Page 1 of Empire of Lust

BIANCA

“Let me get this straight.” My best friend Tatum leans over, her elbow squeaking on the leather seat of the town car while a glass of champagne teeters in her hand. Gently, she brushes strands of her sunshine-blonde hair from her heart-shaped face.

“You graduated from college today, and your boyfriend of five fucking years couldn’t bother to attend the ceremony or hang out with you after?”

I grind my teeth. Does she have to be so honest? Her bluntness is nothing new, even if she’s slurring her words after all the alcohol she’s consumed today. There were five graduation parties at which weabsolutelyhad to make an appearance. Her words, not mine.

And sure, it was fun, but it might’ve been better if I’d felt like I was actually there.Present.Instead, all I could do was watch everyone else celebrating their next step in life while I remained apart, wondering what was broken inside me.

I guess my absent boyfriend is as good of an excuse as any, even if it doesn’t ring entirely true. There are deeper issues, but I’m not ready to face those yet.

“Unfortunately, he has to work early in the morning.” I feed her the lie he’s given me one time too many. “I can’t blame him for trying to be an adult.”

“An adult would’ve requested the day off. It’s not like he hasn’t known the graduation date for months.” She offers a blithe shrug. “I don’t buy it for a second, Bianca.”

Like always, she’s calling my bluff.

All I can do is shake my head.

“The only thing that matters is that it’s important to you,” she continues. “If he really wanted to be here, he would be. He’s treating you like you’re an afterthought, and it’s bullshit. If he was a real man, building a future with you would be the most important thing to him. I know you don’t want to believe it, but you don’t mean shit to him, and that makes me want to slash his tires and tell him what a stupid fucker he is.”

Sigh. I wish I knew what to say, but there is no response that will make her happy with my choice to stay with him. Lucas has burned me so many times it’s impossible to see the good that may or may not be left in him. I don’t know why I stay.

Maybe it’s the fear of being alone? Or maybe I’m hoping he’ll come around. The truth is, I don’t know. It’s not like there’s a ring on my finger or a family that we’re planning.

I can’t spend the rest of the night listening to her say things I’ve already heard—and told myself—a million times, so I grasp at something to divert her.

“Hey, it’s not all bad.” I smile. “Him blowing me off means we got to spend the entire day together and the rest of the night, too. And last time I checked, your devoted boyfriend couldn’t be bothered to hang out tonight, either.” I cringe as soon as I say the words out loud. Regret is a shot I didn’t prep a chaser for when I see the smug grin on her full lips slip.

“Yeah, well, I guess we’re both unlucky in love. He had other things to do, too.”

She won’t say what, and I wonder if he bothered to tell her. You would think she has the perfect relationship with Kristoff from how she talks, but the truth is clear, no matter how she tries to spin it to others. It must be the world she grew up in that leaves her wanting to keep things to herself, to put on a brave face and toss her hair over her shoulder like nothing matters. The Torrios deal in secrets, and a powerful man like her father can’t afford to let his true feelings show. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Our driver, Romero, turns onto the road that holds the front gate of the Torrio compound and my stomach flutters. Callum Torrio is both dangerous and alluring. A man like him has not gathered as many enemies as he has by sticking to the right side of the law. I know the type of man he is, and so does my father. Which is why he lectures me about how dangerous it is to still be friends with Tatum.

The guard at the gate of the Torrio compound waves us forward as we approach. We continue through the gate and up the long, wide, winding driveway that cuts through the heart of the enormous property.

There’s enough land that even Callum’s trusted bodyguards live in small homes positioned near the twenty-foot-high stone wall which encloses the compound.

Tatum gulps down the rest of the champagne in her glass and looks at me with glazed eyes. “What were we talking about again?” She taps her chin with a manicured finger. “Ahh, right. Luke the asshole.”

I roll my eyes at her not-so-clever nickname. “He’s not an asshole, Tatum.”

If I tell myself that enough, maybe I’ll believe it as well.

“But he is, and you know it. I know it. His mom probably knows it. You can hate me, though I know it’s not possible, but it’s your graduation day. A once in a lifetime event. He knew how much it meant, and he couldn’t bother to even go to dinner with you when your father made it a point to invite him.”

That bothers me more than I care to admit, but all I can do is come up with another excuse. “It’s not his fault he had to cover a shift.”

Her snort fills the cab. “Right. I forgot about his career at his uncle’s gym.”

Romero pulls around the enormous circular courtyard in front of the sprawling brick mansion.

“The gym he’s going to take over,” I remind her as gently as I can. “It’s a serious investment. If he wants to act the part, he needs to make responsible choices; otherwise, what’s the point of taking over?”

“I’m just telling you… you deserve better. He could’ve got the time off. He didn’t even try, and that means he doesn’t care.” She burps, then groans. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like seeing you hurt, and that’s all he does.”

“I’m not hurt.” At least, not really. Not like I should be.Would beif I cared enough about him to let him hurt me.

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