Entangled with the wrong man

Chapter 10: Who's Ivanov

~Druscilla~

Kaila pushed the door open without knocking, the way she always did, and the scent of her vanilla body spray hit me first.

“Do you really want to postpone the wedding?” she asked, kicking off her sandals and flopping onto the edge of my bed like she owned the place.

I sat at the vanity, staring at my own reflection like it belonged to somebody else. The wipe in my hand smelled like rosewater and regret. I dragged it across my cheek, smearing the last of last night’s mascara.

“I don’t even know what to think anymore,” I muttered, biting the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste copper.

Kaila’s brows pulled together. “But why the sudden change of heart? You’ve been planning this wedding since we were kids. You had the damn color scheme picked out in middle school.”

I tossed the wipe into the little silver trash can and watched it disappear. “That’s exactly the problem. My whole life has been mapped out like a damn GPS route. Turn left at twenty-five, merge into marriage at twenty-eight, exit at babies and a white picket fence. I’m tired of knowing what’s coming next every single second.”

My palm came down on the vanity harder than I meant it to. The bottles rattled. Kaila flinched, eyes wide.

“I want to be surprised,” I said, voice cracking. “I want to wake up one morning and not know how the day’s gonna end. I want spontaneous. I want messy.”

She just stared, lips parted, like I’d grown a second head right there in front of her.

I dragged in a shaky breath. “I’m not calling the whole thing off. I just… I need a minute. To breathe. To be single for five damn seconds before I sign my life away.”

Kaila’s face softened. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I get it. I do.”

Relief flooded me so fast my eyes stung. I threw my arms around her, burying my face in her shoulder. She smelled like home and trouble all at once.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “Yesterday at the club… God, it was fun. Real fun.”

She pulled back, confusion wrinkling her nose. “You? You enjoyed clubbing? I thought you hated that scene.”

I touched my lips without thinking, the ghost of Ivanov’s mouth still burning there. Heat crawled up my neck. “There’s a first time for everything.”

Kaila’s eyes narrowed, playful but sharp. “After the bullets and the screaming and the whole ‘we almost died’ thing?”

I shrugged, standing up and reaching for my robe. The silk slid cool against my skin. “We’re still breathing, aren’t we?”

“Jesus, Cilia. You’re scaring me.” She laughed, but it sounded nervous. “I was losing my mind worrying about you.”

I rolled my eyes and tied the belt. “You’re acting like my mother now. Patricia had you shaking in your heels last night, didn’t she?”

Kaila snorted, picking up the giant teddy bear Isaac gave me last Valentine’s. She hugged it to her chest like a shield. “That woman could make the devil apologize. I swear she almost made me pee myself with that lecture down there.”

I winced. “I’m sorry I left you to face her alone.”

She waved it off. “It was my idea to drag you out. My fault.”

I twisted my hair into a messy bun, the strands still damp from the shower I hadn’t taken yet. “I need to get clean. I still smell like smoke and bad decisions.”

Kaila’s gaze snapped to my neck. Her mouth fell open. “Is that a hickey?”

My hand flew up before I could stop it. The mark was small but unmistakable—pink and tender, right where Ivanov’s teeth had grazed me.

Shit.

I spun toward the mirror. There it was, loud as a neon sign.

Kaila was already on her feet, crowding me. “Cilia. Where the hell did you spend the night?”

I pressed my lips together, biting the inside of my cheek again. “I swear nothing happened with Ivanov. I must’ve hit my neck on something.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Who’s Ivanov?”

The name had slipped out like a secret I couldn’t keep anymore. My face went hot. I dropped my forehead to the vanity, the cool wood pressing against my skin.

I couldn’t stop seeing him. The scar slicing through his eyebrow. Those strange, mismatched eyes that looked straight through every lie I’d ever told myself. The way water had slid down the hard lines of his chest in that hotel shower like he was carved from something dangerous and beautiful.

I’m engaged. I shouldn’t be thinking about another man’s hands, another man’s mouth, the way he’d tasted like whiskey, chocolate and sin.

But God, I was.

Kaila grabbed my shoulders and turned me around. “Come on. Spill. You’re blushing like a teenager.”

I laughed, shaky and embarrassed. “I’m not telling you a damn thing. We need to get ready for church before Mom starts yelling the roof off.”

“Your mom, your problem,” she shot back, grinning.

Avery walked in right then, carrying the glass of water I’d asked for ten minutes ago. She looked a little flushed, like she’d been cornered downstairs again.

I took the glass from her and drank it in three long gulps. The cold shocked my throat. “Thanks, babe. I know Mom probably preached at you the whole time. I’m sorry.”

Avery shrugged, sinking into my pink heart-shaped chair and spinning it slowly. “I’m used to it. She’s consistent, I’ll give her that.”

Her eyes bounced between me and Kaila. “What’d I miss? You two look like you’re hiding a body.”

Kaila opened her mouth, eyes sparkling.

“Nothing!” I cut in, stepping between them. “Absolutely nothing. Let’s just get dressed.”

I escaped into the bathroom, heart hammering. Kaila caught the door before I could shut it.

“Let’s do another bachelorette night,” she whispered, winking. “I like this version of you. Wild. A little reckless.”

“You’re insane,” I laughed, prying her fingers off the door and locking it behind me.

An hour later I was in a simple black V-neck dress that hit just above the knee, a thin belt cinched at my waist. Kaila and Avery had already left for church. I fastened the buckle, the metal cool against my fingers, when a knock sounded.

“Mom, I’ll be down in a second!” I called.

“It’s not your mom.”