Chapter 185

• VALENTINA
• I sat in the back of the hired car, the engine humming low as we sped away from the hotel. City lights streaked past the tinted windows in bright lines that blurred together. My hands clutched the ivory gown bunched in my lap, the fabric cool against my palms. The engagement ring pressed hard against my skin with every bump in the road, heavy now, like it was mocking me. I stared at it. The diamond caught stray light and flashed cold.
• The image wouldn’t leave me. Gustavo on that couch in only his boxers. His tux jacket and shirt thrown on the floor. Gabrielle’s earring glinting near his shoe. Lipstick smeared on the glass. Her black silk scarf draped across his chest like she’d marked him. My stomach twisted again. I pressed my lips together to keep the sob inside.