Page 84 of No Promises, No Lies

“I will ask some of the Bratva wives to reach out. They will have good advice to share with you. How you can make him happy. It is your duty, ?????. You are a Kostalov.”He speaks the words with pride.

When I still don’t respond, his tone grows firm. “Do you understand Aurora? I’m sure it will get better. You just need to learn how to make Matteo happy. You must.”

I want to vomit. “Yes, Papa.” My words are soft, barely audible.

“Nikolai and I look forward to your wedding. You will be so beautiful, ?????.”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Now go and make amends with Matteo. I’m sure it’s all just a misunderstanding. Do you want me to call him?”

“No,” I rush out. In no universe would my father calling Matteohelpmy situation. If anything, it would only make it far, far worse. “No—I’ll handle it Papa.”

“Good.” He sounds pleased, despite my broken words. I’m not even bothering to hide my complete loss of hope. “I will see you at the rehearsal dinner.” The click in my ear tells me he’s disconnected the call.

Taking a minute, I rub away the tears on my cheeks, stealing into a nearby bathroom to splash some cold water on my face to cool my burning red eyes before heading back to the locker room, my mood somber.

When I run, I will leavenothingbehind.

49

LESSONS

RORY

“Oh, you’re going the wrong way. It’s a left on park,” I call out to Sal, my driver for the evening.

The Belles are all going out to Lolita’s bar for post-game dinner and drinks. Even though I’m exhausted, I agreed to go. That is, after I verified no Breakers would be in attendance.

“Apologies, Signorina.” Sal peers at me through the car’s rear-view mirror. “I have orders to take you straight home.”

I sigh, frustrated, crossing my arms and slouching down in the leather seats of the town car.Of course he does.

Matteo’s waiting for me when I arrive. “Leave us,” he orders Sal, who turns and exits the room without a second glance. Antonio, a guard I’ve noticed, usually posted by the front door, also leaves with Sal.

Once they’ve gone, Matteo’s eyes narrow on me. “Aurora, follow me.” He turns and stalks off toward his office, a room I already hate.

I consider not doing as I’m told.

“Now, Aurora!” Matteo’s shout elicits a jump. Against my will, I follow.

He holds the door for me, pointing at the chair. “Sit,” he commands, like I’m a dog.

The door shuts behind me, and the air seems to thin inside the office. Slowly, I sink into the chair.

Matteo leans back against the front of his desk, his dark eyes ablaze with something like rage, and also maybe a little excitement. “Confess your sins, Aurora.” He studies me. “I’ll give you this one chance. Come clean, and I’ll go easy on you.”

My heart races, and my eyes dart around the study. No idea what I should be confessing to. “W-what sins?”I ask, unable to hide my nerves.

He clicks his tongue. My mind goes to Aidan and the penalty box last week, but there’s no way Matteo can know about that…right?I eye my fiancé warily, doing my best to look as innocent as possible.

When I only blink up at him, Matteo sighs, pulling out his phone. A saccharine smile on his lips as he scrolls, pulling up an entertainment news article. He shoves it in my face.“Explain this, Aurora.”

It’s a photo of me from the game tonight. But I’m not alone… Aidan’s got one arm wrapped around my shoulders and I’m leaned up against him. The photographer, or magazine, conveniently cropped Elle and Rez out of the frame. The headline teases at a possible relationship between player and cheerleader.

It’s… not good.

Matteo slams the phone down onto his desk, and I flinch.

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