Page 91 of Forever Fake

“Yes. Home.”

“I don’t want to go home.”

He ignores my protest. “You’re going to sleep this off, then you’re going to go see Gin in person and talk to her to clear this up. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about relationships, it’s that communication is key. You suck at it right now, but you’ll get better. Now stand up.”

I slide down from my stool at the bar and my knees give out.

“Christ. You’re a fucking mess.” Roman takes my arm and peels me off the floor. The room spins, and I stumble as he supports most of my weight. “You owe me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? The way I see it, we’re finally even.”

As soon as Roman opens his front door, we’re greeted by Sophia. “There you are. I was beginning to worry. It’s late.” She kisses Roman and my heart painfully twists. I want what they have—with Gin. With my beautiful, sweet magpie who’s the only person on this planet that I want to be around constantly. All of my being misses her.

“How was your day,” Roman asks his wife as he dumps me on the sofa.

“Great. Gin stopped by this afternoon and we chatted for hours.”

My head snaps up, and I immediately regret the sudden movement. “Gin was here?”

Sophia studies me, a slight frown creases her brow. “Yes. She came to tell me she’s moving to Italy.”

I glance at Roman. “See? She hates me.” My speech is so slurred I barely understand myself. “That’s why she’s moving to another country.”

“Or maybe she decided to move after reading that ridiculous email you sent.” Roman pours himself a scotch and downs it in one go.

“She bought the house before I sent that email.”

Roman and Sophia exchange a loaded glance, but I can’t figure out what it means. Do they think I’m doomed? Did I fuck up that badly? Shit, I did, didn’t I?

CHAPTER 42

Ginevra

“Ican’t thank you enough for getting Elena out of the house to have some fun for a while,” Ravenna says, sitting across from me at my hotel room table. Arianna and Sophia sit on either side. “She’s been wasting away for years. I never thought to just show up and whisk her away for a while.”

“We both needed it,” I confess. Even though I had a great time touring Italy, and those memories will always be some of my favorite, I’m ready to face reality and settle into my life—whatever that looks like.

Arianna scrolls through the listing photos of my house in Positano, from when it was for sale. “This place is stunning. I’m coming to visit as soon as I can. That view, just look at that!”

“That’s half the reason I bought it.” I consider my next words, unsure how to phrase them. “Do you think… Once we’re divorced, will I get to keep the house or will I have to sell it and give back all the money I spent?”

Sophia and Arianna exchange a look, they both shrug.

“It depends,” Ravenna says. “How much did you spend?”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly keeping track, but my best guess is about twenty…”

Arianna frowns. “Twenty? The house alone had to cost more than twenty grand, even for a down payment, I’d guess a few mil. Oh!” Her eyes grow round. “You spenttwenty million dollarsof Blake Baron’s money?”

I swallow hard and nod. “Do you think he’ll want it back?”

“I sure hope not.”

Sophia unexpectedly laughs. “Sorry. It’s not really funny. It’s just… only you could find a way to spend that kind of money in less than a month.”

“I was mad at him. I thought it would get his attention, but it didn’t. He never really cared about me, which is fine.” The lie eats at my insides.

It’s not fine.

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