Page 3 of Divine Obsession

“They, uh… They’ve both passed.”

Maya gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Richard cleared his throat. “Pardon me, Natalia. I didn’t realize–”

“It’s all right. It was a long time ago.” My response came flawlessly. However, as I pushed my chair back, my smile didn’t reach my eyes. “Please, excuse me.”

Without another word, I left the table. But my heart was beating uncontrollably, and my head was all over the place. Family had always been a sensitive topic for me. And although not necessarily the truth, my answer had been close enough.

I needed a moment to regain myself.

A grip on my forearm brought me back to reality.

“Nat, I’m so sorry.” I could tell this got to Kali as much as me. “I had no idea they would–”

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault.” I pulled her in for a hug before giving her my first and only genuine smile of the night. “I just need some air. Where is the exit to the garden?”

“Straight down to your right. I’ll come find you in a bit, alright?”

I quickly nodded in agreement before walking away.

I could feel my mask slipping.

But I wouldn’t allow it to. I couldn’t not behertonight. I needed this. Just one night around high society to scratch that itch in my brain and fulfill the need to belong.

Before I knew it, I was out of the reach of the party and into a quieter area of the mansion.Ugh. Where is the exit?

I advanced through the dark hallways, my chest getting tighter and my breathing heavier. With the champagne glass I didn’t even realize I was still holding in one hand, I scrambled for my phone with the other.

I checked my messages to Maria:still undelivered.

Why wasn’t she texting me back? And her location was off–

I turned a corner and ran straight into someone – the thousand-dollar champagne spilling all over their shirtandthe front of my pink gown.

I gasped. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry–”

“You fucking blind?” The man pulled at his soaked shirt.

Frustration finally escaped me like an eruptive volcano, and my mask slipped before I could stop myself. “You don’t need to be adickabout it.”

I abandoned the glass on a decorative table and focused on patting my dress dry, trying to save myself from the embarrassment of returning to the gala with a stain.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed the man’s movements slow as he raised his head towards me. His gaze burned my cheek like frostbite, but I refused to give him my time of day. However, the temperature suddenly dropped to minus as his eyes examined me, and I became awkwardly aware that it was just the two of us in a secluded corner of the house.

“Who’s date are you?”

I blinked. “Excuse. You.”

As soon as I glared over my shoulder, a black ice gaze froze me in place, sending a chill down my spine.

Ferocity amid elegance.

My eyes dropped to his hand movements, to see he was unbuttoning his shirt. “You’re a plus one.”

“What makes you so sure I wasn’t invited?”

His movements slowed as he pulled off his shirt. My eyes unwillingly went over his rich dark skin and muscles; a silver cross hanging off the chain on his neck.

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