A Truth and a Lie

by V. Sousa

  I rolled over and laid my head on his chest. I tried to find the words to make him feel better, but nothing I said would change how he felt.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” he continued, “I despise my dad, but it still sucked seeing everyone with their parents, and I didn’t have anyone. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I miss my mom.”

  With my head still lying on him, I started running my fingers up and down his chest and stomach.

  “Tell me a lie, Rosie,” he whispered.

  I lifted my head and smirked at him. “I told you it would grow on you.”

  “I’m waiting,” he said, rolling his eyes.

  I lay back down and searched my head for a lie. “Okay, fine, I didn’t kiss Tommy when we were in sixth grade.”

  He pushed up onto his elbows and nearly knocked me off him. “I’m going to kick his ass. He promised he would never touch you!”

  Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Oh, get over it. We were ten.”

  “A promise is a promise,” he growled at me. “Tell me a truth.”

  It took me a minute to build up the courage to respond. “I want to marry you.”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled us up so that we were standing. “Why don’t we just do it?”

  “Do what?” I asked. “Get married?”

  “Yeah.”

  The stars must have been getting to his head. “I’m still seventeen.”

  “So, we wait,” he said. “We wait until your eighteenth birthday, and we just do it.”

  I was about to tell him he was crazy, but when I thought about it, I’d loved Emmett for forever, and I didn’t want to be with anyone else, so why not?

  “Okay, let’s do it,” I told him. “Pinky promise.”

  He held out his pinky, and I wrapped mine around his. He pulled me in and threw his arms around me, lifting me in the air and swinging me around.

  “I love you, Rosie.”

  “I love you more, Emmett.”

  Seventeen

  Rose

  Emmett and I had been married for almost two months now, and in that time, all I’d done was sit in the library and read.

  I swear I was slowly losing my mind, so I’d made the executive decision to go to Emmett’s office and demand he give me work to do. I’d taken a few online courses after I graduated high school, but I’d never put them to good use.

  Walking into my closet, I decided on something professional but with a dash of sexy. A dark gray pencil skirt that went up to my waist, teamed with a long-sleeve white blouse with a deep V to show off the girls and some red bottoms. I put my hair half up and half down with curls, showing off my single dark blue highlight, and I was ready to go.

  I went into the kitchen for Lorenzo and found him sitting at the island, eating a sandwich. I swear all the man did was eat.

  When he spotted me, he stopped chewing and slowly put the sandwich down.

  “I need you to take me to Emmett’s office today.”

  Lorenzo looked at me the way he did whenever he thought I was saying something crazy and laughed. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Do I look like I’m kidding?” I said while pointing to my outfit. “Why don’t we skip the part where I blackmail you, and you just take me?”

  He thought about it for a moment but ended up grabbing his keys, mumbling something about me being nuts.

  Yeah, yeah, tell me something I don’t know, Moretti.

  Walking into Montgomery Mining, I turned to Lorenzo. “Which way is his office?”

  “No idea. I’ve never been here before.” When I gave him a look, he continued, “I’m too busy making sure no one kills you all day. When would I have time to come here?”

  “Well, when do you fit fucking my best friend into your schedule?” I lifted my eyebrow at him.

  He rolled his eyes at me. “You’re going to have to get over that one, Rose.”

  “I will when you marry her,” I said with a big smile as I walked up to the blonde at the front desk.

  She had on one of those headsets you saw receptionists on TV wearing. “May I help you?” the blonde asked without looking up.

  “I’m looking for Emmett Rossi.”

  Blondie glanced up from her desk, looked me up and down, and scoffed. “And you are?”

  I looked over at Lorenzo and gave him a look that said, “What’s this chick’s problem?” and he shrugged his shoulders.

  “His wife,” I said, turning back toward her.

  She rolled her eyes in response and laughed. “Your name?” she asked as if she didn’t believe me.

  If she asked me one more question, I was going to throttle her.

  “Rose Rossi,” I said with a smile. I hated how the first time I used my married name had to be to this girl.

  She started pressing buttons on her phone to call, I assumed, Emmett, and she transformed into a shy little schoolgirl. “Hi, Emmett. So sorry to bother you, but there’s a Rose here to see you. I can send her away if you’re busy.”

  Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. Was she even supposed to be using his first name? I looked around her desk to see if I could find her name, and sure enough, there it was, front and center. Tiffany Ellis.

  She hung up, and a minute later, Emmett was walking down a hall toward me.

  I started walking to meet him halfway, but I stopped short when Tiffany got in between us—literally.

  Now, I wasn’t proud of what I was about to do, but in my defense, she was rude first. I’d never been the type of person to back down from a battle, and if blondie wanted to play, then I’d play.

  “Hey, baby,” I said, walking around her. I wrapped my arms around him, and he placed his hands on my hips. I didn’t give him time to talk because I was already up on my tiptoes, kissing him. Knowing everyone was watching, I deepened the kiss to get my point across.

  It was when he kissed me back, though, that my knees started to weaken, and he wrapped his arms around me to keep me from falling.

