Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
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Toga parties usually weren’t Sebastian’s idea of fun. Having to somehow drape himself in yards of white fabric wasn’t exactly an easy task, even with assistance. No matter what, he always felt that he looked like a mummy instead of a dignified Roman citizen. However, there was an upside to toga parties, and one example of it was standing just a few yards away.
He’d seen his girlfriend in revealing outfits before, but nothing could compare to seeing her wrapped in a thin, white silk sheet. Taliana had managed to style it so it covered the necessities, but there obviously hadn’t been enough fabric to make it as long as she would’ve preferred. In its current state, the “toga”-and he was using that word loosely-barely cleared her ass and mostly clung to her like a second skin. He could immediately tell she wasn’t happy about it.
“It’s like there’s a conspiracy to keep me half naked all the time,” he heard her grumble as she slammed the front door of the house, one hand tugging on the short hemline. When she finally looked up and found him staring, her scowl deepened considerably. “I blame you for this,” she said, pointing a threatening finger in his direction. “Even though you pretty much have nothing to do with it.”
“Good to see you too,” he said with a grin, opening his arms to her. “Glad to know you missed me.”
Taliana rolled her eyes, but the scowl was starting to lighten, and by the time she was wrapped around him, it had changed into a smile. “Sorry,” she said insincerely, though she lifted her lips to press a kiss to his cheek. “I know that’s probably not the greeting you were going for.”
“No, I was thinking something more like this.”
Dipping his head, he caught her lips with his own, and was pleased when she leaned into him without hesitation. It had seriously been too long since he’d last seen her, and he almost wished they’d decided to stay in tonight.
“Oh, come on, I know you two haven’t seen each other in a week, but I do? not? need to be a witness to this.”
Much to his chagrin, Taliana pulled away and turned toward the car where Michael had just stuck his head out the window. His expression was a mix of amusement and annoyance, but knowing him, he probably couldn’t have cared less about seeing them together.
“All right, all right, we’re coming,” she called to Michael with a dismissive wave of her hand, but when she turned back to Sebastian, there was a genuine smile playing around her lips. “Ready?”
Sebastian nodded and took her hand. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
It took a little less than ten minutes to get from Georgetown to Bakhtiar Manor, and another ten to find parking along the narrow streets. By the time he and Taliana reached the door, they’d already run into three gladiators, a handful of centurions, and too many Julius Caesars and Brutuses to count. He could only imagine how many more were in the actual house.
“This is wild,” Taliana murmured in awe as they stepped into the house, which had been decorated in the style of a Roman villa, complete with marble statues, chaises, and never-ending tables of food. Trust Blair to go all out. “I didn’t think the Ides of March was that big of a deal.”
It wasn’t, but it was a decent excuse to throw a party. It didn’t help that four years of Latin was mandatory for all Trinity students.
Next to him, Taliana clutched his hand in an attempt not to lose him in the crowd. He wasn’t exactly surprised by the number of people there, seeing as Blair knew everyone who was worth knowing in the city. He recognized a few faces from the other private schools in the area, but the hostess was nowhere in sight.
Michael appeared on his left a few moments later, adjusting the fake? corona graminea on his head. “See the Queen Bitch anywhere?”
He gave a slight shake of the head in reply.
“Strange,” Michael said. “I was positive she would have been waiting by the door to ambush you.”
“Funny,” he grumbled.
The first floor of the Bakhtiars’ home was mainly dedicated to the grand foyer, which housed a sweeping staircase. Two halls branched off from either side of the foyer, leading to the kitchen, living room, home theater, and the library. Sebastian hated to say it, but he knew this sprawling manor almost better than he knew his own home.
Before he could look around and see if anything had changed since the last time he’d been there, Taliana tugged on his hand, causing him to glance down at her.
“Get me a drink?” she asked, playfully batting her eyelashes, as if that were going to help convince him.
To be honest, she looked ridiculous, but it worked. “I’ll be right back.”
After pressing a kiss to her cheek and shooting Michael a pointed glance, a silent message for him to take care of her in his absence, Sebastian set off for the kitchen. Though he knew exactly where it was, getting there proved to be a challenge with the sheer amount of people around, so he took the long way around via the deserted west wing of the house.
The dimly lit hallway seemed to stretch on forever, but he knew it would eventually curve and bring him to the back entrance of the kitchen. But before he could get there, he had to pass by numerous other rooms and Amir Bakhtiar’s home office. Blair’s father typically worked out of PersOil’s headquarters on K Street, so the heavy oak doors of the office were almost always shut. Today, however, they were ajar.
As Sebastian approached the office, the faint sound of voices floated from inside. At first, he brushed it off as a conversation between Amir Bakhtiar and one of his associates, but the voice speaking was familiar. Unable to help himself, Sebastian inched closer to the doors, but made sure he remained in the shadows.
Amir stood across from his daughter, his dark oak desk the only thing between them, but with his scowl and stormy eyes, he may as well have been looming over her.
“Dad, come on,” Blair protested in response to whatever his last comment had been, a mix of hatred and desperation in her eyes. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep trying to win him back for your sake.”
“For? my sake?” Amir repeated incredulously. “No, this is for? your sake. You know your options, Laleh: it’s either Sebastian or someone I choose for you.”
“You can’t decide things like that for me! It’s? my life, not yours.”
“And what have you done with it so far?” he scoffed. “Nothing, unless you count attempting to ruin it to be something.” Amir shook his head in disgust as he took in the sight of his only daughter.
Though Sebastian was taken aback by her father’s words, Blair took them in stride.
“So you’re going marry me off to the highest bidder to make up for that?” she spat, placing her hands on the desk as she glared up at him. “Maybe pretend like I never existed? Out of sight, out of mind, right?”
Rage clouded his face. “Laleh-“
“What kind of father does that?” she demanded, shoulders trembling with the effort of holding back. “If Mom were still alive-“
“Don’t you dare bring her into this,” Amir thundered, a large hand shooting out to grasp his daughter’s chin, as if she were simply a naughty child who needed a scolding.
She shook him off with difficulty, and Sebastian knew she’d have fingertip-shaped bruises in the morning. Her father offered no apology but dropped his voice once more.
“The man I have in mind for you will be a good connection for our family-for the business,” he went on. “I’m sure you’ll grow fond of him over time.”
Shock was the first emotion to register on her soft features, but it soon morphed back into loathing. “How could you do that to me?”
“Easily,” he said coldly, seafoam eyes unblinking. “You brought this upon yourself. You’re lucky anyone would even want you. You possess no redeeming qualities, you rebel against any sort of authority, and you’ve whored yourself out to who knows how many men.”
“I never-“
“I told you to stay with Sebastian,” Amir went on as if she hadn’t spoken, and Sebastian listened harder at the sound of his name. “I’d already spoken with his father about you two, about how Sebastian would take over JP Energy in the future, and you would be by his side. But you ruined that by sleeping with his useless brother.
Ya Allah, his brother, Laleh! Do you have no shame?”