*Natalia*
I could read the shock written all over Bianca’s face, as well as a bit of apprehension. Good. I wanted her to be nervous. She might have thought that she was ssing with so girl who would just run off crying to Tallon, but she had no idea what I was capable of.
I had never been the type of girl who ran away from a problem, and I wasn’t about to start now. I worked to keep my face neutral. I wanted this to be a pleasant interaction if at all possible, but I could still feel my jaw clenching involuntarily.
“Um, hey, co on in,” Bianca finally managed to choke out.
She stepped back and opened her door, and I walked in and surveyed the place. I had to admit that it was nice; she definitely had great taste. Her entire living room looked like it had been taken directly from a magazine. It was full of neutral colors that complented each other beautifully.
If I were here for any other reason, I would have loved to ask her where she got her plush couch pillows from, but unfortunately for her, this was not a friendly visit.
“How have you been?” Bianca asked nervously as I made no move to sit down, instead turning to face her with my arms crossed over my chest.
“I’ll be honest, Bianca, not great,” I said as I walked around the living room, not bothering to hide the way I was surveying and judging the place. “I’ve been having a few issues with wedding planning.”
“Oh, I totally get that! It’s tough to plan such a big event,” she said.
I turned to face her, crossing my arms over my chest.
She smiled weakly, then continued on, “I’ve been having troubles too. You know, I t the most amazing wedding planner the other day, I’m planning on hiring her myself, but I could definitely pass along her information! You would love her. She’s so in touch with all the local places. She really knows her stuff.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at her nervous babbling, but I didn’t want to put my cards on the table just yet. I knew from experience that the longer you stay silent while soone else is uncomfortable, the more they’ll accidentally reveal. Hell, Bianca was acting like she was about to confess everything to and I had barely even said two sentences to her.
I turned around and settled down on her couch, making it clear that I was more than comfortable. I could tell that my apparent comfort in her presence was putting her even more on edge.
I leaned over and picked up a copy of Vogue Italia that she had displayed on her coffee table. The front cover featured a model wearing a voluminous wedding gown, and the few words I glanced over made it clear that it was so sort of bridal issue.
“Anything catch your eye in here?” I asked.
“Um, yeah, a few things. I don’t know, a lot of it is pretty high-end.”
“Oh, you don’t have the budget for that?” I looked at her and raised my eyebrow.
The dress she had stolen from was definitely high-end, and the venue that Tallon and I had picked was the opposite of cheap. Although I would be happy to marry Tallon anywhere in anything, he had insisted that we go all out. I knew that he would be inviting family who hadn’t seen him in a while as well, so I wanted to make a good impression.
But Bianca’s ddling had taken a lot of the wind out of my sails, and I was beginning to regret agreeing to a lavish wedding. It would’ve been much more difficult for her to cause problems if we’d done sothing more discreet.
“Well, not really,” she muttered, clearly uncomfortable with talking about money. “Not all of us are marrying successful businessn!”
I worked hard to suppress my smile. She was right. Not all of us were marrying successful businessn, included. But just the fact that she didn’t even know Tallon well enough to know about his involvent in the mafia made feel much better about how insignificant she really was to him. If he had ever actually planned on having a future with her, he would have told her about what he really did.
“No, you’re right,” I responded, unwilling to apologize.
I carelessly tossed the magazine back onto her coffee table, not bothering to place it back where it had been. I didn’t care at all if I ca off as rude.
She glanced around, seemingly at a loss for what to say next. I felt like a cat who had managed to trap a mouse between my paws. I had to admit, it was satisfying to see her squirm under my critical gaze. I suspected that she’d never thought I would actually confront her about her attempts to get in the way of my wedding planning and even still, she didn’t seem sure whether that was why I was here or not.
“So, Natalia, how did you find out where I live?” she asked, a slight tremor of fear in her voice. “I’m pretty sure I never told you.”
“No, you didn’t, but I have my ways.” My voice was as hard as steel. “You seem to have your ways as well. You’re sure good at getting in people’s way.”
