Page 53 of King of Greed

I WAS IN BRAZIL, SURROUNDED BY CURRENT ANDformer fashion models, but there was only one person I couldn’t take my eyes off of.

Alessandra stood at the altar, resplendent in a pale orange dress that made her glow despite the overcast skies. Wisps of hair framed her face, and a delicate glint of gold gleamed around her neck.

If I were a bride, I would never let her in my wedding party because she outshone everyone around her. Every time, a million times over.

Orange instead of white. Rio instead of DC. Bridesmaid instead of bride.

It wasn’t our wedding, but seeing her up there, looking so damn beautiful I couldn’t believe she was real…it was an excruciating reminder of what I’d had.

And what I’d lost.

“I promise to be your best friend, your confidante, and your partner in all things big and small. You will never face the world alone because I’ll be there for you, always and forever.”

I’d meant my vows when I’d said them. I still did. But intentions couldn’t replace actions, and somewhere along the way, I’d mistaken the former for the latter.

Loving someone wasn’t enough if I didn’t show it. Appreciating them wasn’t enough if I didn’t express it.

I’d been so used to Alessandra’s unquestioning support that I hadn’t realized what a toll being the emotional anchor of our relationship had taken on her. She was strong, but even the strongest needed someone to lean on. I’d promised that someone would be me, and I’d broken that promise more times than I could count.

A fist crushed my heart to pulp.

Alessandra stared straight ahead as her mother walked down the aisle and the real ceremony commenced. I could tell by the tightness of her expression and her stranglehold on the flowers that she was holding back tears.

I didn’t know every part of her anymore, but the parts I did know, I knew intimately. Her tears weren’t for her mother; they were for us.

The fist squeezed harder. Even if she hated me with the fire of a thousand suns, that wouldn’t compare to how much I hated myself in that moment.

A crystal droplet snaked down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, but our gazes collided when she looked up again. Her eyes shone with pain, and if I hadn’t been sitting, the impact would’ve knocked me flat on my ass.

I’d spent my life building an empire, but in that moment, I would’ve happily dismantled the entire fucking thing if it meant making her smile instead of cry.

Past and present blurred into one as we stared at each other, caught in the web of a thousand memories and regrets. The buzz had returned to my ears, drowning out the rest of the ceremony. Itwasn’t until the other guests stood and filed into the reception hall that I realized the actual wedding was over.

Alessandra’s eyes lingered on mine for a final beat before she glanced away. It was a small movement, but it felt, irrationally, like I was losing her all over again.

I swallowed past the jagged shards in my throat.

Luckily, the wedding was small, so it was easy to find her in the crowd after she finished her bridesmaid duties. I made it halfway to her before Marcelo stopped me.

“Hey. Can we talk?”

Wariness crept through my chest. He’d been friendly enough in Buzios despite the divorce, but he seemed uncharacteristically guarded as he led me to the quietest corner of the room.

“Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t.” Marcelo cut straight to the chase. “Not today.”

My eyebrows winged up. “What, exactly, do you think I’m planning to do?”

“I don’t know, but I know it has to do with Alessandra.” He nodded at his sister, who was talking to a model I vaguely recognized from the billboards in Times Square. “It’s not the time, Dom. You know how much our mother stresses her out. She doesn’t need you adding to that.”

“I just want to talk to her. I’m not going to hurt her.”

“You mean, more than you already have?”

I flinched. That shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did, considering it was the truth, but that was precisely why his words stung. I had no defense.

Marcelo sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Look, I like you. You were a good brother-in-law, and you’ve done a lot for me over the years. But Ále is my sister. I’ll always choose her over anyone else.”

I suppressed another flinch at the wordwere.I’d never thoughtthere’d be a day when a simple past tense would sting, but the past two months had been eye-opening in more ways than one.

---