Behind Her Smile

by Luck, Olivia

  First, I wedge my finger underneath the key ring until I remove the house key. I drop the jagged metal piece on the center of the bed. Then I twist the weighty rock off my ring finger, followed by the band wound tightly around my fingers swollen with exertion from the packing activities.

  “I am no longer your toy, David Morgan,” I say into the silent room.

  He’s not there to hear me say the words, but still, it’s as if I shouted them in his face. A tiny win, but a win I will hold in my heart when I become scared thinking of my uncertain future.

  As the building fades into the rearview mirror, I feel like I’m a shedding a straightjacket. The Morgan family home was never truly my home. I lived there for five years—an oppressive jail cell containing me. As far as I’m concerned, my life as a Morgan is breathing its last breaths.

  Alec

  Karolina parks the subdued, boring sedan a few feet from where I am standing in the driveway of Hector’s home watching her from behind a pair of dark sunglasses. The navy, four-door car shows none of Karolina’s personality. If I had to guess, I’d say David picked this out for Karolina. She slams the door shut, walking around to the trunk of the car. She pops it open with the press of a button on the key fob. Suitcases and travel bags fill the trunk.

  Karolina stiffens when I move beside her, but her actions won’t deter me. Her feminine scent teases my nostrils when I infiltrate her personal space. God, she smells out of this world. Being near her, even in these awful circumstances, releases pleasurable endorphins racing through my veins. I fight the urge to sweep her against my chest and banish all the awful memories from her mind.

  Gently, I move her aside and then heft one of rolling bags out of the trunk. “I don’t need your help,” she says tersely.

  “I didn’t say you did. What else do you need from here?”

  Karolina drags one of the large bags onto her shoulder. She attempts to grab the handle of the luggage standing between us, but I beat her to it. “What do you want from me?” she asks shakily.

  Hearing the tremors in her voice and seeing the visible signs of uneasiness infuriate me. I want to kick my own ass for not fighting for Karolina harder when I had the chance. All the signs were there, but I missed them all because I was too busy falling in love with her. I was too busy sulking because I believed she could never be mine. “You’re not ready to hear the answer to that.” If she were to know I want to be her lover, her friend, her companion, her confidant, and her most trusted partner, I doubt she would take it well at this point. I want to show her that a man’s touch can channel love and devotion, not only pain and brutality.

  “The riddles are starting to get old,” she says mildly.

  “Glad to see that spunk, sweet Karo.” The endearment slips out naturally as if I’ve been calling her that for years.

  Her chocolate eyes narrow and she cuts me a glare. “Forgive me for being confused, but the last nickname you gave me was whore. So which am I, sweet or selling myself to a wealthy man?” Karolina’s chest heaves with the effort of confronting me. A flash of fear darts through her eyes. The urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her makes me clench my fists at my sides. I’d never hurt her. Doesn’t she know that?

  Ease up, asshole.

  “I’m an idiot. I should have begged for your forgiveness the moment I said that. Hell, I never should have criticized you at all. I had no right to pass judgment on you. I’m sick thinking about how much of an asshole I was to you that night. You didn’t deserve my wrath. There’s no excuse to call you that word. I don’t believe you are anything other than spectacular, Karolina. I let my anger get the best of me and you took the brunt of it. I’m sorry, so sorry that I said that. It couldn’t be further from the true way I feel about you.”

  Those guileless brown eyes stare at me in wonder. If I have to tell her ten times a day, every day, for the rest of my life how she captivates me, I will. No matter what it takes, I will convince Karolina that she is meant to be with me.

  “Let’s go in,” I say gruffly. Seemingly back in control of her emotions, Karolina tilts her nose toward the sky and walks ahead of me. I wonder if she knows the way she wags her hips as she walks turns me on. This woman has no idea she ties me in knots.

  “Oh, wonderful, you’re back. Any idea what you want to eat for dinner?” Adriana and Hector are sitting in the sunken living room, no doubt waiting for Karolina to return.

