Page 54 of Spider Demon's Kiss

It was possible that she had. Over the years I had been gone a lot. Whenever the chance at a new life presented itself, I took it. And as I engaged in another doomed affair, my sister remained here being my father’s perfect daughter.

If Yuki ever considered this place her prison, it certainly came with privileges. Unlike me, she had full access to my father’s money. And a few times a year she would travel back to Japan to spend time with the brothers I had barely met.

But, even with that freedom, there would always come a time when her leash drew her back. Yuki was the one constant of this compound. She walked the grounds like a porcelain ghost. If she had ever had a lover, it would have had to have been as she traveled. But it was hard to imagine that.

Returning to our tea, Yuki held an elegantly wrapped box. Standing to accept her gift, I held the other end of it and bowed.

“For your happiness,” she wished.

“You honor me,” I replied unable to ignore my programming. “Please, sit,” I said waiting for her to return to her seat.

Again seated with the gift between us, I looked at it with anticipation. Removing the tape while making sure to admire the wrapping, I eventually found a white box. Lifting the top, inside I found what I often had, an elegantly tailored black dress.

I was delighted. If nothing else, Yuki had exquisite taste. Where she found her gifts, I would never know. The lack of a label on them once led me to believe that she had designed them herself. But as they became more elaborate, her having designed them became less likely.

“This is incredible,” I said holding it out in front of me.

The top of the dress was sleeveless and form fitting with black threaded embroidery. It was classically Chinese. The bottom continued with the thick black silk which split into pant legs that fell together to resemble a dress.

“I’m glad you like it,” Yuki said with the slightest hint of a smile.

“I more than like it. I will be wearing it tonight.”

“Will you be going out?”

“I will be having dinner with Dante and his brother,” I said proudly.

“Oh.”

“Have you met Dante’s brother, Matteo?”

Yuki lowered her head and gave a slight twist indicating she hadn’t.

“Someone made an attempt on Dante’s life.”

“Oh?”

“It was why he had crashed the car on our wedding day. He hadn’t just run into a tree trying to get away from me,” I said trying to hide the relief I felt saying it.

“Huh,” she chirped ignoring my emotional indulgence. “And your dinner with Matteo?”

“He believes there was someone waiting for him outside our compound who took a shot at him.

“Does father know about this?”

“He knows none of this. And you must be sworn to secrecy. Until we figure out who tried to kill him, this can’t get out.”

“Your secrets have always been safe with me.”

“I know,” I said glancing down at the dress.

Yuki might have known my secrets before I had. She had bought me my first dress before I had tried one on. Staring at her first gift, I hadn’t known what to think. I had felt both exposed and humiliated. But the joy she expressed when I had tried it on was what had made it comfortable.

Now, my dresses were as much a part of me as any of my clothing. It was my way of expressing who I was. It had been my rebellion while under my father’s strong thumb, and a way of throwing off my enemies. How were they supposed to respond to someone who looked like me knowing the wrong word could be their last?

“Why is it that your husband suspects his brother?”

“They think he was ordered to by their father?”

---