Her name was Siena Rosso, and she was Anthony's sidepiece…. apparently.

Siena and I met somewhere no one would expect to find us, or well me, at some undisclosed street downtown- in a Starbucks. I never went to Starbucks- mostly cause I didn't drink coffee- but Edwina was a regular. It was the last place she'd think to look for me, and likely where Anthony would never dream of going himself. So I met up with Siena that afternoon for a talk; she wanted to "chat to me" about my sister's new fiancé.

Siena was very pretty; she actually reminded me a bit of Edwina. She had that "done up" look my sister could do in a flash. Her hair was long and curly, and tied up in a loose ponytail. She looked kinda like Edwina but less…. classy, if that's not too insensitive. It was clear from the moment I saw her that she didn't come from money, which is obviously not her fault! But it made me wonder how on earth she got herself tangled up with Anthony.

We met, shook hands, ordered our drinks, and found somewhere quiet upstairs to sit inside. It was a hot day out, so we both got chilled beverages. Mine was a strawberry lemonade type thing? I didn't remember the actual name of it. Siena got an iced latte. We sat down at a two-person table beside a window at the corner of the room, where Siena let me speak first. I stirred my drink before sticking a paper straw into it. After a quick sip I looked at her curious and mildly concerned.

"I guess the first thing I should ask you is how you got my number." "I know someone. I originally tried to call your sister, but she blocked me." "Yeah, that sounds like something Edwina would do. She's kinda got her heart set on this marriage," there was venom in my tone, which Siena detected. She took a sip of her coffee, not letting her eyes leave me the whole time.

"You don't sound too thrilled about it?" "Well, I'm concerned enough to hear your side of the story. You used to be Anthony's girlfriend?" "I wouldn't say I was his "girlfriend"; more like his booty-call whenever the urge struck. He never brought me home to meet his family; he never even introduced me to any of his friends. We literally just met up for sex once a month or so, if that….." It was her turn to sound put-off and disgusted by the situation, not that I blame her. I can't say I was shocked to hear any of this either; Edwina mentioned that Anthony's brother told her something like this before- about never bringing a girl home, I mean. I glanced down at my lemonade in a thoughtful manner.

"How did you meet him?" "At my job. I'm an opera singer." "Wow, really?! That's incredible!" "Not incredible enough for Anthony. He sweet-talked me after a performance one night, and the rest is history. He made it clear that he never intended to marry me. For a long time he had me convinced that he'd never marry anybody." A moment of awkward silence ensued. My fingers grasped onto my cold cup as I tried to think of something else to ask, which was harder than I thought. This felt like a….. sensitive topic for her.

"Why'd you have a relationship with him, then? If you wanted more….?" Her thin shoulder gave a shrug. "I hoped that he'd change; that he'd eventually want something more with me. We were like that for years, him giving me enough to keep me hanging on, and me always wanting more….." She sighed, resting her chin on the palm of her hand disappointedly. I gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I knew he was a jerk…. So I can't say I'm surprised." "You have no idea how much of an asshole he really is. I called you here today to warn you, so you can warn your sister. She should think twice about marrying him; he doesn't know how to treat the women in his life right." "I believe you there, knowing of what I've heard from him before…." My head nodded in agreement. Her eyes locked sharply with mine, her head lowering intensely.

"He's controlling, and possessive, and used to getting his own way. He doesn't respect women; just sees them as fun pastimes or something he has to put up with. Trust me, the only reason he's marrying your sister is because his mom is forcing him to." "She is?" I gasped a little. Her head nodded. "When she found out Anthony was sneaking out to see me, she forced him to break it off and finally settle down. That happened two years ago." Something felt… off here when she told me this. Now I'm no expert in human psychology, but I've watched enough true-crime documentaries and body language analyses to tell that something was wrong here. Siena's tone altered a bit where it didn't before, and the severity behind her words changed. Plus her story wasn't lining up: if Anthony never introduced her to anyone, how did his mother find out about her? Also why did Anthony only reach out to Edwina recently if this happened two years ago? Something was fishy here….

But I didn't address it. I acted like I believed her, nodding my head with everything she said. Just for my own sake though, I next asked: "So that's why you "broke up", or he stopped seeing you?" She nodded and I studied the lines in her face. Something inside me screamed she was lying, but again I didn't bring it up. I just sipped on my lemonade, preparing another poignant question in my head.

