Page 6 of Hell Hath No Fury

With an excited exclamation, Carolina jumps to her feet, rushing across the room and enveloping Agatha in a hug. They remain like that, arms locked around each other, as they have aquiet conversation, and it occurs to me that this is likely the first time they’ve seen each other since Antoinette went missing.

Lilith approaches her daughter much more slowly, but as soon as she appears beside the two women, Agatha and Carolina pull her in, making it a three-person embrace.

I look away, not wanting to intrude on their intimate moment, and instead turn my focus on the remaining people at the table.

Probably sensing my unease, Matt immediately rises from his seat and walks toward me with his hand outstretched. “Antonio. You made good time.”

Once again, I find myself feeling uneasy, unaccustomed to being welcomed anywhere with open arms, never mind by these people who are all so close to Lilith. I have to remind myself of the countless times I’ve come through for them, from securing Tony’s impromptu marriage to Carolina to leading a European coup when Matt’s very life was at risk. But still, this warm reception makes me question how much anyone knows about me and how Lilith and I first came to know each other.

Hesitantly, I take his hand, giving it a firm shake. “Would have been quicker without the detour to Amsterdam, but I’ve been told we never know where we’re going to find Agatha.”

Matt laughs and nods. “That’s for fucking sure.”

“Did we interrupt a big debate?”

“Yeah, the big question is, who gets to go to brunch later this morning.”

“I would think that would be obvious,” I reply easily. “Just the person invited should be going.”

“Exactly,” a rather shrill voice interjects from the table.

I look over and meet the eyes of a somewhat familiar face and realize this must be the infamous Camilla—or The Chameleon as she has gone by most recently.

“I don’t think anyone fucking asked you,” Carolina snaps from behind me.

I turn to look at her, my eyebrows raised, and when she just stands there and glares, I turn to Matt and ask, “Was it something I said?”

This time, Tony laughs and responds, “Carolina is adamant that she gets to go to brunch with Antoinette. But don’t worry, we’ve all made it perfectly clear that’s not gonna happen.”

Carolina stomps her foot, drawing my attention back to her again, but this time, beneath the anger, I see the anguish, hurt, and yearning. I turn toward her as I say, hopefully sympathetically, “You’ll get to see her soon enough. The last thing we want is for her to get spooked. Or worse, have whoever is pulling the strings get spooked and take off with her.”

Carolina’s frown eases, and Agatha puts her arms around her shoulders. “We’ll all get to have her back soon, Car. But we definitely can’t be too hasty.”

Carolina sighs heavily but then nods. Without saying anything further, she walks back to the table, pulling Agatha with her by her hand.

I turn back to Matt, attempting to ignore that Lilith is making her way over to me. My pulse jumps, and the flush that runs over me is incredibly disconcerting as what I can only describe as trepidation rolls over me. I scowl at the discombobulating feeling, wanting nothing more than to appear outwardly unfazed in this pivotal moment.

Matt, being thefunny guyhe is, stares at me with amusement sparkling in his eyes while I blatantly ignore Lilith who is now standing beside me. He looks between the two of us and then mutters, “I’ll leave you two to it, then.”

I glare at him, wanting to ask him to please not abandon me, but knowing I can’t, so I grind my teeth together and nod. Lilith sighs beside me, and I slowly turn to face her, my stomach suddenly in my throat.

It’s funny how you can have text conversations with people for years, but as soon as you meet them face-to-face, you get tongue-tied and unsure of yourself. And I am not the type of man who typically ever gets tongue-tied or feels unsure of himself, so that makes this moment in time excruciatingly awkward and painful for me.

Maybe this out-of-character feeling is reflective of our fucked-up history, of all the unknowns that still surround us, but in this moment, none of those matters. All that matters is she’s standing in front of me, seemingly nonplussed about seeing me again after all these years, history and trauma be damned.

I clear my throat, straighten my spine, and lift my head as I face her fully. She smirks at me, that knowing gleam in her eye that has me bristling as she drawls, “Mr. Rossi.”

I don’t know what it is about her saying my name in such a manner that sends a zing of excitement down my spine. She looks so smug, as if she knows exactly how twisted up I am, and is enjoying my discomfort. So, I say the only thing I can think of in the moment. “Mrs.Rossi.”

Her eyes widen, a slight frown creasing her brow as she stares up at me. I laugh, making me feel slightly better about the situation because, if nothing else, I managed to throw her off and, in doing so, felt that much better about my previous discomfiture.

The entire room has fallen silent, and I know they all heard what I said. I glance over at the table, and Agatha meets my gaze. The grin on her face makes another laugh bubble up, but I manage to suppress it. Lilith makes a choking noise, and I turn my attention back to her as she sputters, “Why the fuck would you say that?”

I shrug and then retort, “Just testing it out.”

Agatha laughs from across the room, drawing Lilith’s attention to her, and then she glares at her daughter beforeturning her glare back to me. She shakes her head and mutters, “You two are fucking trouble.”

Without another word, she turns and walks back over to the table where she was previously seated. I glance back at Agatha, who gives me a thumbs-up, and I don’t bother trying to mask the answering grin on my face, even if I do feel foolish. Point to me on that one.

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