Fourteen:
Gedeon
"Please remember to get it civil tonight," Timor shot me a warning, his lips pressed together.
At that, I stared back at him with one raised eyebrow and a slight close-lipped smile. Straightening my tie, I made eye contact with Timor through the mirror. In a black suit that I was sure he had it made in France and tailored personally, I knew he was dressing to impress. His black bowtie that I had made fun of more than once was there on full display. On the other hand, I was in a dark navy blue suit and a light blue tie because, according to Anastasia, I had to match with my wife. "Who do you think I am?"
"The don which is why this year you shouldn't break someone's arm off in front of the families or the guests." He made a point to emphasize his point while I snorted at the reminder of last year's event. Vlad Roman, Nicolai's Uncle, was more of a leech than anything else. A womanizer, gambler, and was about to be considered nothing if he kept the antic up.
"He was asking for it when he brought his mistress without running it by me and causing an embarrassment to everyone else, including me by drinking to barely even see straight," I recalled through gritted teeth. "He's on thin ice already. Is he coming still?"
"From what I heard, yes unfortunately," he commented while crinkling his nose. "It's a family event, and until you make a call or something happens, he'll continue to be family."
"Let's hope he learned his lesson from last year," I mumbled, tucking in two pistols into the inside of my suit. Staring myself in the mirror one last time, I was ready for the event to end before it even started. If it wasn't to make connections and make sure everyone was doing well, I would have done work in my office. "The driver pulled up?"
Timor glanced out the window and nodded. "Yeah, I can see him from here along with the guards ready to go. You think everyone else is ready? By that, I mean solely Ana."
"She better be, because I'm not going to be late because of her again this year," I grumbled. Last year, she had a hair disaster when her hair got frizzled due to the weather. Needless to say, I hoped this year would be stress free to combat the disaster last year.
"You know how she is when it comes to these sorts of shit," he sighed loudly, flicking his wrist. "I swore if she could, she would hold me down to style my hair. I'm not letting her gel my hair, even if she puts a gun to my head."
"Ana is lucky Aleksei babies her," I murmured, shaking his head.
"Has the Genovese said anything when you invited them?" he asked tensely. I last minute sent out an invite to him as a sign of mutual understanding of trust between us by extending my invite to who I now had to consider to be family. Though I was sure him being there would cause more tension than anything else.
"Mateo doesn't trust us enough to show up, thank fuck. I don't think I can stomach him there," I answered, my stomach seeming to churn even at the thought. I didn't trust him to be there so much like us. In the end, it was just an alliance to calm the water, nothing more or less and we both knew it at the back of our minds. "Let alone anyone else from that revolting Italian family."
"Does that apply to your wife?" he curiously cocked his head to the side.
"Do you have some sort of fascination with her that I should know about?" I gritted out.
"No but careful because you're coming off all possessive alpha," he shook his head, a chuckle passing his lips as he placed his hands casually into his slack pockets. "It's amusing to just rattle you. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the person who hates the Italian more than anything has married it's next heir."
"And you know why," I snickered. "Cross breeding between us two? They'll be damned before anything else. Everyone is going to want to kill them from both sides. Dove isn't my type either."
"I didn't ask about that, did I?" he asked smugly before cocking his head to the side. "Speaking of which, where's the main spotlight of the year? I haven't seen her since even at breakfast."
"Last I've seen her, Anastasia had fetched the maids to bring breakfast to Dove's room," I recalled. I also had to resist the urge to check on the cameras like an obsessed maniac. I didn't even know why I was enthralled with watching her. "Then an hour in, Aleksei was dragged in there by Ana as well."
When Dove came home last night like she was letting her guard down, she looked different. Like she was starting to come around. Aleksei was at her side, laughing along with Anastasia. The sight angered me, though I blamed it to be because they had gotten home later than I wanted. It had to be.
"Seems she's taken a liking to her, along with Aleksei," Timor said casually. He was always the type to observe and be able to read my mind. We grew up like siblings so I wasn't too shocked.
