The Moon And The Stars

CHAPTER 2

I look at myself in my mirror and scan my eyes down my outfit. It's my first day being my father's little show pony so I decided to play it safe and wear something classy. My father will probably have a heart attack when he sees it but that's ok, it's his fault for putting me in this situation.

I reckon it says "I'm a hot business woman so don't fuck with me"

More like please come fuck me

Are you slut-shaming me?

No never, you look hot

I know.

I ignore the voice in my brain and run my hands down my dress one more time before giving Duchess a kiss and walking downstairs to meet my Father.

Instead of my father I'm greeted by my yet again gushing mother. "Ah mon chéri you look so pretty!" I let out a laugh and give her a kiss on each cheek.

"Thank you Mama, now where's Father?" She runs her hand through my hair one last time, "He's already waiting in the car, so run along so you don't keep him waiting," I give her a quick hug and rush outside to meet him.

———

"I have a meeting first thing so you can sit in" my father says, his eyes not leaving his phone as we quickly walk into his office building. "It's with the Don of the Italian Mafia and his two sons so I want you to make a good impression d'accord?' [ok?]

"Oui Father" I say, internally groaning.

I've been to Father's office building a few times before, mostly as a little girl, but it still takes my breath away. It's probably one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever laid eyes on.

This is gonna be fun.

What? Being pimped off by my own father?

You could do worse, at least Italian men are usually hot. At least that's what Ophelia says, and she's hooked up with someone in every country she's travelled to.

Shut up.

You know I'm right.

Yeah and that's why I'm telling you to shut up.

I roll my eyes, silently cursing the voice in my head as we make our way in and out of an elevator.

As we walk towards my Father's office I see three men in suits sitting outside in the waiting area. "See? We're late, that doesn't look good. Next time be ready earlier" my Father says under his breath.
I roll my eyes and put on a polite smile.

Nothing like a dramatic entrance.

My Father plasters on an exaggerated fake smile and I fight the urge to crinkle my nose in disgust. He puts his hand forward and shakes hands with one of the men. He retracts his hand and gestures towards me; "This is my daughter Adelyn, she's just here to see how things work in the business world" he winks at the man he shook hands with when he says 'business world'.

The man reaches forward to shake my hand and I politely put my hand out too. "Alessandro De Santis," he smiles at me. I smile back, "Nice to meet you Mr De Santis.

Alessandro gestures for the other two men to come over, "This is my eldest son Luca," he says, pointing to the slightly taller one. Luca gives me a polite nod as his eyes trail down my body. I hide my growing smirk with my hand, god men are so predictable.

The third man puts his hand forward. I shake it and he winks at me, "Marco De Santis" he says with a wide smile.

I laugh, "Lovely to meet you Mr De Santis,"

"Please, just Marco" he says. Alessandro rolls his eyes and smacks Marco's hand away. "Please excuse my son, he's just immature,"

My Father clears his throat, "Now that we're all familiar shall we make our way inside?"
"Yes of course" Alessandro says hurriedly, as we all follow Father inside.

Once we're all sat down I allow myself to have a proper look at Luca, I assume he'll be the one I'll be marrying if my Father actually goes through with his plan.

He's probably around 6'4, covered in tattoos, black messy hair and dark green eyes.

I find myself mentally tracing his visible tattoos, although most of them are covered by his suit. Most of the tattoos seem to stop on his wrist but there's still some ink where his hand begins.

I snap my eyes away from him when I can feel his gaze boring into me. I feel my cheeks go pink as I try to concentrate on what Father is talking.

I start fiddling with the bracelet on my wrist as I feel Luca looking at me, well my boobs.

I suddenly feel a wave of self-consciousness fall over me and I straighten out my hair, ensuring it's properly covering the back of my neck. I don't need anyone seeing my tattoo. Only Ophelia knows about it.

I let my eyes wander and fall on the view from Father's office window. It overlooks the city and might just be one of the most beautiful views. It overlooks Paris, with cosy little boutiques and cafes underneath. The Eiffel Tower in the background with the Seine River gently cutting across the landscape.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I hear my Father say my name. I look up and realise everyone's eyes are on me.

I clear my throat, "Pardon pére?" [pardon father] I say.

He clears his throat and I can tell he's annoyed at me, "Adelyn, I was just saying that perhaps you'd like to go get us some lunch. There's a cafe down the street that is nice." I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something I'll regret.

"Nous sommes sur le point de discuter de la façon dont nous solidifions notre partenariat, donc je vous suggère de partir pour cela car je ne veux pas d'interruptions." [we are just about to discuss how we solidify our partnership so I suggest you leave for that because I don't want any interruptions]

I feel my stomach drop as I shakily stand up and push my chair in. I grip onto it as I force a smile on my face "Of course Father." I nod at the four men sitting down as I make my way outside.

I find the nearest bathroom and lock myself into the end stall. I feel my breath begin to go faster and my body begins to shake. "Breathe, breathe, just breathe Adelyn" I whisper to myself. I cover my hand over my mouth as a sob threatens to escape.

I start to panic as my breathing just gets worse.

I run my hands through my hair in a feeble attempt to calm myself down. My mind runs to Ophelia and how she calms me down.

I breathe in, then breathe out..."1"

I breathe in, then let a shaky breath out..."2"

I suck in another breath of air and exhale..."3"

I make my way to 10 and feel my body begin to relax a bit. I wrap my hands around my torso trying to make them stop violently shaking.

I let myself sink down onto the ground and I squeeze my eyes shut.

Fuck I don't want to get married.

//

What do we think her tattoo is?? 🤭

Still warming things up but I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and next chap will be Luca's POV

I hope you have a good day/night depending on where you are and remember don't be a silent reader!

Abi <3