  Karolina looks startled as if she didn’t realize she would have a say. It’s as if she is so unused to making a decision on her own. That fucker, Morgan. Again. Land mines from their relationship lie everywhere. I plan to detonate all of them—without any casualties.

  “The chef can make pretty much whatever you’d like,” Hector adds when he notices her discomfort.

  “Well, if that’s the case, then I’ll have macaroni and cheese and a salad to start. I mean, if it’s not too much trouble.” She stammers the words. The uncertainty sends a cloud of darkness over my mood. What happened to her confidence? What happened to the Karolina who gave as good as she got from me? Tension coils between my shoulder blades.

  Adriana tells Karolina that, of course, she can have whatever she’d like. Then Karolina leaves the room to shower. Stan, the Martinez butler, carries her bags while she shyly chats with him. I collapse into a chair across from Hector and Adriana, rubbing my hand across my face.

  “Don’t throw anything.” I don’t need to see my friend to know he’s smirking in my direction.

  “Hector, be nice,” Adriana admonishes.

  “Do you remember when I found out what happened to your family?” Hector asks quietly. I pull my hand away from my face, watching the couple interact.

  Adriana cocks an eyebrow. “You punched a hole in the wall of my bedroom.”

  “Our friend here had a similar reaction when he found out what Morgan had planned,” Hector explains.

  Adriana whips her head toward me wearing a ghost of a smile. “I knew you cared for her, but that much? Alec, you pleasantly surprise me.”

  I don’t bother arguing with her. Instead, I heave a sigh. “What happened to her? The light in her eyes is gone. Even her hair looks exhausted. The last time I saw her was nine months ago, and she’s a shell of that woman. I’m at a loss.” Hopelessness threatens to overwhelm me. I am not familiar with being out of control. All I want to do is take Karolina far, far away from here, but dammit, that’s the opposite of what she needs.

  “The girl had her entire world tossed on its head. Notwithstanding, her entire world was one fucked-up tragedy after the next. All of a sudden, you’re hulking around her waiting to pounce. Understandably, she is shaky. Give her time. Patience, Alec.” I look at my mentor and friend with a renewed sense of determination.

  “Were you patient when it came to marrying Adriana?”

  Hector chuckles. “You know I made her my wife one month after meeting her. Hell if I would let her slip through my fingers.” The man snatches his wife’s hand and pulls her out of her seat and into his lap. He kisses her loudly on the lips, not giving a shit that I’m witnessing their intimacy or that he’s embarrassing Adriana. That’s Hector for you. He lives by his own rules, and he taught me to be the same way.

  As much as I hate the circumstances, my own rules tell me to give Karolina time. Time . . . but not space. I refuse to lose her. Period.

  Karolina

  Surprisingly, dinner is a light affair. Hector and Adriana tell me stories of their youth abroad. Alec and Hector discuss some mild business while I tell Adriana my ideas for her gown.

  And then we get to dessert. Carrot cake. One of my favorites. I eat every crumb of my cake, and I don’t worry about the calories or the impact of so much sugar in my body. The little disobedience gives me a thrill—each way I discover that David no longer dictates my life is exhilarating.

  Adriana and Hector sit on one side of the table while Alec and I sit on the other. In another world, this would be a double date. But I don’t sit close
enough for Alec to draw me into his embrace. Glancing his way doesn’t send my heart fluttering with little butterflies of love as it once might have. Instead, I hear what he really thinks of me and what I fear I was—whore.

  Adriana glances at Hector anxiously, and he nods once. They have the marriage I once dreamed of having with David. They communicate with looks instead of words. They touch each other easily and with great affection. There is no mistaking the love between them. Their stunning display of love makes me jealous.

