Chapter 147

At the cash desk she offered to pay for it, but Ariston silenced her with a single look as he handed over his credit card. He’d been the same when they were dating: he’d paid for all their meals and hotels, despite Lucette ’s insistence that she could pay her way. She hadn’t minded, because she’d still felt safe. Still kept him at a distance.

This felt different. This was a wedding dress—the start of a new life that would be utterly intertwined with Ariston ’s.

He said, "We should go back to the apartment," as he accepted the dress, now swathed in a designer hanging bag. ‘You should rest before the ceremony.’

* * *

A few hours later, Lucette ’s stomach was seething with a whole different kind of nausea, now caused by nervousness. She’d showered and put on her new dress and heels, then coiled her hair into its usual elegant chignon. The dress’s high waist hid her small baby bump, for which she was grateful. She’d rather not have some sanctimonious city official looking at her disappro