In an instant, she felt as if she was falling; as if the earth crumbled beneath her feet. Without even realizing it, she clenched her fists behind her skirt so tightly that her nails left deep marks on the skin of her palms. Karina could not understand what was happening and more importantly, she could not find it in her to face Dante.
'The man who took my virginity was the head of the Mariano clan? Even if someone were to pinch her cheek and tell her all that was a dream, she would not believe them. Something as outrageous as that was just entirely impossible.'
Karina struggled to remain calm; a mad fit of hysteria was about to split her body in half. Even the cheap soap operas the kitchen staff in her mansion liked to watch could never come up with a plot twist like this. It was ludicrous.
A more ridiculous thought flashed inside Miss Ashford's head for a second –– what if Dante Mariano approached her on purpose?