She appeared to go through every emotion all at once, and I coughed to cover up the laugh that threatened to burst out of at the sight of her pretty face turning bright red as her mouth twisted, clearly unsure which emotion she wanted to let see. Finally, she managed to widen her eyes and slightly wrinkle her forehead; the perfect picture of confusion.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her voice tight with the lie.
I rolled my eyes, unwilling to play along with her when it was obvious that we both knew exactly why I was here. At this point, it was insulting to both of our intelligence to continue to beat around the bush.
“Cut the bullshit, Bianca,” I said pointedly. “How have you been getting information about my wedding plans?”
She sighed and hung her head, finally giving up the innocent act. I stood up and walked closer to her again. “Tell who has been feeding you information,” I gritted out through clenched teeth.
I knew I was being over the top, but I was pissed. I had never done anything to this woman, but she had inserted herself into my life in the worst way. I was sick of acting like it didn’t bother .
“It’s just a friend of mine who works at the venue. Her na is Liza. Please, don’t get her fired. She was just trying to help out; we’ve been close for a long ti. She has no idea who you are. I told her that you were soone I knew from an old job who had been horrible to . She thought that’s why I was trying to get in your way.”
“I’ll be honest. It’s going to be pretty tough for to feel comfortable working with Liza after this. How do I know she won’t try to sabotage things in her own way?” Knowing that Bianca had been spreading lies about only made angrier.
“No, please, don’t tell her boss. I promise I’ll co clean to her. I’ll tell her that I was being petty and jealous. I never really got over Tallon and when I found out that he was getting married... I don’t know, it’s like sothing just snapped. I guess I always thought that maybe we’d find our way back to each other soday, and it shocked to find out he was marrying soone else.”
Tears began to well up in her eyes, and I turned my face so I wouldn’t have to see her cry. I wanted to intimidate her, but that didn’t an I was heartless. It was obvious that she had so unresolved issues.
“I will be calling the venue and asking to speak to Liza tomorrow to ensure that you aren’t lying right now. You have until the rest of the evening to co clean with her. And if I even get so much as a hint that you are ssing with my wedding again, you will seriously regret it. I know a lot more about you than you know about . Don’t ever forget that.”
I turned and walked out the door without looking back. My anger was spent, and I found that in its place I felt an uncomfortable sadness. Although I didn’t regret what I had done, I did feel a kind of pity for Bianca. Knowing how wonderful Tallon was, I couldn’t imagine losing him.
On the car ride ho, I grew excited to see Tallon that evening. I knew that he would be ho waiting for , and now that I had finally put an end to Bianca’s shit, I couldn’t wait to be able to truly start wedding planning without feeling like I needed to be watching my back. I also hoped this ant that Tallon and I would never have to talk about her again; I had no desire for her na to ever be on his lips.
Once ho, I walked into the kitchen to pour a cup of tea. After the interaction I’d just had, I needed sothing to calm my adrenaline a bit. Tallon was seated at the table, his back turned to .
I walked over and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, loving the feeling of his embrace. To my surprise, I felt him tense under my touch instead of relaxing into it. I stood up, ready to ask him what was wrong, but before I could even get a word out, he got out of his chair and turned to face , his eyes cold and angry.
“What’s wrong?” I asked quietly, hating the way that my voice ca out ek.
He looked over my shoulder, his jaw tight and eyes unfocused, as if he was trying to think of what to say. I wanted nothing more than to cross the distance between us and wrap my arms around him, but he might as well have put up a wall of ice between us for how closed-off he seed. I was terrified that he would just push away if I tried to hug him.
“You went after Bianca?” he finally asked, focusing his eyes directly on .
At that, it was like a lightning bolt had struck my spine, and all ekness I had been feeling in the face of his anger burned away. My whole body went rigid with disbelief.
“Yes, I did. And I was right!” I stopped myself just short of shouting.
He shook his head, his disappointnt obvious. I waited for what he was going to say, knowing that whatever ca next would be a defining mont in our relationship.
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