by M. O. Kenyan
The moment she had seen the man watching her, she felt something tug her toward him. He looked angry, but a different kind of passion burned bright in his eyes. She had never met him before. And even if she had, she usually invoked pity in people, never anger.
“Who the hell are you? Mother Teresa by day and Pussy Galore by night?” His lips twisted in disgust. The dark expression in his narrowed eyes flickered, dominant and dangerous.
Rae swallowed hard as tears pricked her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Are you a paid whore or a stripper? Is that how you keep this place afloat? You grind on a pole for a dollar. Seduce rich men for a big payday. It’s for the children, so there’s nothing wrong with it, right?”
Never had she seen so much disdain in a man’s eyes. He took a step toward her, moving so quickly that she only had a second to suck in one shocked breath before he shook her.
“Answer me, damn it!”
“I’m not a hooker or a stripper. Who the hell would pay to see this?” She hiked her skirt up to reveal a prosthetic leg that now faced the wrong way. Shock marred his face and she knew she had done the wrong thing, had let her anger get the best of her. “I’m sorry…” she sputtered as she dropped her skirt. “I didn’t mean to hike my skirt up in front of you, it’s just that you annoyed me so damn much.” She sighed. “I shouldn’t say hell or damn, especially around the children.”
“Let me guess, they are bad words. I’m sorry.” The hesitation in his voice was a welcome change compared to the anger and disgust he’d cloaked her in just seconds ago.
“Please, if you don’t mind, would you help me to the bench over there?” Rae hooked her arm over his shoulder. Immediately, he moved away from her and glared at her as if she were crazy. “I wouldn’t need your help if you hadn’t grabbed and dragged me the way you did. You literally pulled my leg off.”
“Oh.” He gazed curiously at her for a while then swept her off her feet and into his arms.
He carried her to the bench and lowered her down on it, and she tried to get into a comfortable position to adjust her fake leg.
“Carrying me over here wasn’t what I had in mind. I would have been satisfied if you had just supported my weight and I hopped here, but thank you, I appreciate it.” Rae reached down to pull her skirt up once more then froze. “If you want to look away, it’s fine. I won’t be offended. Most people I know aren’t comfortable watching me adjust my leg. Don’t worry, you won’t see any skin either, it’s all plastic.”
Her teasing earned her a grin. However, it only lasted for a second.
Rae dropped her skirt once she was done and patted the bench, encouraging him to take a seat next to her. “Now, let’s talk about this like rational adults. No more grabbing and dragging me around. It’s not fair, because you are twice my size and I can’t drag you around.”
“I’m not one of your students.”
“I know.”
“So stop trying to disarm me.”
“What do you want me to do, curse at you again?” she asked.
“Damn and hell barely make it into the book of curses.”
“Nevertheless, let’s not repeat them.” She patted the bench once more, and he reluctantly sat beside her. “Now, what’s this nonsense about me being a stripper and a whore? I can assure you I have never seen the inside of a strip club and neither have I seen… Men can’t seem to stick around long enough to watch me take off the prosthetic leg before I take off my lingerie.”
“I don’t know what the he—I mean, I don’t know what I expected, but it definitely wasn’t you.”
Rae guessed that a man like him was never apologetic or embarrassed about anything. But his confidence seemed to melt away as his shoulders slumped, and an odd self-mocking expression curved his mouth.
“Oh no,” Rae gasped. An angry man who later turned confused and sympathetic only meant one thing. Rubi had used her as a scapegoat once again. Rae didn’t say anything else. In order to cover up for her twin sister the best way she could, she had to wait for more information.
“Look at these.” The man handed her a manila envelope.
Rae took out a picture, and just as quickly as she had pulled it out, she shoved it back in. She looked away. “She really likes that cat suit.” Heat climbed up her neck and into her cheeks. How was she supposed to look him in the eye after what she had just seen?
“You can’t even look at them. Oh hell. I apologize.”
