Page 36 of Unruly Obsession
Except when I try to hear Lily, I realize the receiver isn’t working anymore.
Only silence greets me. And a beat of dread—much like on the day I lost my little sister—pumps through my veins.
15
LILY
My palms are sweaty. It’s never a good thing when I’ve been called to the family estate. It’s why I prefer staying in my own apartment and focusing on my store. When my father summons a family gathering, memories flood back that are best left forgotten. I hate returning to this house. I look up at the three-story white mansion. It’s magnificent, often hosting grand parties that only the most exclusive of guests are invited to.
Despite arguing for Lorenzo not to come, I’m suddenly aware of his absence. Undoubtedly, having Lorenzo join a family dinner will only worsen the pressure my father is putting on me to find what he deems a suitable partner.
I feel like I’m just being passed around between powerful men. But I'm actuallyscared of my father, which is not at all how I feel about Lorenzo. It pains me to admit it, but as much as I try to center myself and prepare for what’s to come, I can’t help but be frightened.
I walk around the fountain positioned at the front of the French-style home. A butler holds the two grand wooden doors open for me, and farther past that, I can see one of the housemaids reorganizing the fresh flowers in the corridor.
My legs grow heavier with each step I take up the stairs as impending doom looms over me, so I try to focus on the long, light-pink satin dress with white heels I decided to wear. I often wear cheerful colors because they serve as a reminder to look at the brighter things. My hair is done up, and I'm wearing the pearl earrings and necklace my mother gifted me on my last birthday.
“Welcome back, Miss Taylor,” Bentley, the family's longtime butler, says.
“Thank you, Bentley,” I reply sweetly. I only say his first name when no one else is around because my father reprimands me for being friendly with the house staff, which never felt right to me to be so formal. He barely contains a small smile as he removes my white coat.
“They’re in the drawing room if you’d like to join them before dinner. Your brother has already arrived.”
“Thank you. I might quickly excuse myself to the bathroom, first,” I say with a polite smile. I see the shift in his gaze, the remorseful expression, as if he senses my unsaid words. Then again, Bentley has seen more than he should in the years serving our household, and his loyalty and silence have not necessarily been rewarded.
My brother's and father's voices raised in discussion come from the drawing room, but I hook a left to the closest powder room. The moment the door is shut, I run my sweaty palms over my dress.
It’s fine. Everything is going to be fine.
I assess my makeup, already exhausted by my parents' expectations. There’s always something I have out of place or haven’t touched up enough. I sigh as I play with the pearl necklace at my throat.
I fidget with the hairpin I’ve tightly wound my hair through. I pause momentarily as I smooth my fingers over it once again.I was in such a hurry to look presentable I didn’t notice earlier that there seems to be something different about it.
Removing it from my hair, I study it carefully. It’s not the same white pearl color, but an off-yellow. My eyebrows furrow. It also looks slightly bigger. What the?—?
I fiddle with it, an ominous feeling running over me. This isn’t my hairpin, and I didn’t think twice about using it because I always have it on my bathroom basin, often wearing my hair up.
Snap!The stick breaks away from the small ball. I look at the edge of the ball that certainly isn’t a pearl. Is that... some kind of chip?
Realization dawns on me… I might not know how Mafia business works, but I’ve seen enough crime documentaries to know that this is some kind of tracking or listening device.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I whisper to myself, an unyielding rage running through me. Thatassholehas no concept of personal space. Especially after I made him promise not to go into my room, and now he’sbuggingme.
I shake my hair out, then open the toilet seat and flush the device. It’s only by chance I found it, but how do I know he hasn’t done that to other pieces of my jewelry?
What an overbearing fucking asshole.
I release a harsh breath. It doesn’t matter. I’ll deal with him after I’ve dealt with my family.
One mountain at a time.
Bentley waits for my arrival outside the drawing room. He opens the door but doesn’t dare enter himself.
Three sets of eyes look up as I step into the room, and my father immediately clicks his tongue. “Lily, your hair looks like a mess today. Did you put any effort in at all?”
“Now, now, Father, be nice,” my brother, Vince, says as he approaches me with a smirk, scooping me into a big hug. I cling to his warmth, not often getting to see him since he took over myfather’s businesses in the London office. But even as a child, he was in many ways my safe space. I’ve missed him since he left over a year ago.
“You look beautiful as always,” my brother says, pressing a kiss on top of my head.
