Page 32 of Plunge into Obsession

Decadence was a pretty classy strip club—or, as classy as a strip club could be—so most of our clientele were easy to handle.

But we did sometimes get rowdy, drunk, and entitled men coming in.

As I sat on the bed and watched Kaia put on the finishing touches of her makeup, the memory of Lucinda doing the same thing the last night I saw her popped up in my mind.

Rarely did I ever go a day without thinking about her.

She was entrenched deep inside my soul.

It still didn’t feel real that she was gone—or she was living her life in hell if she wasn't gone.

I couldn’t imagine it any other way, especially since she’d fallen into the hands of the cartel.

I blinked when Kaia smacked her lips in the mirror, trying to even out the lipstick. I stood and walked over to her.

I looked at us in the mirror.

We looked so similar to each other. We could have been passed as sisters.

I had long black hair that flowed down to the middle of my back, blue eyes, and pale skin. The gray chiffon dress I had on was flowy at the bottom and hit just above my knees.

I liked it.

It was pretty and modest. It made me feel beautiful. And it complemented the dark makeup I had on.

Kaia had neutral-toned makeup that showed off all her natural features. She wore a simple black lace dress with slightly ruffled sleeves that settled gracefully on her shoulders. The hemline was shorter in the front than it was in the back, showcasing her lean, shapely legs ending in three-inch strappy black heels. It gave her a little height over me. I opted for black flats.

Kaia had long dark midnight hair set in layers that framed her delicate face, big brown eyes, and tan skin that showed off her Asian heritage.

Her grandma on her mom’s side immigrated from Korea when she was ten.

Kaia was a beautiful mixture of her mom and her dad, but she wouldn’t want to look like the man who helped conceive her if she had it her way.

He had been an abusive asshole her entire life, but looking at her, no one could guess all the terrible shit she’d gone through.

She was always put together.

Unlike me.

Most of the time, I felt like I was scrambling along, trying hard to keep it together.

“You look pretty,” I said, meaning it.

She wrapped her arms around me.

We were pretty even in height, though I might be a half-inch taller than her when we stood barefoot.

“So do you. Are you okay?”

I nodded. I hadn’t told her much about what went on with Gabriel. I was still embarrassed about the whole thing, but Kaia knew of my crush on the man, as stupid as it might be.

One look at Gabriel and it was clear he wasn’t the kind of man anyone would want their daughter to date.

And given my history, I should try to stay away from him.

But my heart was a stupid little thing, and right now, it was winning.

It didn’t help that it had been a week since I’d last seen his stupid face.

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