Page 54 of Final Installment
“Of course, I noticed.You’re good at makeup, but you’re not that good.”She clicked her teeth.“If this won’t stop bleeding, we’ll have to take you to a hospital.
”Absolutely not!All hell will break loose if we do.”
She didn’t argue.Instead, she said, “We need to get you out of this dress.”
“Did I bleed on it?”
“Not yet.”She held the towel in place while I stood and shimmied out of the dress.“You need a different bra for that dress.”
“I have a few options in my luggage.I was only trying the dress on to see if it would fit.”
“It’s a killer fit.”
Surprised by her compliment, I managed a shocked, “Thanks.”
She ignored my surprise.“I’m sorry she hurt you.I shouldn’t have left.”
Certain she had been meeting a man, I cautiously asked, “Are you okay?”
“Not really,” she admitted, her voice thick with emotion.
“I’m sorry, Dafina.”I didn’t want to put too much thought into where she’d gone or who she was with or why.
“It is what it is.”Her defeated reply broke my heart.“I don’t want to marry Luka, but at least, he’ll be useful when it comes to dealing with our mother.”She scowled at the closed door.“She is never going to hurt us ever again.”
Her words chilled me right to the bone.For once, I almost felt sorry for my mother.
Chapter Twelve
“We’regoingtobelate,” Kristo called through the closed door.
“I’ll be right out.”Luka stared at the swirled stream of blood and bile in the toilet.His stomach burned, and his throat ached.The medication from the doctor wasn’t helping, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could put off the testing that needed to be done.
After the wedding, once everything calms down, I’ll get tested.
He flushed away the evidence of his illness and spent a few minutes washing his hands and brushing his teeth.He left the bathroom and found Kristo waiting with a concerned look.Brushing away his cousin’s worries, he said, “It’s fine.I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.”Kristo frowned.He could see right through him, had always been able to read him.“But I’m not going to bring it up again.”
“Thank you.”
“Just like I’m not going to bring up Elona again or the night we spent getting drunk on cheap cocktails or the day we spent riding rollercoasters and eating sugary junk across Disneyland.”
He scowled at his cousin for exactly that.“Why do you keep fucking with me about this?”
“You know why,” Kristo replied pointedly.
“I don’t.”Luka’s insistent lie didn’t fool his cousin.They were too close to cover up a truth like this.
“There’s still time.”Kristo purposely placed himself in the way, forcing Luka to meet his imploring gaze.“There’s still time to make a different choice.”
“Stop.”He didn’t want to hear this, not again.“There is no other choice to be made.The agreements and the contracts—”
“Can get fucked!”Kristo grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a shake.“Luka, this is your life!This is your happiness on the line!”
“My happiness?”He violently shrugged off his cousin’s hands.“When has my happiness ever mattered?Huh?When?”He threw his hands out wide.“Not when I was a kid.Not when I was a teenager forced to take over this family.Not when I was twenty or twenty-five or even thirty.My happiness has never been considered!Not once!”
“So make it a consideration!”Kristo was like a dog with a bone, refusing to let go.“You have a few hours to stop this, Luka.”