  “Stan didn’t bring any of your dressmaking things into the house,” Adriana starts. “We have space for you to set up shop here, but I have another idea. Don’t say no until you’ve heard everything I have to say. Are you familiar with the Premier Tower?” I nod and she continues. “Some of the building is for commercial use, but the majority of it is condos. Hector and I own several units in the building. One of them just opened up and we’d be thrilled if you stayed there. It is completely furnished, and the building has wonderful security and amenities. The location is divine, right in the heart of Brickell. What do you think?”

  My heart sinks. The offer is generous. Too generous, in fact. How will I ever repay them for this kindness? “Adriana, Hector, I couldn’t live in your investment. I’m ashamed to admit, but I don’t have any way to pay the rent. I need to find a job and whatever I end up doing certainly won’t cover the cost of such a luxury building.”

  “Stop.” Hector’s firm voice makes me freeze. “We aren’t making you an offer to be our tenant. We are inviting you to be our guest because you are a friend. And when friends fall on hard times, we help them out. Ask Alec. He befriended me at the beginning of his career, and I think it is fair to say I gave his business a boost. Would you not agree?”

  “Completely. That’s what friends do, Karolina.” Alec touches my shoulder gently, sending a cascade of soothing warmth from the spot he touches through all my nerve endings. “It doesn’t have to be permanent. Just until you are ready to get your own place.”

  I glance back at Hector and Adriana, weighing my options. Basically, I have none. I’ll have to find a way to pay them back. Free fashion until my fingers bleed. Maybe I can offer childcare or volunteer on one of Adriana’s charity committees—anything to show them just how grateful I am for their friendship.

  I cave faster than you can say mac-n-cheese. “And you’re sure it wouldn’t be a burden? The moment you need to rent it, you’ll let me know and I’ll find somewhere else to live?”

  Adriana claps her hands together. “Absolutely. Tomorrow, I’ll take you there. Even better, Jared’s office is located down the street.”

  The lawyer’s name makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Suddenly, it’s as if I’m choking with information. I want to share the burden of last night with someone and, looking around the table, these are the closest friends I have. The only friends I have. I inhale a deep breath.

  “I don’t have a great track record with trusting the right people. But you three make me want to share. Would it—would you mind if I told you what happened to last night?”

  “Oh, Karolina.” Adriana’s chair makes a rough grating sound when she pushes it backward and races around the table to embrace me. I’m not used to the easy affection, but it fills me with a kind of warmth I’ve never known. “Darling, it would be our pleasure to listen.” I return her hug, grateful for her in a way I can’t express verbally. She scoots back to her side of the table and laces her fingers with Hector as if to gain his strength.

  Alec leans close to me until his handsome, strong features fill my entire field of vision. “Whatever you need,” he murmurs.

  Then it hits me square in the chest nearly stealing my breath from my lungs. Alec supports me completely. He has shown me nothing but loyalty. And when he apologized tonight, I saw true sincerity ringing clear in his eyes.

  “Thank you,” I whisper just to him. His expression softens. It’s the gentlest way any man has ever looked at me. My heart swells and I allow myself just one tiny moment to revel in the sensation of his tenderness. Alec’s arm curves around the back of my chair. The silent show of support touches me deeply. I cast a quick look at him from the corner of my eye. I have his full focus.

  “Nothing seemed out of the ordinary last night. When I told David that you wanted me to design a gown for you, he acted as if he was pleased. To him, it was another way to get closer to you. He was constantly scheming for ways to get his hands on the Martinez money.” Neither Martinez appears surprised by this statement. “Digging for business made me uncomfortable. He would become furious if he felt I wasn’t doing enough to promote Morgan Financial.”

  “I understand, Karolina. Believe me. Most of the Miami socialites very clearly want something when they interact with you. I know you aren’t like that,” Adriana says.

  Hector nods solemnly. “Continue,” he rumbles.

