night. “I know Caroline, but he wants everyone who matters. in the office at nine in the morning. Alert Jim and send out the emergency calls.” He slammed the phone down without ever noticing I’m standing a few feet away. I knocked lightly. “Can I come in?” He finally glanced up from his desk. I would like to say his face brightened or even relaxed at the sight of me but it didn’t. “What’s wrong?”

Dmitry POVThe next few days have been stressful at best. Between my mothers constant questions about my personal life and my fathers constant question about our business, I felt like I haven’t spent my time the way I want. With Dani.Before my parents came to town, we would see each other every day. Once in the morning and then again after work. But the past few days, I hadn’t seen her at all. She’d been locked away in her room most mornings. Though I wasn’t sure if she was sleep or actually hiding.I texted her throughout the day but only got a few one words text back. Something was wrong.I asked Cory to keep an eye on her and he did just that. He took her to get a driving license and I added the car to my insurance. Which took longer than I expected. Normally I would request something like that of Caroline. But then there would be more questions about Dani that I wasn’t ready to answer if I was being honest with myself.I watched from my home cameras as Cory kept her company every

Danica POVThe next day, Dmitry took me to see a lady about a dress. Well, not the actual dress.The lady who he repeatedly called ‘B’ took my measurements and showed me a bunch of fabrics. Not that she wanted my opinion. Just wanted to know how they looked against my skin.Then she pushed us out the dress shop, claiming to have a lot of work to do in such a short time.Afterwards, we met up with his parents. They too were a fan of the Italian restaurant on the lake. I was sad to hear Cory wouldn’t be joining us. He served as a buffer when Dmitry’s parents were around.Thanks to him, I hadn’t been alone with Mrs. Hardin since that day in Dmitry’s room. And I was thankful or it. Her tone and meddling comments left me feeling untethered in a way I couldn’t explain. She was part reason why I was at odds with Dmitry and not seeing him all week. Her words lived free in my head every quiet moment I spent alone. ‘I can’t tell if you are so important to him that he wants to keep you a secret

Dmitry POV I came home to not so surprising dinner party. The only thing that kept it form being a surprise was the act that Cory warned me about it. My mother invited the Clements. The were in town for the Gala and were one of the only families who were bringing their two age appropriate daughters. Lacy and Margie. My mother was stepping up her match making game. Lacy just finished at Columbia and was on her way to be a lawyer. Margie was still in undergrad college at UCLA. Her major was undecided, but my mother didn’t care. So long as she came from a good family, she was on the list of eligible women I could marry. Mr. and Mrs. Clement would love it if I married one of their daughters, so they had no issue putting them on display. The entire thing sickened me. Nether of use were over the age of twenty-two and out parents were already trying to secure a wedding. “I can’t wait for this week to be over.” I whispered to Cory. “You’re not the only one bro.” I looked to him. “Oh

Danica POVThe morning after the party, I didn’t sleep a wink. Sleep should have been just beyond the horizon since we didn’t get home until five in the morning.Though my night didn’t go as intended, surprisingly, I enjoyed most of the night.Cory stayed near me the entire night, making sure no random guys approached me and to make sure I didn’t get stuck in some corner being bored. I appreciated that because Dmitry was acting weird again.He made up for ghosting me all week by finally inviting me to the gala and buying me what I hope to be a perfect dress. But then he left me feeling awkward again by basically all but screaming to his mother that I was attending and I wasn’t a date.To make matters worse, he refused to introduce me as anyone other than ‘Nobody’ to his friends. I felt like I was in high school again.Was he ashamed of me? Of our friendship?Those girls were like him. Wealthy.And I was something different. I had no money. No family. No future.One of the girls consta