Page 46 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

“Hello. Welcome.” A woman in her fifties with dark hair and big brown eyes greets us at the door. “I am Pinna,” she says in a slight Italian accent, making eye contact with me. Again, no shock at seeing Archer carrying me. “I will show you to your room.” She smiles at Archer. “Don—Mr. Valentino will see you in the study.”

“I’m not leaving her side.” He dips his head toward the grand staircase. “This way?”

“Um yes.” She nods, not at all fazed by his brusque tone. “Ms. Caterina said to put the dress upstairs. It arrived ten minutes ago. Very pretty. It’s a one of a kind.” She scampers ahead of Archer’s long strides. “In here.” She opens the door.

Archer heads straight for the bed and lays me on it.

I stare up at him in horror. “You can’t seriously be thinking about this right now?”

“I’m not.” He cocks an eyebrow as if asking, ‘are you?’ When I shake my head, he bends down on one knee to work on the laces of my ballet shoes. Once he frees my feet, he examines the dry blood stuck to my white tights, and then, my ankle. “You’re in pain.” It’s not a question.

“I’m used to it. I think I broke my toenail. It’s fine.” I push his hands away from me. “I just need to ice my knee. Normally, that would’ve been done by now. Except.” I point toward the door, unable to say aloud the word auction.

“I will get you some.” He gently runs his thumb into the joint of my knee, then glances up at me. “A high price to pay for perfection.”

Suddenly I’m painfully aware that we’re alone. My heart races as his gaze slides from my face down to my legs. Did he just compliment my performance? I inhale, getting lost in the blue sea of his eyes. It’s as if the storm has passed and now there’s nothing but calm waters. A tiny spark ignites in my core, and the air around us shifts and crackles. He scares me. And I know it all has to do with self-preservation. This intense energy between us that threatens to swallow me whole makes me feel vulnerable. I’m still that moth. And he’s still that flame I can’t resist.

“Paloma.” He shakes his head once.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt.” A beautiful tall woman with long hair that falls in perfect fat waves around her shoulders beams at us. There’s something angelic about her tone of voice that I find calming. She raises her hand. “I’m Caterina. Welcome to our home.” She smiles then her gaze settles on Archer. “My husband Rex would like a word. Don’t worry. She’s safe with me.”

Archer glances upward as if asking for deliverance or patience or maybe both. “Fine.” He rises to his feet. “She needs ice.”

“I can take care of that.” She nods. “He’s in the study.”

“Jesus.” He runs a hand through his hair, then says to me, “I won’t be long.”

As soon as the door closes behind me, Caterina turns to me. “Let’s get you ready. How about I draw you a bath. You can soak while we find you some clothes for after the wedding.”

“That’s sounds heavenly. Thank you.”

She disappears into the en-suite bathroom, then returns with a bathrobe. When she leaves again, I take the time to finally shed my costume. I start with the head piece, then my tutu, the leotard, and finally my tights. My feet are a disaster, but I can’t worry about that. I don the bathrobe and head for the bathroom.

“We don’t get a lot of ballerinas in the middle of the night.” Caterina chuckles while testing the water temperature. After she adds suds, she faces me. “You’ll be alright. May I?” She points at my robe.

“Thank you.” It seems I can’t stop saying that word. I let her pull the terry fabric off of me and then I climb in the soapy warm water.

“Better?” she asks.

“Yes.” I slide farther down.

“Come out when you’re ready. Pinna can help you with your hair and makeup.” She winks and disappears again.

I put away all thoughts of the impeding wedding and let my body submerge. My muscles relax and the aches and pains dial down to almost nothing. I come up for air and undo my ballerina bun, placing the bobby pins on the lip of the tub. Next to the freestanding tub, there’s a pedestal table with body wash and other bottles on it. I squirt shampoo on my hand and work it into a lather on my head. Slowly, bit by bit, I wash away this entire night.

When I feel more like myself again, I stand and use the spray handle to rinse off the soap. I climb out and put on the bathrobe again.

“Paloma.” Caterina knocks on the door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, I’m all finished here.” I stand there waiting because I don’t know what else to do.

“I have ice. Come sit down. You can ice your knee while Pinna works on your hair.” She lets the door swing open. “It’ll be okay,” she says when I sit on the chair they placed in front of a full-length mirror. After a beat, she adds, “My marriage to Rex was also an arranged marriage. It worked out for us. In the end. I’m sure yours will too.”

Tears spill down my cheeks. I’m embarrassed and angry and shocked that Archer didn’t even bother to tell them the truth. “Ours is not an arranged marriage. Archer bought me at a fucking virgin auction.” I finally say the word aloud. “He bought me the way you buy cattle.” I’m sure I screamed that last bit. Then I realize none of this was Caterina’s fault. She’s just being kind. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be.” She dashes to the door and looks both ways out on the hallway. When she returns, she sits on her ankles. “If you need to escape, I can help you. I have a place in Chelsea. You can stay there until you figure out what to do next.”

“You would do that?” My heart flutters with hope. I can see Dad again. He’ll tell Archer that this wedding is insane. The contract I signed can’t have any kind of weight in a court of law. “What about your husband?”

---