  “Stupidly, I thought he was proud of me,” I mumble more to myself than the attentive group. “I was a starving woman, greedily lapping up the tiniest compliment as if it were the finest meal. As usual, the moment we got home, we split up—David working in his den and me sketching in my studio. It was no more than an hour when the electricity shut off. It was completely black, and I was terrified.” Heat stains my cheeks, and I look down at my empty dessert plate. Then Alec’s hand glides onto my shoulder, the pressure enough reassurance to make me continue. “I rushed into the bedroom and the curtains were drawn. David likes to sleep in absolute darkness, so I thought he was sleeping. It was too dark to see the trap waiting for me.” I take a wobbly breath.

  “My God, that must have been absolutely horrifying,” Adriana murmurs sympathetically.

  “He tied my wrists together and then, somehow, I had the sense to fight him off. I only got as far away as the staircase before he dragged me down to David’s office where he was, I thought, tied to a chair. How naïve I was.”

  “How were you to know David planned this?” Alec interjects harshly. I know he’s not directing his anger at me because the touch of his hand remains a source of support.

  “The better question is why would I ever trust him after all the beatings? The verbal abuse? My—my son . . .” A violent shudder rolls through me. I turn my attention to Hector, suddenly desperately needing to know if I am the only one at the table who knows what David did to his family. The secret weighs on me too heavily. It chokes me with its momentous implications. “Did you know?”

  His impassive expression doesn’t falter. “Apparently, there are far too many things to know. What are you referring to, Karolina?”

  The words come out raggedly. “William, Georgia and Chandler.”

  Other than the darkening of his stare, Hector does not show any flicker of emotion. “The only thing I knew for certain was a gut feeling I had after the plane crashed. My friends in law enforcement told me there was no evidence to back up my speculations.”

  “Your speculations were correct,” I say dully. “David organized the death of his family because they didn’t want to give him the business. He said meeting me was their last chance to redeem themselves, and well, his mother dismissed me on sight. Chandler referred to David being a bad businessman, but I had no idea . . . I thought everything was going well at work. Our lifestyle didn’t change. In fact, David wanted more and more. He bought new cars and watches that cost more than a down payment on a house. He traveled to Asia all the time with meet with clients. All of it was a lie. My entire life was one big façade.” Tears claw at my throat, making it difficult to speak. “He murdered his parents, his brother, our son, and he wanted me dead, too. He was a soulless monster, and I stayed with him for five years.” I don’t realize my shoulders are shaking with the effort to hold back the tsunami of emotion swirling inside me until Alec shoves my chair backward and sweeps me out of the chair and against his chest.

  The emotion overpowers me. Relentless sobs wrack my body. Tears course down my cheeks, dualing rivers dripping off my chin and onto
my clothing. My breaths are shallow and uneven. I can’t pretend I don’t hurt anymore. Everything pours out of me—the grief, loneliness, and utter despair threaten to swallow me whole.

  Until Alec centers me. He whispers words of encouragement on an endless loop. He finds somewhere for us to sit and strokes my back until the trembling stops and my breaths even. And then I sleep.

  Karolina

  The condo is more beautiful than I imagined it could be. A wall of windows provides incredible views of the ocean and city. Contemporary furnishings remind me of the Martinez home, warm and welcoming. Before my meeting with the attorney, Adriana and I are moving my meager belongings in what will be my new home. It’s a two-bedroom unit with far more space than I’ll ever need. My clothes hang in the closet and my fabric, needles, and sewing machine are set up in the office. Yes, this sprawling condo has an office, too. I have never lived alone, and the prospect of having this huge place all to myself is both daunting and thrilling.

  I’m staring out the window, lost in the calming motion of the waves lapping against the shore, when Adriana’s reflection appears next to mine in the windows. “How are you doing now?” she murmurs softly.

  It’s exactly the right question to ask because my emotions are all over the place. One moment, I am full of hope and possibility, and the next, I am breaking out in a cold sweat wondering if David has sent someone else after me. Finally, I drown in melancholy thinking of my son. “Filled with gratitude for your friendship,” I tell her honestly.

  “We share a sisterhood,” Adriana says. “It’s not a pretty, pink sorority sisterhood, but it’s a bond nonetheless.”