Bianca was still sitting on the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks when Serena marched in. From afar, she had heard the argument between Louis and his fiancee as the redhead shouted at him, rebuking him roundly for being insensitive.
“Don’t you see, Louis,” she had been saying, her voice rising in anger,
” Bianca is not the villain here…”
And Louis’s deep baritone, so similar to the deep tones of the Mafia Don, as he sneered when he replied,
“What do you want me to believe, Serena? That she’s some kind of victim?’
He had huffed in disbelief.
The girl on the floor covered her ears.
No.
She was not a victim. She had survived!
Her decision to agree to what the Mafia brothers had suggested, had been her own.
Completely voluntary. Yes, life had thrown lemons at her, but she had fought, and had managed to make a success out of what she had been given.
Her grades at University were also good and her professors had begun to take notice of the petite, quiet chestnut-headed girl who was single-minded in her attention.
It was not difficult, Bianca reflected drily, all her classmates and the new friends she had made, were in relationships with young men of their age. It was like being on an emotional roller coaster in a way, the young lovers and their tiffs.
Having been there before them and as she figured, done it all with her Masters, she found the youths who tried to hit on her, callow and immature. Every boy she met fell short of O’Grady in looks and charm, and completely unlike the suave, polished St Just. So she merely smiled and dismissed their clumsy attempts at dating and flirting.
I’ve already given my heart, she thought, as she stared away.
*
Sereena came looking for her and sat down on the floor beside her, her lithe frame easily settling down, “Hey, c’mon. Louis was just…he’s very fond of Liam O’Grady,” she began by way of explanation for her fiance’s boorish behaviour.
Bianca nodded.
And then she said quietly,
“I know how it seems…”
Once Serena had left, she stared out bleakly at the night sky, the part of it she could see over the top of the apartments around them.
*
O’Grady was sweating as he stepped down from the Ring, leaping lithely to the ground. He tossed the bottle of water back, drinking thirstily. The fight was scheduled for the next week and he was strung up. He had been practising every day and he knew he was as ready as he would ever be.
Claude Delano strode across, his handsome face breaking into a grin. Louis was with him and St Just had also come.
“Mumma has invited you guys for dinner, man,” he said, still grinning broadly.
O’Grady’s face clouded. He recalled the last time he had been to the Delano mansion.
With Bianca.
And how they had made love to her like their lives were coming to an end. Yes, he had not seen her since, not after she had told them in no uncertain terms that she did to want anything more to do with them, he thought wearily. St Just was probably having the same thoughts.
“Look Claude,” he began but Louis overrode their objections.
” Jack Lord has finally agreed to join the Delano organization,” he said, smiling broadly, “So the do will be at Pappa’s favourite Shangri-La.”
He winked conspiratorially.
Claude chuckled gleefully as he rubbed his hands before slapping St Just on the back cheerily.
If they were organising a huge bash at the exotic Shangri-La, Lucien Delano’s flagship resort and Club, it was going to be a high-profile affair.
Eventually, Liam O’Grady gave in.
“Yup, we’ll be there, “he grunted.
*
That evening, like on many an occasion before this, O’Grady drove past the apartment where Serena Kingston stayed. He was hoping to see Bianca, just a glimpse of the fiery Pet who had changed his life so drastically. He had seen her on occasion, but she had never noticed him.
With a pang, he realised that she had given away the car they had gifted her. Instead, she had bought a used Subaru, green in colour which she travelled in, if she was not taking public transport.
He sighed. For a seasoned, hardened Mafia Don, he was behaving like an infatuated schoolboy.
Guess this is what it feels to be in love, he thought to himself.
Drinking straight from his hip flash, he ordered the driver to take him to the Casino.
*
When Bianca got home after classes that day, she found Proserpina Delano at the tiny apartment, with Karina and a couple of men who were carrying containers of home-cooked food. Proserpina beamed and swept Bianca into her warm embrace.
Then, stepping back, she said, studying Bianca speculatively,
“Don’t you eat child?”
And turning to Karina for confirmation, she added,
“She has lost weight, don’t you think?” Plump Karina with her apple dumpling cheeks, nodded vigorously, beaming, She was already carrying her second child and moved like a baby elephant, so very adorable looking, thought Bianca as she smiled back.
“We are having a small party at Shangri-La,” said Proserpina, her hands on Bianca’s shoulders,
“And I want you to come.”
As Bianca began to protest, Proserpina shook her head and said firmly,
“I insist, child.”
Bianca was swept away by the concern of the Mafia Don’s woman and she gave in at last.
Serena was roped in to find her a suitable dress to wear and the matter was settled.
*
On the day of the grand dinner, Bianca stared at herself in the mirror, having twirled about in the lovely emerald green dress to her heart’s content.
She was feeling particularly happy this evening. Beth and Anna had called and Heather had also come on the line, a contrite Heather.
“Forgive me, darling,” she had sobbed over the phone and Bianca, her soft heart melting, had relented. “I’ll come over on the weekend,” she promised and felt her heart grow lighter with the words.
The problem with Heather was that she was silly, as O’Grady had once declared.
“Brain stuffed with cotton wool,’ he had remarked, grinning wickedly, his eyes twinkling in his Irish charm working on her although she had pounded him on his chest with her small fists, till he had rolled on top of her as she lay, breathless, trying to be angry.
Of course, once he kissed her, all her annoyance had flown out the door…
*
Now she touched her make up and grinned at Serena who entered the room. The woman was looking gorgeous, in an ice blue gown, which went well wither flame coloured hair. She smiled indulgently as she saw Bianca and said,
“Come on, I’ve got a cab for us tonight.”
Bianca trotted after her happily. Shangri La was away from the city and it would be a long drive back home. Serena had turned down Louis’ repeated requests; he had wanted to pick her up. But knowing that Bianca would feel uncomfortable she had dissuaded him. Now Serena glanced at Bianca.
She had no clue that her Masters were also going to be in attendance. Well, they would cross that bridge when they got there, she thought.