(NFTMB)Chapter 82
Valentino
(Silence In The Air)
Booze, champagne, tuxedos, ball gowns and classical music.
Typical.
Kudos to Alessandro for organizing the same old boring shit each and every year.
It was always the same. Just felt the same.
I have no interest in mafia business, Alessandro is equal to the task and handles it smoothly else I would have taught them how to throw a real party.
Not the British slash Italian way but the fun Parisian way.
He’s so outdated and hates doing new stuff.
Well, what do you expect from a man who walks around all day with a scowl and a large frown on his face.
Speak of the devil and he walks right in with the angel hanging by his arm.
Victoria.
I could tell it was her even with the mask on. I bet I could tell it was her too even with the lights off.
You can say it is almost spiritual.
My soul instantly recognizes hers even from across the room.
She held onto her husband tightly with her wedding ring captivating everyone even from afar.
When he had marched into my room and spoke with so much arrogance about how I challenged him and he’s going to be taking it to the next level by marrying Victoria the very day, I didn’t show a thing and didn’t say a thing except an unenthusiastic congratulations.
He had expected more, he had expected rage and anger but that wasn’t me.
And he knew that.
While he was trained on killing his enemies and wiping out everything and everyone in his way, I mastered how to feel without showing.
I would get hurt but still not show it because once you show it in your face, you become weak to father and that’s where he hits when he wants to get to you.
He attacks you using your weak points and weaknesses.
He preys on them and claws at them till you’re weak and on your knees doing whatever he tells you to do.
The worst of human beings, Nicholas Rossi.
If he was here he wouldn’t have hesitated to kick Victoria out seeing as she didn’t have mafia blood flowing through her veins.
She would be seen as an outsider and never would have been accepted into our family regardless of the fact that she carries Rossi blood inside her.
She seems happy, I can tell even with her mask on.
Her yellow dress complimented her skin tone and looked absolutely stunning on her.
It was quite a bold choice if I’m being honest. I wouldn’t have tagged her as the type to wear something this revealing but with Alessandro, the story changes.
I can bet his life on it that he was the one who got this dress for her and possibly forced her to wear it tonight.
He can be that forceful.
The dress had no sleeves and the neckline and the chest area of the dress left very little to the imagination.
It was a bold cleavage display.
The more reason it looked illegal to see was because of the body changes she was undergoing due to the baby.
She was bigger and for her sake I hope she doesn’t suffer a nip slip tonight else all hell would break loose.
I wouldn’t put it past Alessandro to gouge out the eyes of every man here for looking at something that would be entirely out of their control.
He took her straight to Bianca and said something to them before heading out and leaving them together.
“Valentino, it’s awfully long since we last saw you at the gala”. Stephanie purred.
“Yes, I had to skip last year’s gala.
I got caught up with work and life in France. It doesn’t take much to get sucked into the scenery and beauty of Paris and that makes functions like this awfully boring and tedious to attend.
It makes functions like this extremely easy to miss”
I hope that was enough of an answer for you.
“That sounds boring”. One of the ladies said with a scrunch of her nose.
“No, it sounds interesting and exciting. I’m almost tempted to leave Domenico and fly off to Paris with you”
“I’m almost tempted to steal you away from Domenico myself”
Definitely not.
She smiled victoriously as the other ladies whispered things to each other.
God I hate when they do that.
“Wanna know a secret?”. Stephanie said
“Do tell please”. I said before taking a sip of my drink.
“Come closer then”
What now?
I slowly leaned before she bent lower than necessary, shoving her titties in my face before she whispered.
“I want you, come see me down the hall after now”. Before I felt her sliding a piece of paper into my pocket and retreating with a sly smile and a wink.
Ah I see.
I gave her a smile and a nod before patting my pocket.
“Excuse me, I have to go meet my colleague over there”. Stephanie said with a polite smile while pointing to the far corner of the hall where a girl stood smiling and waving to her.
She hadn’t taken ten steps away from where we stood before the ladies started to whisper in low tones.
“What the hell is she wearing?!”
“That is absolutely embarrassing”
“Oh my God!”
“She must have forgotten the dress code and where she’s going to”
I turned to where literally everybody in the hall had directed their attention.
My Goodness.
I almost facepalmed at Jasmine walking into the hall in an immaculate white wedding dress.
Has this girl truly gone mad?
Literally everyone was staring and glaring at her including Victoria and Bianca but she didn’t seem to care as she strutted to a table and sat down slowly taking off her blue mask and waving at Victoria.
You have got to be kidding me.
Really? A wedding gown? In white?
What a nut job.
“Excuse me, ladies. I have to leave now”
I walked out of the ballroom and down the hall by the left in search of Niccolo to tell him to go get a hold of Jasmine so she doesn’t create a scene.
She had wandered off to where I have no idea of in that white weirdness.
I last saw him around the corner stationing the guards. So that’s exactly where I went.