  I was about to start pawing at his clothes when I heard someone clear their throat, snapping me back to reality. I quickly pulled away, looking up at him a little dazed.

  To add a dramatic effect, I took my thumb and rubbed my lipstick off Emmett’s mouth. “I missed you so much.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me, probably trying to figure out why I was acting like this. “Why don’t we go into my office.”

  I turned to Tiffany and smiled at her, laughing when I saw that her jaw had dropped. I winked at her and smiled. “Thanks for your help.”

  She let out a huff and marched back behind her desk.

  Set and match.

  Emmett grabbed my hand and led me to his office. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but what was that?”

  “It seems your secretary has a little crush on you,” I said when we walked in, and he closed the door.

  He took a seat behind his desk and gave me a smirk.

  “Oh, please. Wipe that look off your face. As if you wouldn’t do the same.” I muttered the last part.

  His look turned dark, and I rolled my eyes. I would never understand why men were the way they were.

  “Okay, well, I came here for a reason, so can we get to it?” I said, crossing my arms.

  “Of course, let’s get to it then.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap.

  “I’m sick of being home all day, and I was hoping you could give me something to work on. Maybe I can help you out here with paperwork and stuff, or I could replace your receptionist.” I said the last part with a lowered voice and another eye roll.

  “You want to work for me?” He cocked his eyebrow up like he was skeptical of what I was asking.

  “Well, yes. I’m bored as hell in that big-ass house.”

  He nodded and sat there, contemplating my request for a little while. “Well, I guess I have a few things around here I need help with. I’ve never had an assistant.” He shrugged.

  “Perfect. I can start right now.”
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  Eighteen

  Rose

  Working with Emmett actually wasn’t bad if you looked over the fact that a good portion of the people working for him were female, and they all threw themselves at him constantly.

  Although I did enjoy watching him reject all of them and hit them with, “Have you met my wife, Rose?”

  I knew he was just being respectful of me, and I tried not to let it go to my head, but I’d be lying if I said hearing that didn’t make my smile a little brighter. My smile almost always faltered when we got home, though, and he acted as if I wasn’t even there.

  Claire was coming over today, and I couldn’t wait for the workday to be over so I could have some fun instead of shutting myself in the library all night.

  I was in my bedroom, getting dressed when my door flew open, and Claire came barreling in with a bottle in each hand.

  “The fucking party is here,” she screamed, throwing her arms in the air.

  I was shirtless, but that didn’t stop me from screaming and running to my best friend to hug her. I regretted not wearing a shirt, though, when the next thing I knew, Emmett and Lucas came charging in, guns drawn.

  Claire rolled her eyes and put the bottle down, pulling out two shot glasses. “Have you never seen a pair of chicks who’ve missed each other?”

  Emmett gave us a dirty look and noticed I had no shirt on, so he quickly shoved Lucas out of the room. “Would you put a fucking shirt on?” he growled at me.

  I grabbed my shirt and took my sweet time throwing it on. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t barge into people’s rooms unannounced.”

  He huffed at me before walking out and slamming the door behind him.

  “What’s up his ass?” Claire asked, cracking open a bottle of rum.

  “It’s probably been a while, so maybe he needs to get laid.” I shrugged.

  Claire lifted an eyebrow and stopped pouring the shots. “And are you going to help him fix that problem?”

  “Yeah, right. We kissed twice, and every time we get close, he can’t get away from me fast enough.”

  She handed me the shot, and we clinked the glasses together before throwing the drink back.

  “I’ll never understand men,” Claire said, pouring another shot and handing it to me.

  “I’ll drink to that.”

  I was buzzing hard now. So hard that my brain lost the battle with my vagina, and I was currently on my way to Emmett’s room.

  I slowly opened his bedroom door and saw him asleep on his back. I walked in and quietly closed the door behind me, tiptoeing up to him. Thankfully, the blinds were open, and the moon was giving off just enough light that I could see his body.

  I hopped on the bed, straddling him, and his eyes flew open, but he relaxed when he saw that it was just me.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, rubbing an eye.

  I could feel his dick starting to harden, so I started rolling my hips to speed up the process.

  “Rose,” he growled, “What are you doing?”

  “Shhh.” I took my shirt off and ran a finger across his bottom lip. “Just close your eyes and relax.” I lifted my body and pulled down his sweatpants, letting his perfect eight inches spring free.

  “We really shouldn’t be doing this, Rose.” He was trying to deny me, but his eyes were starting to get wild.

  I pushed my shorts to the side and started lowering myself onto his dick. I was so wet that I didn’t even need the foreplay. I was sure he would slide in with little effort.

  He reached up, probably trying to stop me from going down any further, but I dropped down before he could get a good grip on me, allowing him to sink all the way inside of me.

  I had to admit, it did hurt a little, probably because I hadn’t had sex in over three years, but after a few seconds, I started to stretch around him.

  “Rose, we should stop—”

  “Just relax,” I said, cutting him off. “It’s just sex, Emmett. It’s not a big deal.”