“It’s okay.” Rae sighed. She didn’t have any explanations for this mess. There was no way she could come up with an appropriate excuse that didn’t involve lying, and Rae never lied. “I know that’s my sister, but who’s the man?”
His jaw tensed and a muscle twitched in his cheek before he schooled the sharp planes of his face into a stoic expression.
“I know you thought it was me, but it’s not. I’m deathly afraid of needles and I loathe snakes. I wouldn’t dare get a tattoo of that reptile on my back, especially one that large.” She stole a glance at him. The broken look in his expression told her that he had already guessed who it was. Who was Rubi to this man to invoke such a reaction from him?
“The man is my father, Ronaldi D’Alessandro. I’m Yvan D’Alessandro. The woman...well, she was the woman I was about to propose to tonight. I’m such a fool.”
Silence enveloped them as Rae watched the man bury his face in his hands. This nice man was going to marry Rubi? She never wished any ill for her twin, but she always thought God should have hung a Beware sign around Rubi’s neck.
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
“I try my best not to. I see it as my way of balancing out all the lies Rubi tells.” Rae shrugged as she always did when the topic of her sister’s tall tales was brought up.
“You seem nice.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m leaving now. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“You can’t imagine how many of these visits I get in a month,” Rae muttered.
“A month!” He smiled then laughed, a cold sound, sharp and icy. “May I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure.”
“Why do you put up with it? Why do you put up with Rubi?”
“She’s the only family I have. Besides, she blames me for everything she lost.” Rubi had always held Rae responsible for the life they had been forced to live after the death of their parents.
“It can’t compare to what you lost,” he said as he looked pointedly at her leg.
“And you know what? I’d give my other leg to have Rubi…be good, if that’s what I can call it.” She forced a smile.
“You are not real, like a unicorn,” he muttered as he walked away from her.
The man moved with a natural grace and suppressed strength that was easy to admire. However, the strength in his shoulders was so marred by the weight of truth that they sagged.
* * * *
Throughout her afternoon classes, Rae hadn’t been able to get the defeated set of Yvan’s shoulders out of her head, or the hurt that radiated from him. His towering body and the way his jet-black hair curled at the base of his neck captivated her thoughts too, though in a different way. Once again she was day-dreaming about one of Rubi’s conquests. When they wanted to take a girl out dancing the last thing any man thought was let’s ask the cripple next door.
Rae swiped at her tears with anger. She wasn’t going to let herself wallow in self-pity. She was alive when many others weren’t. She had to be grateful for that.
She sat down at her dining table and prepared herself for the tornado Rubi would blow in with. Rae could almost hear Rubi’s voice now, saying the same things she always said whenever Rae seemed to anger her.
“Why couldn’t you have died in that stupid car crash? Why did my parents die and not stupid Rae? We used to have money, not enough for a Beverly Hills lifestyle but adequate enough to keep us out of East LA. But Rae, you just had to get ice cream, and Mom and Dad
just had to go with you. They loved you more. You were the good child. But I bet they regret it now, because you killed them. You selfish little bitch, you wanting ice cream landed me in an orphanage, sharing my things with other children. I hated them, all of them, and I despise you, Mom, and Dad the most.”
The door banged against the wall and Rae jumped to her feet. She backed away and her back hit against the wall. She had just trapped herself.
“You better be praying for a new leg, because I’m about to take the one you have left, you bitch.” Rubi advanced toward her, murderous intentions on her face.
“Please.” Rae’s voice cracked as she begged.
Her pleas were met by a smile. It seemed to Rae that Rubi’s soul was nourished by the terror she inflicted on Rae. She fed on it, lived it, and breathed it. A breath hitched in Rae’s chest as a sob escaped her lips.
“Couldn’t you keep your mouth shut? Heck. Couldn’t you have lied?”
“I…don’t—”
“Saint Rae doesn’t lie. How could I forget?” Rubi slapped her forehead as if she couldn’t believe she’d forgotten that little detail. “You are on a path to save my soul. Rubi lies enough for the both of us.” She mimicked Rae’s voice.