I walked to the area where I left him but still there was no sign of him.
I walked further into a spare room down the hall which had the door wide open and checked the room but there was still no sign of him.
I turned to leave because I heard footsteps and thought it must have been Stephanie.
She must have seen me leaving and rushed after me.
Oh christ.
I was taken by surprise to turn around and see that it wasn’t Stephanie standing there but actually Victoria.
I almost jumped back in surprise.
“You scared me”.
She closed the door behind her.
“What are you doing here, Victoria?”
“Were you expecting someone else? Perhaps that lady you were talking with?”
“No, I wasn’t expecting anyone. I was looking for my brother”
“Alessandro?”
“No. I’m looking for Nic.”
“Oh, I haven’t seen him”
“He must be around here somewhere”. I said, throwing my hands in the air.
“Yeah”
“Hey, you look good. Really good”. I said to which she smiled.
“Thank you. I thought you’d never notice”
“I did. Trust me, I did. But then, it doesn’t really seem like your style. I’m right, aren’t I?”
She laughed before nodding.
“Yes, you’re right. Alessandro bought it. He told me to wear it tonight”.
I knew it.
That’s why I bet on his life.
“I can tell from the dress. It has Alessandro written all over it.”
“It sure does”
“Yeah. Well, I’ll get going now. Let me not get in the way of your search”. She said with a smile before turning to leave.
“No wait! Stay with me … . for a while”.
She smiled before nodding.
“How are you and the baby doing?”
“We’re both good. Good good. I’m actually excited…. more like a mix between ecstatic and nervous”. She said with a smile biting her lower lip.
“That’s normal, I guess. Sure you don’t want to find out the sex of the baby? Might help you feel a little less nervous”. I advised
She shakes her head in determination.
“I’ve thought about it over and over again and my answer still remains the same. I want it to be a surprise. I don’t want to know what I’m having till I’m holding my baby in my arms”. She says with a smile.
“If you say so. What does Alessandro think? What’s his own side?”
“Anything goes for Alessandro. He doesn’t mind and he doesn’t care what the gender of the baby is. He buys gender neutral baby stuff”
“Typical”
She laughed.
“Inside here…. with you is a lot better than out there. It’s overwhelming out there. I feel like I’m going to be eaten up”
“It’s your first time so, it’s all nerves. You’ll get used to it. You’ll be fine, Vic”. I said with a smile.
“I haven’t heard you call me that in a long time”. She threw her head back and laughed.
I like the sound of it.
“Well, that’s true.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. But I guess then we were friends, you were my brother’s wife but now after the library…. I don’t know”. I scratched the back of my neck.
“Well, I liked it and I don’t feel bad about it”. She said while shrugging her shoulders and smiling widely.
“I don’t regret it either. It was one of the best days of my life”.
“Mine too”
Her eyes remained fixed on mine as she slowly brought her face closer to mine while I was having an internal battle with myself over what I should do.
Should I kiss her?
Should I stop her?
Oh, fuck it!
I grabbed her face and crashed my lips on hers.
I didn’t want to think about anything else right now, not even the party. I just wanted to live in the moment.
I slowly traced my hand down the curve of her back which was left bare due to the dress.
She pulled me closer to her by grabbing the lapels of my jacket and continued kissing me like her life depended on it.
Everything seemed like a fairytale. We were in our own little world till the flash of a camera turned the events of the night to deathly serious.
We broke the kiss immediately as we both turned to see who had flashed the light.
“I knew tonight was going to be my lucky night!”
Jasmine.
Oh God.
“Jasmine? What are you doing here?”. Victoria asked.
“Surprised? Why? Is this place reserved for your scandalous and shameless affairs only?”
My eyes never strayed from the phone she snapped us with, which she clutched tightly to her chest.
“Jasmine, give me the phone”
“And why the hell would I do that?!”
“I said give me the phone!”
“You can yell and growl all you want, Valentino but this phone remains with me! And so does the evidence I have in it!”
“Jasmine, please hand over the phone”. Victoria pleaded.
“And who the fuck are you to tell me that? Girl, stay away from me! You lied to me and deceived me! Well, news flash, I was never going to help you anyways.”
“It’s not news. I know already! I knew right from the start!”
“Getting feisty now, are we? Come back when you’ve lost the excess meat, whale!”
“Hey, Jasmine shut the fuck up and hand the fucking phone over before I get mad!”
“No! I’m not giving you anything! You’re always mean and rude to me! You’re never nice! You both sat there and watched me get beaten up! Did you think I’ll forget that so quick?!”
“Well, it’s not like you didn’t deserve it!”
“Oh well, you’ll deserve this one as well!”
“Jasmine give him the phone! Please!”
“No! The only person I’ll be giving this phone to would be the press and your crazy husband, Alessandro! He’ll finally know what type of woman he married. A big fat whore who is shamelessly having an affair with his own brot—”
BANG!
And that was it.
Silence in the air.