𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 44

I do some skin care as I'll have more makeup on my face then what my skin is used to have. After I'm done I put on a robe and make my way to my vanity. I started to do my makeup by applying some face primer so the makeup would last longer. I then put on some foundation with my beauty blender wetting the pink sponge before using it. I put on some concealer on top of the foundation making sure it covers the dark circles under my eyes from my lack of sleep. I then apply the bronzer, blush and highlighter.

After I'm done with the basics, I grab the palette with eyeshadows. I do simple brown eyes complementing my eyes, darkening the outside and highlighting the inside of my eyelids. I applied the mascara and glued some fake lashes, which thankfully wasn't that big and seemed natural. There's an ancient makeup commandment that states 'you can wear a statement lip or dramatic eyeshadow but never both. The end.' and since I've already accented my eyes I decided on applying a nude lipstick.

When I'm done with the makeup I start to do my hair. I could have done it first but I have a lot of hair so when I curl it usually it doesn't last long so I decided on doing it later and delaying it as much as possible so the curls would last longer. When I'm done curling my brown hair I take two hair strips from the front and pin them behind underneath the rest of my hair so it would stay behind my ears.

My hair and makeup were done so now there's only the dress left. I put it on the dress that hugged my body perfectly in the upper half as the lower part had two big slits on both of my legs, hiding a dagger underneath the beige material so it wouldn't appear to the public eyes. I'm not planning on using it but it's better to be prepared for anything. The dress left some of my tattoos on display but I didn't care as it just complemented the look. The one that appeared the most was the rose between my breasts as the dress had long sleeves covering my arms.

I put on my heels, they weren't that high and were a nude color. They were comfortable and that's something that it's very hard to accomplish while wearing heels. I walk the empty hallways, the sound of my heels echoing through the house. My posture as always was confident, no shyness. I used to be very shy when I was little but then I worked on it and now I'm happy to say that I'm more confident about myself. And most importantly about my body.

*

My brothers and father were waiting downstairs chatting together as I descended the stairs. They were occupied and didn't even notice me, which I was thankful for as if they saw me while getting down the stairs I would probably fall.

"Let's go." I say and they turn to look at me. Some glared at my dress as if their glare would make it cover more of my skin. I had to hold in a laugh because of their expressions.

"You look nice." Antonio says, coming forward to hug me. I hug him back smiling softly at my twin. We've got close since I came to live with them, all of us. It's good to finally have a family.

"You look beautiful, bambina." dad says, as he approaches me to give me a hug. My eyes fill with tears as I finally feel loved by my family. After years of being neglected and abused, I have a family that loves me as much as I love them.

"Thank you, dad." I whisper, trying to keep the tears on my eyes at bay, not wanting to ruin my makeup.

After my brothers giving me more compliments and some even saying that I look beautiful but that they didn't really like my choice of dress, we make our way to the cars. Dad, Gio, Luc and Mat went in one car while Enzo, Leo, Ant and I went to another.

The drive was silent with only a song silently playing on the radio. I look at the view, the blurry trees and lights as the car speeds along the road. My leg bounced up and down as the feeling of nervousness sinks in, with it also another feeling that I can only describe as a sense of impending doom.

I had no other option than to leave these feelings behind for now, so I can actually enjoy this time with my family. Burying it deep inside.

The car comes to a stop as we reach the destination. My brothers start to get out leaving only me behind. I stay in the car lost in my own thoughts until the door opens by my side and dad extends his hand for me to reach.

I take his hand, getting out of the car. Flashes of cameras blinding my vision. Paparazzis all around the entrance trying to capture the best photos. They stand there taking photos of criminals thinking they're just snob rich people. It makes me want to laugh to think that they're clueless about such a thing.

We walk confidently through the crowd of people, entering a massive door. The entire building screamed light academia with its white and gold decoration. The place looked magical, out of movies.

We walked to the ballroom where everyone was situated. Opening the doors, their gazes immediately turned to us. There were couples and married people as well as single people. Kids running through the place as their parents talked and bored teens seated at their tables or leaning against the wall.

Guards around the room looked like statues as a soft song played in the background. The vocalist's soothing voice echoed through the room as she sang in French while other two people played piano and violin complementing her voice, turning into a beautiful and calming melody.

As I look around the room examining everyone, my eyes locked with someone that I had never thought I would see again. Looking into his orbs my heart aches. After months without seeing him and working on myself, when I'm finally starting to feel happy and starting to move on he appears again to bring back all the hurt I worked hard to heal.

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I would like to apologize in advance for the cliffhanger.