Vermillion

23

Circe's dress was black of course, by request. She did it purposely to piss Raffaele off, but she knew black was her colour.

The bodice was covered in flowers made of a black material. It was tight and hugged her figure. It had a deep neckline, exposing her cleavage and the skirt was long and made of tulle, also covered in black flowers.

She had been forced into a pair of red stiletto's and wore a pair of simple gold earrings.

Her makeup was simple like Ilaria's. She had a large wing of eyeliner on each eye, and her plump lips were coated in a rich red lipstick.

She wore her hair down and straight, but slicked it back a little, giving it an almost wet look.

Ilaria's dress

Circe's dress

The girls made their way downstairs with ease, not caring that they were already running late.

Mario gaped at Ilaria as she made her way outside with Circe following her. She didn't even look in his direction and his mouth went dry.

He continued to stare at her figure in the dress until she climbed into the waiting car, out of his sight.

Raffaele grumbled a greeting to the two girls as he got into the car with Mario.

The two girls were sitting next to each other, Mario in front of Ilaria and Raffaele in front of Circe.

Neither Circe or Raffaele were happy with Marchesi's decision to make Circe Raffaele's date, but it couldn't be helped. For now, he had the authority, he made the orders.

They arrived at a large mansion at nine. There were many other cars, and women and men dressed in fancy gowns and suits.

"Help your date out of the car Raffaele" his dad spoke into the ear piece, enjoying his sons obvious annoyance.

Raffaele got out of the car and kept the door open for Circe, as she climbed out after him, taking the offered hand.

Raffaele begrudgingly placed his hand on the girls lower back as he lead her towards the entrance of the building.

Mario and Ilaria walked behind them, Ilaria still ignoring Mario, but making sure to secretly admire him in his dapper suit.

When the group of four entered the building, all eyes were instantly on them.

The other crime families knew that tensions would be high tonight. They were aware of the ongoing feud between the Italians and Russians, and had been for years, but it had been getting exceptionally bad in the past two years.

Some eyebrows were raised at the fact that Raffaele had decided to bring a woman with him this year, but it wasn't the biggest deal in the world.

Circe stood next to Raffaele for hours as he greeted other men in the 'business', being sure not to miss anyone so as not to start any bad blood.

She smiled kindly, only speaking when spoken to, introducing herself as 'Isabella' with her perfected American accent.

She sounded much softer and less harsh with the American accent, it was nothing like her usual Polish tongue.

And sounding soft was nothing like Circe anyway.

The only people who refused to greet each other were the Russians and Americans, the usual.

It was like that every year. They were already at war so there was no use pretending they were chummy with each other for the sake of the night.

Nobody actually wanted to be at the ball, not even the family in charge. It was a bore, a waste of time, but it was a tradition going back decades that they refused to break.

"Ah, Marchesi!" a thick Spanish accent came from behind the pair "Its great to see you my friend"

Raffaele turned around with a smile and greeted the head of the Martinez cartel with a friendly handshake, the first genuine greeting Circe had seen him give all night.

Circe looked at the man in front of her. He was taller than Circe, but still not up to Raffaele's towering height. He had toffee coloured curly locks that reached his jaw which were slicked back formally. His skin was tanned as if he had spent all of his time in the sun, and his eyes were a warm brown colour.

His smile was perfectly straight and white, and his suit was just as dapper as every other man in the building.

He had obvious muscles beneath the suit, as the material strained against his biceps.

"Martinez, it's great to see you" he replied.

"Yes as always" Martinez nodded "And who is this beauty you have with you?" he asked, tilting his head towards Circe who was standing beside him with a small smile plastered on her face.

"I'm Isabella, it's lovely to meet you" she smiled as she put her small pale hand out for him to shake.

He took her hand, and brought it to his pink lips, giving it a short kiss before looking back up at her and smiling.

"Now now, you're not trying to steal my girl from me are you?" Raffaele questioned, feinting a laugh, but he was slightly ticked off.

People were supposed to greet Circe and then move on.

"With looks like that, he just might" Circe quipped, trying to get on Raffaele's nerves, which she succeeded in.

Martinez laughed as he shook his head, with his hands now behind his back.

"Thank you for coming tonight Marchesi" Martinez spoke "I look forward to talking again. Now, go take your woman for a dance" he smiled and walked away from the pair.

"Yeah Raff, go take your woman for a dance" Mario joked into the earpiece.

"Fuck off" he huffed in reply.

"People might get suspicious if you refuse to dance with your date Raffaele. And that would be embarrassing wouldn't it? For people to think you hired a hooker as a date" his father sneered.

Circe watched as Raffaele's jaw ticked in anger. He seemed to be getting angry a lot recently.

He grabbed Circe by the hand a little too roughly as he lead her to the dance floor where other couples were dancing.