“Rubi, you shouldn’t have lied to him.” Rae’s eyes searched for an escape route, one she knew all too well didn’t exist.
“It’s a harsh world out there. You won’t get a paying job, and now I’ve lost my job. How the fuck do you think we’re going to live? You will have to find something.”
“I can’t. I work full time at the orphanage.”
“You know what, get those donors to give you some cash. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind your leg if you let them fuck you once in a while. Then maybe we could get out of this dump. I would tell you to get on your knees, but you only have one. You don’t even know what a penis looks like, you might suck on the wrong end. You are good for nothing, do you hear me? Why didn’t you just die, Rae?” Rubi circled the table like a predator, hunting her like prey.
“Stop it, Rubi,” Rae whimpered.
Rubi snarled at the innocence of her request and climbed over the table. There was no way Rae could outrun her. There was no way she could run, period. Rae just stood there, waiting, hoping that this beating would end quickly.
“Tomorrow I have to look for a new job and a new mark. And you should try and find a man that can stand your disgusting stump leg.”
Chapter 3
Insanity. That was the only word Yvan could use to describe the lust he felt for Rubi. He looked around at his now trashed loft. All he could see was the passion and the destruction. Every inch of it was marked by their lovemaking.
He stared at the house plans scattered at his feet. He had ripped the blueprints to the house he was going to build for Rubi to shreds. Everything in what was once his happy place reminded him of the vile creature and the disgust he felt for himself. How could he still love her?
Rubi hadn’t even tried to deny the truth when he confronted her. Rae had given him enough ammunition to face Rubi. The witch had laughed in his face. When he threw out the ring he had bought her, she had leapt after it like a dog after a bone. He wasn’t even sure the diamond had touched the ground before Rubi caught it. She now had a hundred thousand dollars that would keep her until she found another sad sap to fool.
Yvan wanted revenge. He wanted to destroy her in the worst possible way. Nothing he thought of sufficed. Like a cat with nine lives, he was sure Rubi would bounce back from any disaster he could plan for her. He had never lusted for anyone’s ruin the way he desired Rubi’s. He wanted her brought down to her knees, begging his mother for forgiveness. He wanted her to beg for his forgiveness, and when she was on her hands and knees, he would spit in her face and say, “You aren’t even good enough to suck my dick.”
“Ah!” Yvan’s fist connected with the wall. He expected it to crack, to mirror the same condition he found himself in. Hatred, that’s what consumed him.
His back straightened when an idea came to his mind. He wanted to hurt Rubi, and the only tool he had was the only thing she was sure to have for life…a sister. It pained him to bring Rae into this. The Santos sisters didn’t matter. Rubi would pay for her sins and Rae was collateral damage. Rae was the devil’s angel.
Yvan went to his room, packed a bag, and carried an extra Gucci bag with him. He had ripped the travel luggage he’d bought Rubi to shreds, so he carried his own. His plan wouldn’t work if he didn’t give Rae all the luxuries that Rubi coveted. He went to his safe and got his grandmother’s rare emerald ring. It was an heirloom and worth five times the ring Rubi took from him and a hundred times more in sentiment. He took a shower and dressed himself to the nines. Next he called the police—his plan wasn’t complete without them.
Yvan had Rubi’s home address, which had taken some digging. However, at that time he’d thought that he needed it to find Rae. With the police escort standing behind him he knocked on the door. He heard a string of curses from the other side and some mutterings. The door swung open, and for a second, he wasn’t sure which twin stood in front of him. But the greedy gleam in Rubi’s eyes, plus the huge rock on her finger, set her apart.
“Are you here to make up?” Her lip curled in a sneer.
“Actually, I’m here for that ring. Officers, that’s her, the thief. She stole that ring from me.” Yvan stepped aside as the police entered the small apartment.
Rubi’s lips moved, but no words came out. She was like a fish, wide-eyed and gaping. Yvan hid his triumphant smile.
