Page 131 of Immoral

He rises. "Okay, bossy."

"Ha ha!"

He kisses my forehead then leaves the room. A few moments later, Arianna knocks, sticking her head past the doorway. "Hey."

I smile. "Come in."

She walks over and sits in the same spot Gianni did. Her expression is full of worry. "How are you feeling?"

It hits me how much she's a Marino, even if she doesn't seem to have the brutal traits her brothers and father do. I force a smile bigger than I'm feeling. "I'm good. There's no need to worry."

She tilts her head then opens her mouth before closing it shut and biting her lip.

"Go ahead. Say whatever it is you want," I encourage.

She shifts on the bed. "Are you okay? Really okay? I... I know what it's like to..." She swallows hard.

I grab her hand. Dante told me how an Abruzzo kidnapped and tried to rape her. "I'm okay. Promise."

She bites her lip, studying me. "If you ever need to talk, even if it's months from now, I'm here."

"Thanks. I appreciate that." I clear my throat then cringe. "I almost don't want to ask, but how did the rest of the day go once I left?"

She smiles. "It was fine. Excellent, really. Your assistants stepped up and handled everything. Everyone thought you were attending to other issues. And after your speech, there was a big shift in the models' attitudes."

My chest tightens, wondering if my antics made things worse. "What do you mean?"

"They were great. Nice to everyone, including each other. I think they took what you said to heart," she claims.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Wow. I wish I would have done that years ago, then. But, honestly, you'd tell me if there were any issues, right?" I ask.

Her eyes widen. "Of course! I promise you. Everything went off without a hitch! It was a great show. I wish you could have seen it."

A tiny amount of disappointment fills me. My entire life, Fashion Week was the unattainable goal I was trying to reach. I hate I missed a moment of it.

"Don't worry! You have the rest of the week to attend!" she assures me.

I force a smile. "That's true."

"You'll just have to get past Gianni," she adds.

My gut sinks. "Ugh. He's going to try and keep me home, isn't he?"

She winces. "They're all down there discussing security."

"It wasn't their fault. Honestly, I just ran outside when I heard Gianni got arrested. I wasn't thinking clearly," I admit, reprimanding myself again for my stupidity.

She rolls her eyes. "I told Killian there are plenty of guards to cover. I mean, how many guards are needed when all the Ivanov and O'Malley husbands are also here?"

I shrug. "No idea. I leave those details up to Gianni. But, please, do whatever you can to try and convince him to let me go tomorrow."

My stomach growls, and she laughs, then rises. "I'll go get Silvio so you can get your exam over with and eat."

"Thanks. And thank you for doing everything you did for the show today," I add.

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