Page 48 of Vicious Heir

She just laughs, though. “Come on, do you really want that?”

“I miss seeing you every day too.”

“Yeah, totally, but you don’t need me hanging around. Besides, does Adriano have much of a staff?”

“Not really,” I admit. “Unless you count a bunch of hulking, dangerous guards asstaff.”

“Which I don’t.” Kennedy nudges my drink toward me. “Come on, be happy you escaped your grandmother’s clutches.”

“I don’t feel like I have much to be happy about right now. You know, the whole car bombing at my wedding thing?”

Kennedy flinches a little. “I’ve been trying to forget that.”

“Yeah, same. How’s that going?”

“Not great.”

“Also same.” I lean against her, and my anxiety slowly melts away. This feels so completely normal. There’s no strain, no awkwardness. We’re just friends. Normal friends, without any hang-ups around money or social standing or anything like that.

Although I’m aware of people looking in our direction. Moonlight’s popular right now, which means a lot of Philly’s society people show up here. I recognize one guy sitting at a corner table in the usual finance bro costume: long sleeve button-down with a Patagonia black vest over it. He’s a minor son from some secondary family or whatever, but he definitely recognizes me.

I’m self-conscious, stepping back into this world. I’ve been out of it for so long, but now my marriage to Adriano is enormous news. And it doesn’t help that our wedding is currently the most notorious social event of the last decade on account of the attack.

Still, it’s good to be out with a friend. Kennedy complains about the rest of the Willing-Morris staff and my grandmother in particular, and I tell her a little about living at the Marino Mansion.

“His dad’s really that sick?” she asks, frowning sympathetically.

“He doesn’t like to talk about it, but yeah, I think he doesn’t really come out of his room. I haven’t actually met him yet, so I don’t know all the details.”

“Hold on. Youlivewith this guy, and you haven’t met him?”

“It’s a really big house, and he honestly never comes out of his suite. I met his nurse though. She’s like the housekeeper too.” I tell her a little about Donatella, the only person at the mansion who I actually like. Although some of the guards aren’t too bad.

“God, that’s so bleak.” Kennedy stares at her drink. “Imagine living in a house with your sick father and never talking about it.”

“Honestly, sounds about normal for my world.”

“That’s true. You rich people are all—” She rolls a finger at her head.

“More money, more problems.”

“More like: more money, more dark hidden secrets.”

“Oh, come on, my family doesn’t havedarksecrets.”

Her eyebrows raise to her hairline. “Are you serious right now?”

“What? We’re almost normal!”

She cracks up, shaking her head. I grin at her and sip my drink. It’s fruity and strong, and by the time I finish it and consider a second, I feel pleasantly tipsy.

Kennedy takes control of the conversation, and I feel normal for a little while. Sure, some society assholes are hanging around and watching us like hawks, but I don’t care about them. I’m out with a friend having a drink like a normal, regular person, and I’m ready to put all my problems behind me. No more family shame. No more social outcast status. Just a married woman doing her own thing.

Until a shadow lands across the bar, and Kennedy’s face turns pale.

“Uh, Lucy?” She nods at the person lurking behind me.

Slowly, I turn to face my husband.

---