Page 59 of The Fall of Sin (The Sins of Saint 2)

The door lurched open as I stormed out, the soothing sound of the orchestra’s music nothing but noise as it clashed with the thump of my beating heart. The sea of people seemed to close in on me, the crystal prisms now a blinding light as tears slipped freely down my cheek.

Saint stood by the bar still talking to Antonio with James flanking him. While I stared at Saint for what seemed like an eternity, all I saw was a lie. Deception. And how I had been blind and stupid for thinking a man like him could ever fall for a woman like me. Anete was right. Saint was a god, and I’d never be good enough for him.

Every corner of my soul throbbed in agony, and I took a step back. Then another. And another.

All the unfamiliar faces and extravagant trimmings taunted me. I didn’t belong here. Did I really think it would be as easy as putting on a designer dress and walking at the side of one of Italy’s most powerful men? That I’d be able to go from orphan to queen?

Stupid, stupid,stupidgirl.

My heel knocked against the stairs, and I almost stumbled to the ground before running up the steps, like Cinderella before the clock struck midnight. Just like Cinderella, I didn’t belong there. I didn’t belong at the ball with the Prince.

The farther I rushed up the stairs, the more desperate I became to get away. My heels clicked over marble floors, but as I reached the exit, I heard someone call my name.

“Mila?”

Raphael stood by the elevator, and just like the day I ran from Saint, away from him and his father’s war, my brother was there once again.

“Come on,” he urged. “Mom’s waiting.”

I closed my eyes as tears tore from my soul, the thought of my mother and how I’d longed to know her all my life shaking me to my core.

I glanced back at the entrance to the hall, part of me hoping Saint would come walking out, maybe try to stop me from running again. Maybe even tell me what Anete had said was a lie—that she was the liar, not him. But the other part of me, the less naive part, knew the real liar was me. I had been lying to myself thinking I could fit into this world of power and greed—where only the richest survived. A world I would be strong enough to rule as Saint’s queen. It was all lies I told myself so I could finally find a place I would fit in. A place I belonged.

I was wrong, and now I no longer trusted my own judgement. It had failed me one too many times.

“Why do I keep on finding you running from your husband?”

I turned to face Raphael. “Because I’m foolish.”

“No. I don’t think it’s that.” He rested his hands on my shoulders and shot me a sympathetic look. “Your husband is the foolish one for allowing you to get away.” He wiped at a lingering tear. “At least some good can come from tonight. A lost girl finally being reunited with her mother.”

“Does she really want to see me, Raphael?”

“She does, Mila.”

“Why has she waited so long? Surely she knew I was here in Italy weeks ago?”

Raphael stepped back and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m to blame there. Like I told you before, she still hasn’t recovered from losing our father. I didn’t want to upset her.”

“And knowing about me would upset her?”

“No. Not in the way you think. She gave you up, Mila. I just wasn’t sure if she was ready to face what was probably the biggest mistake of her life.”

As much as I would have loved to blame someone for keeping me from my mother, Raphael’s reasoning made sense. If I had been in his shoes, I’d be wary too, and would do anything to protect my mother from hurt.

He draped an arm around my shoulder and slowly guided me, one small step at a time, toward the elevator. “Come on, our mother is waiting.”

The elevator door opened, and Raphael got in. For a single heartbeat, I was frozen, and every event of the last few weeks flashed before my eyes. All the emotion I experienced crushed my every bone, and as I lifted my foot to take that final step, I hesitated.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” I whispered and slipped the shoes from my feet, throwing them to the ground.

I took a deep breath and finally managed to step into the elevator. Raphael smiled. Steel doors sealed shut. And there I was…once again watching the lights flash as the elevator ascended to the unknown.

We went all the way up to the top floor, and my bare feet hit the plush carpet when I stepped out of the elevator.

“Here.” Raphael pointed to a dark mahogany door on the left. “She’s in there.” He wiped his fingers down the side of his mouth and glanced up and down the hall before reaching for the key card from his jacket. “You ready?”

I lifted my chin and braved a weak smile as I nodded. Nights. Months. Years I’d waited and dreamed of this moment. There were so many questions I’d thought about asking her the day I’d finally meet her. Yet here I was, and all I wanted was for her to put her arms around me. To hold me. To brush her fingers through my hair and tell me everything was going to be okay.

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