Page 8 of Red Velvet

I don't turn back once before stepping through the door and closing it right behind me. Squinting as my eyes adjust to the light inside the festive ballroom, I make my way to the restrooms, the only secure hiding place I can think of.

How could I? How could I make out with some random stranger at my sister's wedding? How could I let myself get caught doing something so silly? The intruder must’ve been a business associate, based on his age and look, but I can't place him for sure. He's not a close friend, not a family member.

But what if he had been?

What if someone else had stepped outside? A friend? My mother? My sister?

What if any one of them had seen me, jumping up like a scared mouse after being caught in a hot embrace with a man whose name I don't even know?

What if?

The shame would’ve killed me. The judgment, knowing what they would be thinking of me. My reputation is already hurt by what I did to Jim. They all had their own assumptions, and many of them involved me being unfaithful, even though no one but me knows how close I actually was to cheating on him.

It's why this man's assumption was so outrageously funny to me. Jim cheating on me? Try the other way around and you're way closer to the goddamn truth.

My body is still in flames from the kiss, the unwelcome wetness between my legs a clear sign of my betrayal to a promise I made to myself, and to my sister.

The promise to be good. The promise to not cause a scene, to not get fucking drunk and stupid.

I broke that promise, and I got caught doing so. I don't know how much the intruder has seen, if anything, but if he has—

"Lila!"

My sister's voice interrupts my racing thoughts just as I was about to enter the hallway that leads to the restrooms. I take a deep breath before I turn around to her, only now realizing I'm still holding the bottle of champagne.

Shit.

Elene stands before me, looking more beautiful than ever in her white gown and the simple but pricey tiara that adorns her head. She got rid of her veil after the ceremony, but the tiara had to stay; it was handmade just for her and decorated with tastefully small but valuable diamonds. Just one of many perks to marrying a man who's swimming in money.

She tilts her head to the side, her blonde hair falling down her shoulders in shiny waves.

"Are you okay?" she asks, her eyes jumping from the bottle in my hand to my face. "Where were you? What were you doing?"

Chapter 5

Lila

"I, er… I was just—"

"Have you been drinking that by yourself?" Elene points at the almost empty bottle in my hand.

My eyes flit to the bottle, examining it as if I'm seeing it for the very first time and wondering how it got there in the first place.

"This? No! No, I wasn't!" I produce a half-ass lie.

Is it even a lie, though? Technically I didn't drink all of it alone. That guy had a sip, too.

The expression on Elene's face tells me she's anything but happy with my current state, and the lame and stammered excuses don't help at all. A crease appears between her thin eyebrows and her eyes narrow as she assesses me.

I don't think she's ever looked at me like this. She's the younger of the two of us, and I’ve always been the responsible one. Reasonable, almost prudent. Boring. The one with the regular job and the regular boyfriends, the one who everybody thought would just get married, have kids, buy a house, do the normal thing at a normal pace.

She, on the other hand, was the wild one, the curious one, the rebel who went her own way and did whatever the hell she wanted. She was the one who worked as an escort for years and as a hostess at a kink club next. That's actually where she met her husband—he was one of her customers.

Now she's the one who's married to a filthy rich alleged gentleman, while I'm the drunk and desperate single at her wedding reception who just got caught sticking her tongue down a random stranger's throat.

"Do I need to worry about you?" Elene asks, her tone soft and understanding. She closes in on me, placing her hand on my shoulder in a calming manner while her gaze seeks reassurance that I’m okay.

"No, no, please don't," I respond, violently shaking my head. "Everything's fine."

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