"So…. He didn't love you, then?" She blinked up at this, slightly taken aback. "Well, I think he liked me, but obviously not enough. There's always been a wall up with Anthony. He never talked about his past trauma or anything with me," she let out another long sigh. I gave her a quizitive glance. "Past trauma?" "With his dad," Siena clarified and I nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see."

"Truthfully, I don't think he ever really cared about me. He liked having me around- when it was convenient for him- but he never supported me in any way. I'm not jealous of your sister; she'll be saddled with that pompous bastard if she's not careful," she's lying again, I could tell. She was jealous of Edwina; I could detect it in her voice and the way she moved her eyes. Also I noticed how she never used my sister's name either….. I wasn't sure how much I could trust Siena. She was clearly telling the truth when she said she was Anthony's "little secret", according to what his brother told Edwina. It was the finer details I was unsure about…. But the detain in her tone for Anthony was also real; they must not have ended on good terms.

Siena must have caught onto the fact that I wasn't fully buying her picture of Anthony, judging by the way she was now looking at my face. Another pregnant pause slipped in-between us as our vision narrowed in on each other.

"Believe me, you don't know Anthony like I do. He's got the biggest Modonna-whore complex you'll ever see. He doesn't respect women he's physically attracted to; I don't think the idea that a woman can be both beautiful and respectable has ever come into his mind." "Really? Well, I think you've got a point there…." Again, going off what I heard back at the ball. She nodded.

"He never respected me, not really. You know what he said to me one time? He said: "Not every woman is a lady." Can you believe that?!" "Yes, I can," I truly can; that seems just like something Anthony would say, far as I knew him. She seemed satisfied by my affirmation, leaning back in her chair a little. "Then again, I doubt any woman could make him happy- no offence to your sister. He rarely smiled or acted relaxed around me."

"Really?" This DID catch me by surprise for two reasons. One, she spoke with genuine sincerity there, so I was inclined to believe her, which made my second reason all the more puzzling. Anthony had smiled lots around me; true, there was usually a smirk mixed in, but a smile nonetheless.

Why would he smile around me and not the woman he'd been banging for years?

That didn't make any sense. In fact, Anthony didn't smile much around Edwina or his friends, come to think of it. He never once flashed Edwina a smile- a real, genuine smile. Only me… I've only ever seen him smiling at me…..

My hands gripped my cup so hard, the condensation was dripping onto the back of them now. Fortunately Siena didn't appear to notice my stunned reaction, sipping at her coffee nonchalantly. After a tense second- on my side I'm sure- her gaze wandered back over to mine. This devilish, knowing grin emerged across her painted lips.

"Oh, he's like that with your sister too, huh?" "Uh, well…. yes. Yes, he is," I replied honestly, confusedly, and she nodded triumphally. "I knew it. No girl will ever be good enough for him, the asshat. I'd tell your sister this if I were you, before it's too late. He's not looking for love, he's looking for an attractive broodmare to make his mom happy. He'll marry anyone to get her off his back," her eyes rolled and I looked at her intently. Anyone except for you, huh? She obviously hadn't had any courses in logic before, otherwise she'd see the plot holes you could drive a truck through in her story. Still, she was right that Anthony rarely smiled or acted authentically around anyone else….. I confirmed that with my own eyes. So then why was I the exception? Ever since that day I almost crashed my bike into him… He'd smiled at me ever since then. But why? Why?

It didn't make sense.

While I was contemplating all this, Siena polished off her iced tea. She smacked her lips together and gave me one final, definite glance. I merely peered back up her way quietly, thoughtfully. Our eyes glued onto one another yet again as she waved her fingers at me.

"What about you? You've met him. You don't like Anthony, do you?" "Oh I hate him. You're right; he's not as respectful as he should be to women, and especially to Edwina. He didn't even ask her if she likes horse races or football matches. He just assumed she'd go with him because he's going!" I was getting a little heated. Well, it's true! "Huh? What are you talking about?" Siena blinked at me and I shook my head dismissively. "Never mind, it's nothing. Look, I'm not a fan of Anthony Bridgerton either. He's obviously a playboy who's just using my sister," even if she'll get filthy rich from the deal.

Siena nodded. "True. He won't bother getting to know her. Heh, it's like that Abba song, "Angel Eyes", was written about him. Anthony'll make you think you're in paradise- or on your way to it- until one day you find out he's been wearing a disguise the whole time. If your sister's smart, she won't look too deep into those angel eyes," her right cheek planted in her palm once more. I looked at her, nodding more to myself than her. "You're right, it does feel like he wears a disguise, puts up a cold front for everyone…"

And he does indeed have angel eyes.