Page 63 of A Sinner's Truth

“They might care?” I lift a shoulder.

“I’m sure they will. I can do that for you. Want me to make arrangements with a funeral home?” Drew offers.

“No, I want to do it.” Why does everyone think I can’t do this? It’s basically a party where the guest of honour isn’t actually there. How hard can it be?

“You need to eat.” Santo places a plate on the coffee table in front of me.

“I’m not hungry,” I tell him, keeping my eyes on my laptop screen. “Do you know how many types of caskets there are? How do you choose? Like it’s not as if the person can feel the comfort. They’re dead.”

“Aria.” Santo snatches the laptop from me. “Eat. You haven’t eaten anything all day.”

“I’m not hungry and I need to make decisions.” I reach for the laptop.

“You’re using this planning as a way to avoid,” Santo tells me.

“I’m planning my father’s funeral, Santo. What the hell do you think I’m avoiding?” I yell at him.

“The grief you’re feeling,” he says.

“Grief? I just lost the only parent I had, but he was a shitty father anyway. It’s really not a loss.” My fingers clutch the locket around my neck. Santo’s eyes drop to my hand.

“You can still grieve the loss of a shitty parent,” he says.

“I don’t need to waste time on grieving. I need to plan his funeral so I can move on with my life.”

“Move on with your life?” he asks. “How exactly does that look for you?”

“I don’t know,” I tell him.

“You’re going to inherit Swan Enterprises. You have your mother’s locket. You’re free from having your father control your life, so what are you going to do next, Aria?” Santo spits out, almost like he’s angry about all those things.

“I don’t know,” I repeat.

“It’s okay to be upset, Aria. It’s okay to not know what happens next and it’s okay to give yourself time to process everything that’s happened.”

He’s right, though. I am free. I have my mother’s necklace. My father can’t try to force me to marry anyone now. Which also means I don’t need to stay married to Santo. Is that what he’s getting at? Our arrangement can end?

Do I want that? I don’t think I’m ready for it to end. I was supposed to have a year with him.

“Do you want me to leave?” I ask him.

“Why the fuck would I want you to leave?” Santo growls.

“Because we don’t need to be married anymore. The reason we got married was so my father couldn’t sell me off to the highest bidder. He’s dead, Santo. He can’t do that now.”

Santo stands and starts pacing the room before he suddenly stops. “We had a deal, Aria, one year. You still owe me eleven months.”

“You want me to stay?” I’m so confused. What is he getting out of this arrangement other than sex? Which, let’s be honest, he can get from anyone he looks at.

“Yes,” Santo says. One simple word.

“Okay.” I grab the laptop and open it. “What casket do you think I should pick?” I ask, quickly changing the subject.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

She hasn’t cried. Her father died a week ago. We’re sitting in the front row of his funeral service, and she still hasn’t cried. I know she’s hurting. The way she’s trying to act like everything is fine, and she has it all under control, it’s a coping mechanism so she can avoid feeling any pain.

I’m waiting for it to hit her. And when it does, when she crashes, I’ll be right here to catch her.

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