Page 105 of Vengeful Lies

Jewel

Ican see Eli’s temple pulse as Hawke curses at the game that Billie seems to be destroying him at.

Ford, Hope, and Ivy appear to be playing some kind of card game as I sit on Eli’s lap in his mansion. It’s only two days until the wedding, and I’m still reeling at the thought that only days ago, I thought I’d never be a part of this again. I don’t know them well yet but I already know that this is my family and that I belong here.

Eli’s thumb strokes up and down my outer leg. He’s irritated that I invited them all here. But I’ve come to discover that there’s very little Eli will deny me. The others have seemed to clue in on that as well.

But I wanted to be here, together, before the chaos of the wedding. The thought of marriage no longer grips me like a vise. I’m actually getting excited about it.

The doorbell rings, and Eli makes a move to get up and answer it.

“I’ll get it,” I tell him because there’s one more person I invited who is as equally important to this family. Besides Eli’s parents, who will always have his back no matter what—even against me.Especiallyagainst me.

Eli looks at me skeptically but releases me.

When I open the door, Dutton looks down at me. I inhale and square up to him.

“You have a lot of nerve inviting me over here as if I’m only a guest in this house,” he says.

The truth is, I like Dutton. Despite how terrifying he might be, I know the lengths he would go to protect his family. And I respect that.

“This will always be your home more than it will be mine,” I say honestly. “But I’d like us to at least tolerate each other for everyone else’s sake.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You think I barely tolerate you?”

“Clearly,” I sass back.

He kicks up a smile then as he pushes past me. “Would you believe, Jewel, that I actually like you? I just don’t like how annoying my cousin has become after falling in love with you. It’s unbefitting of him.”

I’m shocked, my jaw open as I stare at him. “Wait. Youlikeme?”

He frowns. “You’re not dead, are you?”

“You’d kill me even if Eli would come after you?”

“Even then. Whether my family hates me for it or not, I’ll remove anyone and anything that threatens us.”

I realized then that, although I’d gotten used to one monster, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the other. So I smile and point in the direction where everyone else is. And it’s not my place to figure out his monstrous ways. One day that will be some other poor woman’s responsibility.

CHAPTER 56

Jewel

The wedding day.

Had someone told me months ago I’d fall for my fake fiancé, I would’ve openly laughed and then shot them in the head. I never imagined this day for myself. In fact, before now, every time I even thought of it, it felt like a noose around my neck.

Although I don’t feel like I’m suffocating now, jittery nerves still take hold. The hair and makeup team arrived half an hour ago, around the same time as Rya. I told them all I needed to have a quick shower, and I haven’t moved from the bottom of the tub since.

Thoughts still plague me as to whether marriage is right for me. I know I love Eli and that there will be no other man who can handle me like he can. But marriage still scares me. Because, ultimately, I could be signing myself up for the most painful type of love. But also the most rewarding. It was just deciding to take the risk.

I love Eli, but it’s still a wild concept to be marrying a mafia heir.

“Jewel?” Rya’s voice comes through the bathroom door.

She apologized profusely when she discovered what her husband had been up to. And despite the strange situation, I can’t say I’m entirely surprised by Crue’s involvement. He’s a terrifying man in the same way Eli is, and I definitely think Eli got his scheming brilliance from both his father and mother. They just execute their goals differently.

“I’ll be right out!” I say, realizing I’ve been in here for too long. Yet again, running away. I turn the shower off and reach for a towel to dry myself. When I step out, Rya is waiting patiently. She’s a vision in a light blue dress. The makeup artists are nowhere to be seen, and I sigh in relief that she sent them away to give us some privacy.

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