GIANNA I knew from the beginning that the Christmas party at the Bardoni house would be a huge fiasco, but it was even worse than I thought. The only good thing about this ordeal was that Matteo had Sandro remove the ankle monitor so I could wear my cocktail dress without showing that thing off to everyone. That would have been the topic of the evening, no doubt.
The Bardonis lived in a townhouse, which had been furnished to the minimum of its capacity. They had even installed a huge angel, carved out of ice, in their yard. The decoration was white and gold, expensive crystal balls adorned the huge tree. It screamed money and looked so impersonal that I was sure an interior designer had arranged it. Mrs. Bardoni never seemed to have lifted a finger for anything. She was also at least 20 years younger than her husband.
She and her husband greeted Aria and Luca first, and although their smiles had not exactly been warm or honest, they became decidedly false and condescending when it came time to greet me.
I shook Mrs. Bardoni’s hand with a polite smile, or at least I hoped it looked polite. Her expression was as if a talentless sculptor had tried to carve a smile into a statue.
The ice angel’s smile outside had been warmer than his own. When Mr. Bardoni turned to me I had to suppress a shudder. He reached for my hand but as he barely grazed Aria’s skin, his lips pressed firmly on my hand and then his tongue darted out and licked my skin. The lascivious look she gave me almost made me catch a fist . I quickly retracted my hand, barely managing not to wipe it on my dress, and only because the silk was too beautiful to come in contact with that asshole’s drool.
Matteo was conversing with Mrs. Bardoni, who was introducing him to a young woman my age. It was obvious that the old hag was trying to set Matteo up with her daughter. Anger boiled up inside me, but I knew better than to show my emotions. When I finally looked away from the scene, I found Aria looking at me with a worried expression . I shook my head slightly. Matteo broke away from Mrs. Bardoni and her daughter and passed an arm around my waist. He scrutinized my face as he led me into the living room where the other guests had gathered. “You look pissed off.”
I shrugged. If I told him what Mr. Bardoni did, things would get ugly. “You seem to have a fan,” I said instead, nodding in the direction of the Bardoni daughter who was following Matteo with her eyes.
“Jealous?” she asked, smiling.
“Wishful.” But was I?
We didn’t get a chance to talk more as other guests approached us, and although most of them were being polite, I could see in their eyes that they despised me. I had a feeling that they would show me what they really thought of me the moment Matthew was gone. Soon they had their chance. While Matteo and Luca joined the other men, Aria and I walked toward the buffet. Of course, we were not alone for long. Soon we were joined by the bitch Cosima, Matteo’s stepmother Nina, Mrs. Bardoni and a few other women . Aria’s presence still offered me some protection from direct insults, but none of the women bothered to talk to me. It was as if I wasn’t even there. Aria’s attempts to include me in the conversation also failed. I didn’t care. I hated these women, hated their fake smiles and mean personalities. But the worst thing was seeing Aria being nice to Cosima despite what that bitch had done.
Eventually I excused myself and headed for the terrace door, which allowed a view of the small snowy garden. My respite was short-lived, however.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” said a high-pitched female voice.
Nina Vitiello stood beside me, her mouth wide open in imitation of a smile. She was no longer wearing black.
Her husband’s funeral had taken place more than a year earlier. She joined our arms to my utter disdain and carried me outside despite the cold. I knew it would not be pleasant.
Even though she was Luke and Matthew’s stepmother, she never visited them. I had the feeling that she was afraid of her stepchildren.
The moment we were away from prying ears, she turned her back to the windows and looked at me with an expression devoid of any pleasantness. She reminded me of an ugly toad. “You could walk around as if you were one of us, as if you belonged to our circles, but if it weren’t for Matthew, no one would invite you.”
I raised my eyebrows. Did he really think I gave a damn ? I never wanted to be part of this world, that’s why I had run away. It took immeasurable control on my part not to say what I wanted. Instead I tried to return to the party but Nina Vitiello held me by the arm, obviously not done. “A decent girl would have died of shame after being caught with another man. The only reason you are still alive is Matteo’s goodness. That boy is too respectful. Although no one would blame him if he discarded you like a dirty rag after what you did. If my husband were still alive, he would have fed you to our dogs.
Dutiful and good-hearted? That didn’t sound like Matthew.
Deep breaths, Gianna. Don’t make a scene.
Once again I tried to walk away, but his fingers sank into my skin.
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You have dishonored your family and now you dishonor the Vitiello name. Your mere presence is an insult to every honorable woman in this house. Your existence is a sin.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sin? You want to talk to me about sin?” I pointed to the windows behind which New York’s worst criminals were gathered. “That room breathes sin.”
Nina Vitiello lifted her chin. “Do us all a favor and kill yourself .”
I snatched my arm away, shocked. “I will never do any of you a favor.” I turned around and went back inside. Matteo noticed me across the room where he was talking to a younger version of Mr. Bardoni, Luca and a couple of other men. I quickly looked away, hoping he would not approach me. I was in no mood to talk to him now. Aria was still where I had left her, completely immersed in conversation.
I crossed the room as fast as I could, pretending not to hear the whispered “bitch” of a couple of people calling my name. Despite my best attempts not to let those insults get to me , I felt relief when I finally left the living room and found myself alone in the hall. I needed to find the bathroom to freshen up and clear my head before entering that room again. I was seriously worried about attacking someone if I couldn’t control myself. Taking a deep breath, I went in search of the bathroom. I hoped to meet someone coming out of the bathroom so I wouldn’t have to open every single door. I certainly would not ask Mrs. Bardoni to point it out to me . Unfortunately, the only thing I found was Mr. Bardoni who had to follow me. The lascivious look the bald idiot gave me made me want to vomit.
Matteo If Bardoni thought I hadn’t noticed how he had fucked Gianna when we had arrived, he was even stupider than I thought. If it hadn’t been for Luca I would have stuck the knife in that asshole’s face right away. But Luca was a new Chief and couldn’t afford any more trouble, so I had promised to keep him on my best behavior. As the party went on, I slowly came to the conclusion that I might not keep my promise.
Gianna was trying to put on a brave face, but I could see how upset she was after talking to that bitch of a stepmother. I didn’t want to know what the old goat had said to Gianna. She wouldn’t dare say anything to my face. She had been afraid of me and Luca for as long as I could remember.
Unfortunately, it took me a few more minutes before I could finally follow Gianna after she had escaped