  His eyes thinned, and he grabbed my hips, flipping us over so that he was on top. “Fine,” he barked at me. “You want just sex? I’ll give you just sex.”

  He put a pillow under my back and started pounding into me fast and hard, going deeper with each thrust.

  I started moaning louder when I felt myself getting close.

  He put a nipple into his mouth and rubbed the other one, and that was what threw me over the edge completely. He finished right after, and neither of us spoke or moved.

  I looked up into his eyes, and I watched as they slowly got darker.

  He opened his mouth, but by the look in his eyes, I already knew what he was going to say, so I shook my head at him.

  Not wanting to hear him tell me it couldn’t happen again and that it was a mistake, I slid out from under him, threw my shirt back on, and left.

  The next morning, he left for work without me.

  He didn’t come home that night. Or the night after that.

  It was a full week before I saw him again.

  I knew I was the one who initially walked away, but I was also trying to save myself from being hurt.

  When he finally came back, he fed me a bullshit excuse, not once looking me in the eye. He didn’t even give me a chance to respond before he walked away once again.

  It was easy to be the one to walk away. You don’t have to watch what you were leaving behind.

  Nineteen

  Rose

  For the past couple of Sundays, I’d been able to get myself out of going to dinner at Emmett’s father’s house, but this Sunday marked six months that Emmett and I had been married, and I guess Vincent had something to tell us.

  Walking up to the door, Emmett gave me the “be on your best behavior” look just as the door opened, and Gianna ran into my arms, knocking me back a few steps.

  “Rosie, you came back,” she said, jumping up for me to pick her up.

  I lifted her, and she gave me a big hug.

  “I missed you,” she said, squeezing me with her tiny hands.

  I hugged her back and looked up to find the other three kids running toward me.

  “You’re late.” I heard Vincent’s voice. He appeared in the doorway seconds later, cutting off the children running to me.

  Funny, I didn’t know the devil followed time.

  I heard Emmett chuckle and realized I must’ve been thinking aloud by accident.

  I considered apologizing but then decided against it. He already knew I didn’t like him. Besides, he’s never said sorry when he’s offended me.

  “Very classy, Rose. Dinner is ready and waiting on the table.” He walked away and left us standing there.

  Once he’d left the room, the rest of the kids ran to me, throwing their arms around me and talking a mile a minute.

  “We got to get in there before he has a fit,” Emmett interrupted.

  We nodded, and Romeo led the way to the dining room.

  Arriving at the table, I noticed Stephanie was already there, looking down at her plate. “Hey, Stephanie, how are you?” I asked once I was fully seated.

  She looked up slightly, and it was then that I noticed her busted lip that she’d tried to cover up.

  I zeroed in on it, and she jerked her head back down. “I’m doing very well, Rose. Emmett, how are you guys doing?”

  I looked to Emmett, and he must have noticed too because his eyes darted to his father, and he had a look in his eye that I’d never seen him wear before. If looks could kill, I think Emmett would’ve murdered Vincent thirty different ways by now.

  “Well, now that we’ve sat down, I figure we get right to it, considering we have already been delayed,” Vincent said, looking from Emmett to me. “I wanted to talk to you about when I should be expecting grandchildren.”

  Two things happened at that exact moment. One, I choked and spat out my wine, and two, Emmett turned a very unhealthy shade of white—which, considering we were Italian, was bad.

  “You two are not getting
any younger, and you’re going to need somebody to take over for you,” Vincent continued.

  I was grateful when Emmett chimed in because I was pretty sure I was frozen.

  “I don’t see how it’s any of your business, Father, but when Rose and I decide to have children is between us. And we don’t plan on it anytime soon, considering we haven’t even been married a year yet.”

  I didn’t know what Vincent had up his sleeve but let me tell you, whatever it was, I didn’t like it one bit.

  Looking over at Stephanie, I noticed a tear running down her face, but she wiped it away quickly.

  Not wanting Vincent to notice, I shot out of my chair and pulled her chair out too.

  “If you could just excuse us, I think I just got my period.” I grabbed my purse and dragged her out of her chair, pulling her to the bathroom with me.

  I closed the door once we got inside and pulled her into a hug. “Are you okay?”

  I felt her sigh into my shoulder. “I’m okay, Rose, don’t worry about me.”

  Pulling away, I grabbed my old cell phone out of my purse and placed it in her hands. “Here, I want you to keep this hidden. Emmett just bought me a new one so he can track me. He thinks I don’t know about it, but I’m not dumb. My new number is already saved in it, and I want you to call me if shit ever hits the fan, okay?”

  She put the phone on silent, shoved it underneath the sink, and looked up at me with a sad smile. “You are a really good person, Rose. I’m glad I have you.”

  I gave her a quick hug and opened the door. “Let’s go before they start looking for us.”

  We said our goodbyes to everyone once dinner was over. Emmett and I were a little tipsy by the end of the night, so we had to call a driver and leave Emmett’s car at Vincent’s.