The Accidental Marriage: Chapter 24

The aromas of garlic, olive oil and basil hang heavily in the air. The Italian restaurant is bright with light colors that are mostly from sage and lemon cream palettes. Well-trained servers in crisp uniforms with permanently toothy smiles on their faces move among the tables—aspiring Hollywood actors and actresses, working to make ends meet before their big break. Every ten minutes or so someone launches into a short Italian aria—a bit clichéd, but it fits the ambiance.

Zoe twirls some spaghetti around her fork. The tomato-based seafood sauce on the long noodles looks like the ground-up bone marrow Doris once tried to feed me when I got stubborn about going to an art school.

To avoid the sight, I stare at the creamy chicken pesto pasta in a pretty white bowl in front of me, then glance at my chilled Riesling. Zoe ordered them, as though to prove she knows me better than I realize because I would normally love both. Or maybe she did it to show she doesn’t give a damn what I want. Either way, she’s succeeded in annoying the hell out of me. I can’t afford to touch either one, but the smell of the food makes my mouth water. Inconsiderate bitch.

Of course, she wouldn’t know that I can’t eat anything that hasn’t been tasted by another person first. So much for being my godmother, but she’s never been around to notice much. If she ever sent me any gifts… Well, they could’ve been intercepted by Doris. So I won’t hold that against Zoe.

Still, if she had no interest in being a godmother, she shouldn’t have volunteered. From what I’ve heard, my grandfather brought it up with her father as a half-drunk joke when I was an infant, and she jumped at the opportunity. Probably because she thought she might be able to get at the Hayworth fortune through me—until she learned that my aunt is the one in charge of my trust. I can’t imagine any other reason for how little interest Zoe’s shown me in the last twenty-nine years.

Why am I surrounded by leeches? It’s like somebody put a hex on me.

“What are you thinking?” Zoe says, pulling me out of my melancholy reveries.

“Leeches.”

She frowns, then laughs. “Silly girl. Eat.”

She thinks I’m joking. But if she knew me at all, she wouldn’t. I move my pasta around without taking a bite. Zoe glances at me from time to time between bites, but doesn’t comment. She might not have noticed I haven’t taken a single bite. But then, that’s how self-centered people are.

I really miss Ares. If he were here, I’d feel more secure—

Oh no. Stop it. When did I become so needy? I’m not the kind of person who waits around for a Prince Charming to come rescue her.

He’s no prince. He’s a knight.

Whatever, I scoff at my inner voice. Let’s say he does magically show up—then what? I have to rescue myself, take care of myself and keep myself safe. Even as my head says the food probably isn’t tainted, every time I look at Zoe’s face, I get unpleasant chills and can’t make myself put anything in my mouth. She’s the kind of person who wouldn’t think twice about poisoning me. And unlike Doris, she wouldn’t bother calibrating the dosage. She’d dump in as much as she could, for the quickest and surest result.

“What are you doing in L.A.? Aren’t you busy in Nesovia?” I pat myself on the back for keeping resentment out of my tone.

“I’m always busy, but how could I stay in Nesovia when Doris invited me to your wedding in Vegas? Guess she wanted some kind of mother figure for you, to make the ceremony look more complete.”

Mother figure, my ass. “A real mother figure wouldn’t have let me marry Rupert.”

“And you didn’t.” Zoe’s smile widens, cold amusement in her eyes. “Sadly enough, Doris forgot to mention that her son’s so incompetent he lost the bride to another man.”

“Why? Were you planning to help him?” This time, grievance bleeds into my voice.

She laughs. “What does Rupert’s idiocy have to do with me? He could stab his own dick with a fork, and I couldn’t care less.”

I cock an eyebrow, inwardly agreeing with her last statement in spite of my misgivings about her.

“So. How’s your marriage going?” she asks.

“It’s none of your business, is it? We both know you didn’t show up because you care about my personal life.” I didn’t mean to sound so petty.