"Mm, that so?" I mumbled, checking my phone that we had to leave now if we wanted to make it in time. "You have your gun?"
"Yep," he answered, flashing me that it was tucked into the side of his pants. "Can't ever be too careful who could try sneaking into the biggest event that's going to rock the history of our generations. How long do—"
"We're ready!" Anastasia cried soon as I opened the door to walk a few feet across to Dove's room. She was standing in a long black gown that clung to her body like a second later. In a round long diamond necklace with a blue sapphire teardrop in the middle, it balanced her outfit well. Her hair was pulled into a bun with a diamond clip holding everything in place. It was a mix of elegance, classy, and playfulness that she strived for always. She grinned at us and nodded. "Nice, I'm glad you're both able to dress well without my assistance."
"Speak of the devil, and it'll appear," Timor mumbled loud enough for her to hear.
Crossing her arms, she huffed loudly. "Who the hell are you calling the devil?"
"Nah, you're not the devil, Ana, maybe Satan," Aleksei said from behind her. His hair was clicked back by what I deemed to probably be an absurd amount of hair gel done by Anastasia. In a light grey suit and dark blue tie that I was sure was the one he wore from last year, it fit his frame slightly well. He had gotten broader since last year, but I guess he didn't care to get it tailored this year.
"Almost thought your sister ripped off your balls while she was prepping your ass," Timor jokes, clasping their hands together.
"Haha hilarious," Aleksei said, deadpanned before his attention drifted to me. "We're ready to go when you are."
"Where's Dove?"
"She said she's doing last minute arrangements, but I think she's just shy and hiding in her room till the last possible second when she should be showing off because she looked absolutely beautiful, jaw dropping, and sexy," Anastasia said, shaking her head in dismay before her eyes widened. "Oh shit, I forgot my purse in my room."
"Should I get Dove while you get your purse?" Aleksei offered rather too enthusiastically.
"I'll get her," I grounded out slowly to everyone's surprise. "You all can accompany Ana to get her purse, and I'll meet you in the car. You all can decide who's riding with who."
"I can ride with Dove," Aleksei volunteered without a second thought. Again, I felt myself tensing by how eager he sounded. Timor and Anastasia stared at one another briefly before training their eyes onto me. Timor cleared his throat, his gaze narrowed.
"No, that'll be weird," Anastasia said and looped her arms around Aleksei. "She should ride with Gedeon, it'll make more sense anyways too."
Finally, there was something Anastasia said that I agreed with. As she ushered the two men to the other side of the estate where her bedroom was, I knocked on Dove's door out of courtesy even though I didn't need to. There was a shuffle on the other side and not a brief second later, she opened the door before she freezes, surprised to find me there.
And that upsets me even more.
She was standing in a blue gown, tight in the front that showed off her slender legs perfectly while the back was flowy, dragging just slightly on the floor. Her breasts were covered just by a transparent fabric along with clusters of white petals dancing around the shoulder, neck, breasts, and waist area. Her pale, white smooth skin was near perfection, like her body was complimenting the dress more than the other way around. Her hair was in a simple loose low updo, pinned with a white flower and pearl encrusted hair pin, and with only two strands curled and hanging loosely. The deep dip in the middle of her dress stopped just above her belly button and for a moment, I wanted to trail my tongue there to find just how thin the layer of fabric was.
The primal need to own her overcame me, to throw all my logic out the window, just from how she looked in that moment. The urge didn't stop because her legs were showcased, with us only a few inches. Her lips, plump and pink like she was tempting me. That was, until my eyes landed on her that I snapped back to reality. The fear and wariness in her eyes was like a damn slap in my face.
"Is this how you're supposed to be greeting your husband? Looking rather petrified," I growled out the last word. My nose flared when she didn't deny it but took a step back instead. Her body stiffened. The action spoke louder than words itself. "You better not look like that when we get there. I don't want people to think I abuse my own wife."