“You threw it out. He threw it out,” Rubi shouted as she tried to pull her hands from the officer’s grasp.
“Is this true, sir?”
“Look at that ring. It cost me a hundred grand. I might be rich, but I’m not stupid.” Who deserves the Oscar now, bitch?
“What’s going on here?” Rae entered the room, her limp more pronounced than before. Her eyes were red-rimmed, like she had been crying for hours. Yvan didn’t miss the shadow of a bruise on her jaw.
Yvan crossed quickly over to where she stood. He put his arm around her and held her tightly to his side. “Don’t say a word,” he hissed in her ear.
Obviously frightened, Rae nodded her understanding.
“I had bought that ring for my fiancée, Rae.” He relished the shocked look on Rubi’s face. “My mother convinced me to take it back and give Rae the family ring. It’s been in the D’Alessandro family for centuries, and it’s easily worth five times more than the diamond Rubi has. Rubi, being my assistant, I sent her to return the ring. The owner of the shop called to tell me that Rubi hadn’t returned it. I told them I would handle it.”
“It seems like this is more of a family matter,” the police officer said. “I advise you to handle it internally. The press from this won’t be good for your family name.”
“You are right, officer.” Yvan tightened his hold around Rae. “Isn’t he, my love?”
Rae nodded in agreement.
Rubi protested when the officers relieved her of the ring and gave it to Yvan.
Yvan handed Rae his duffle. “Pack just a few things. You can shop for more where we’re going,” he hissed under his breath. When it looked like Rae was about to argue, Yvan gave her a silencing glare. He wasn’t there to play with either of the Santos’. “Hurry, my love.” He looked back to the policemen. “Thank you for your help, officers.”
After the police left and Rae went to pack, Yvan let out a bark of laughter as he watched Rubi circle him like the vulture she was. “If you are looking for a soft spot, I don’t have one anymore.” he informed her.
Rae came back into the room, the bag barely full.
“As for you, I think I found yours. Come here, Rae,” he said.
“What do you want with her? She’s a cripple.”
Yvan recoiled from the hatred in Rubi’s tone. He was doing Rae a huge favor.
“Our wedding will be tomorrow afternoon. Make sure you attend. I’m sure Rae
would hate for her only family to miss her big day,” he mocked.
“Wha…aaaaat? What? This isn’t fair.”
“Life isn’t fair.” Yvan took Rae’s hand, and when she resisted, he swept her into his arms. “Say goodbye, Rae, because you will never see Rubi again. As for you, Rubi, I’ll make sure you see Rae Santos de D’Alessandro everywhere you look.”
They left the house and Yvan settled Rae in the passenger seat of his Range Rover Sport. It was irrational, considering what he was doing, but it chipped at his heart each time she recoiled when he touched her. They drove in silence to his loft. Yvan parked his car at the garage, and he and Rae sat in the dark in an uncomfortable hush.
“Are we going in?” she finally asked in a mouse-like voice.
“No, we are not.” He couldn’t bring himself to allow Rae to make the loft her home, no matter how temporary it was. Rubi had already desecrated it. He put the car in reverse and drove out of the parking lot. “We’re going to the house.”
“You don’t have to marry me,” she said in a whisper. “I know you only want me to get back at Rubi.”
Yvan turned to look at her, and Rae turned her face away.
“Listen...” He cleared his throat, trying to offload the knots of nerves in his throat. “I have to marry you.”
“For your revenge.”
“Honestly…” He knew that she appreciated the truth. Although he wanted to keep this bit of truth to himself, he was determined to have an honest relationship with her. “I don’t know. My motives are completely…evil. The only good thing I can think of that might come out of this is you getting away from Rubi. But if you don’t want to do this…if you have someone else—”
“Have you met me?” Her self-mocking laugh made Yvan cringe. “Who would want me? No one out there, and definitely no one in this car either. You are marrying me to get back at my sister, that’s more than any sort of positive attention I have gotten from men.”
“Well, men can be idiots. And I—”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me.”