| ❅ | Finding Home | ❅ | A Novel | ❅ | Complete | ❅ |

❅ Chapter Twenty ❅

Vincent led Risa down the hall to the other side where Rosenberg's private box was located. It seemed to take forever to weave between the gathering of people in their clusters. They had to go to the other side of the opera house to reach the box. They had at least an hour until the next showing of the opera. He had respect for the actors and actresses that spend hours doing the same show over and over again.

He was glad Risa had been wearing gloves or else she would be feeling his sweaty hands. With every step he grew more nervous, the knot in his stomach grew tighter and he kept swallowing to not throw up. He didn't know why but he knew he had a bad feeling about this. He normally didn't have bad feelings but this, something bad would happen, he just knew it.

Risa followed, tilting her head at his briskly as he was walking. He was walking too fast and she was having trouble keeping up, especially since this was her first time in heels. "Vincent, slow down and you are squeezing my hand a little too tight." She stopped in her tracks and her hand slipped from his due to how sweaty his palm was. "Gross." She wiped it on his jacket.

Vincent blinked a few times, stopping and turning towards her. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't paying much attention. I will walk slowly and since my palms are sweaty, just walk beside me?" He wiped his own hands on his pants. He pivoted and began to walk a hair slower than he had, making sure Risa could keep up with him. He had been so focused on the knot that he had forgotten his fast pace.

Risa hadn't taken notice of his sweaty hands due to her silk gloves. But now they do seem to be a little wet. She pulled them off, finger my finger then the whole glove, and tucked them into her small purse. "Alright." She said as she began to follow him to where the door was. Something was up with him, she knew it because he had never acted this way before.

Vincent stopped in front of the door and turned to Risa. He needed to feel out the room first before he beckoned her to come in. "Stay here and wait for me to call you in, alright? You can listen to everything if you wish but don't come in unless I say so." He said, knocking on the door and hearing a come-in from Stella. 

He pushed open the door after taking a very long deep breath and walked in, letting it close on its own. However, without help, it stayed open a few inches and that made it easy for Risa to listen and watch. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, he was so sure that it could be heard. He had never been this nervous before, it was a new feeling that made him uneasy.

He bowed to them knowing that was what he needed to do since they still were royals. This was the first time he was before royalty. He had never been in the presence of royalty before. Well, if Risa turns out to be Clarissa, then that wasn't necessarily true. "Your royal highnesses." He didn't know if that was a thing or not. He couldn't recall what he needed to call them so that would have to be done for now.

Stella smiled as she brushed past Vincent, leaning close to his ear. "Remember what I said." She whispered to him before looking at her sister and brother-in-law. "I will see you tomorrow. Rolando is waiting for me." She said and left the room, smiling at Risa before going to find the love of her life. She hoped things would go well and she was sad she had to leave, but she couldn't let Rolando just wait around for her.

Nathan eyed the boy up and down. So this was Vincent, the con-artist and troublemaker. The boy Stella had spoken wished to come by and say or give something to them. "Oh, hello you must be Vincent, Stella has said you were coming. What may I do for you?" He asked, sitting up in a chair up against the wall in the open space behind the chairs overlooking the room.

Vincent tugged at his collar, why was this harder than before? He had been so confident the whole way here! Of course, it was saying Risa was their daughter just for the money but he didn't want to know. "I, I come bearing something you had lost a very long time ago." His voice cracked, which never happened, not even during puberty. He was truly nervous.