“Sure it is.” She props an elbow on the table and rests her chin in her hand. Her gaze glitters with icy satisfaction. “After all, you’re my only daughter-in-law.”

“I am?”

“Didn’t Ares tell you?” Hurt flashes in her eyes, but then disappears so fast I can’t be sure I didn’t imagine it. But I’m not feeling generous enough to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“I met his mother already. Akiko.”

“That cunt,” Zoe spits. Fury burns in her gaze. If Akiko were here right now, Zoe might stab her with the spaghetti fork.

“If by cunt you mean lovely person, then yes, I agree.”

Zoe shoots me a sharp look. “Are you on her side?”

“No. I’m on the side of truth.”

She stares at me with absolutely soulless eyes. I don’t look away. I can stare her down just as well as anybody.

“Do you honestly think you have what it takes to win Ares over?”

She might have followed her son and me to L.A., but knows nothing about our marriage. Otherwise she wouldn’t make such a ridiculous statement. There’s no winning him over because I’m not what he wants. And to be honest, the more I think about it, the less I’m convinced I can change into what he does want. I’m going to be thirty soon. When and how am I going to suddenly find a career that’s going to keep me busy? I won’t have to work to make ends meet. And nine to five, Monday through Friday, hoping he’ll come home early enough that we can have dinner together? If I live my life like that, I’ll probably begin to resent Ares.

I pick up the wine glass and swirl it gently. “I didn’t marry him to win him over, Zoe. Generally speaking, people have already won their spouse over before marriage. You understand, right? You’ve been married before.”

She narrows her gaze. I smile.

“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”

I merely quirk an eyebrow.

All faux humor gone from her face, she leans closer and speaks in a low, soft voice, as if she’s talking to an easily frightened and slightly dim-witted child. “If you’re so clever, do you know how your parents contracted such fatal food poisoning?”

The question slams into me. It takes a moment before my brain can unfreeze from the shock. My heart thuds wildly, acid pooling in my gut. “What are you saying?”

Zoe pulls back with a condescending smile. “What do you think?”

“Did Doris poison my parents?” I demand in a low, shaky voice. I have to know.

“Do you think she poisoned your parents?” Zoe picks up her wine glass and drinks.

She studies me over the rim, a cat toying with a mouse. I inhale and exhale deeply a few times. She wants to shake my composure, break me by throwing out established facts without adding anything new. So what if she hints at some foul play? There’s no guarantee she’ll help me confront my aunt. She could easily claim that she didn’t mean anything, and I overthought everything.

“How am I supposed to know?” My voice is shockingly steady. “I was just a kid at the time.”

A mixture of respect and annoyance fleets over Zoe’s face. “You don’t have to be a child to be helpless, Lareina. Do you think you can keep yourself safe from Doris?”

“I’ve survived her and her ways so far, so yeah, I think I can hang on a little longer.”

“You won’t last for long without me on your side.”

I stare at her. Confident much? A smirk tugs at her mouth. So much smugness. She thinks she’s all that. “You mean longer than twenty-nine years?”

The smirk vanishes. “There hasn’t been as much urgency as there is now.”

“Uh-huh. And you can stop Doris and her family, just like that?” I snap my fingers. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.” She sounds almost too proud.

“So why didn’t you, if I was suffering before?”

“I’ve been busy,” she says smoothly.

“Riiiiight. Busy.” It’s an effort not to sneer. These sorts of scenes are starting to bore me. People only reach out when they want something, but look the other way when I need something from them.

“Haven’t you wondered why Doris has been so quiet since you left Vegas with my son? Do you think she’s just given up on your inheritance after all these years?”

I just look at Zoe. “You might be the one holding Doris back, but I’m not going to give you credit. Not now. It’s too little, too late.”

“You’re such an ungrateful little bitch.” A small rebuke. “Don’t forget, Lareina—blood is thicker than water. And it’s my blood that flows in Ares’s veins. Your tenuous little link to him can be broken anytime, but the bond between my son and me is forever.”