"I wasn't looking petrified," she mumbled, her eyes darted away as she shifted her feet. Her hands gently ran over the front of her dress and I swore that the innocent act was looking anything but to my hardening cock. "I just wasn't expecting you."
My jaws clenched at her honesty. "And who were you expecting? Aleksei?"
She stared, taken aback for a moment by my voice. Slowly, she shakes her head. "No, Ana."
"Right," I drawled out, placing my hand into my pocket, and forcing myself to relax as I walked over to close the distance. "So, what's with the hesitation before then, bird? And tread carefully on your next words, I'm not in a good mood right now, so don't you dare try to lie. I'm great at telling."
Because I have a raging hard on for someone I should be disgusted with.
Her eyes flashed with uncertainty while she bit on her lower lips nervously. The more I interacted with her, the more I realized she was like an open book. Twirling her thumbs, she exhaled a shaky breath, and her eyes met mine. "I was hesitant because I was caught off guard by how you look in your suit."
The corner of my lips twitched by her squeaked reply. "How I look in my suit?"
She nodded; her eyes pressed together thinly. "Captivating. Like we match."
I caught myself in the neck of time from chuckling at how the faint tint of blush was forming. Instead, I pulled back and gave the appropriate spacing between us again. I took a seat on her neatly made bed. My eyes caught onto the sketch pad that was closed and her book, Little Women. Huh, I guess she does have other things she likes to do when I wasn't looking. I resisted the urge to peek and instead, placed my hands on her bed, looking disinterested. We were supposed to go soon yet seeing her look uneased was setting me on edge. "So why were you hiding in your room instead of following Ana?"
"To be honest with you, something had been bothering me, if it's alright to share with you."
"Proceed."
She stilled, like she was having an inner battle with herself for a moment. Finally, she lifted her head from staring at the ground to stare at me. Slowly she lets go of her dress she was gripping and brings her arms up for me to examine. The scar tissues had healed up nicely now, but there was no doubt that against her pale skin, it would catch people's attention.
When I didn't follow through with what she meant she swallowed. "My wrists."
I stared at the blotched skin and then back at her. "What about them?"
"People will stare."
"So?" I could feel my frown deepening until I realized what she meant. I often didn't care what people thought of me, but with Anastasia, it was a different story if people stare at her for one tiny imperfection when she's outside. "If people stare at your wrists, and you don't feel comfortable, tell me and I'll handle it."
"No, it's not that," she said, shaking her head. "People will assume that you did it."
I stilled at her confession briefly. In my profession, I never froze up easily. With what I see daily after years, I learned that nothing really took me by surprise anymore. Yet right now, I felt a tug at my heart. The feeling unsettled me, because I didn't think I ever felt it before. I cocked my head to one side, pushing it away as I continued. "You're upset that my family would think I abuse my wife?"
She nodded meekly. "I don't like it if they do think of you like that. I'm upset for you."
"You're getting upset on my behalf?" I asked, puzzled. The thought of someone who barely knew me getting uneasy for me was new. The last person who had done so was so long ago, it was a distinct memory.
Again, she nodded. "I don't want people to think you abuse me when you don't, it's not fair."
Fairness. If I could, I would spit at the word. The world wasn't fair. It only took from all, never discriminating much like death. What motivated people was their own selfish gains. It was eat or be eaten and here was the little bird preaching about fairness.
The irony.
Truly, she never stopped surprising me. I was great with reading people. In fact, I thought I figured her all out since the beginning. Someone who wanted to be free, even though it was unattainable. One who only knew so much about the world and only cared of herself like everyone else in this fucked up world. Yet, she was upset and scared of my reputation.
"Let me ask you," I began slowly, propping my elbows onto my knees to watch and analyze her every move. "Does that motherfucker of yours parade you around with the scars?"
"He doesn't, but people assume it because of the way I flinch. But...he sometimes tells me to entertain the guests of his sometimes..." she said, each word getting softer and softer the more she talked. Shame filled her eyes. "And when they strip me of my dress, they would tell others when they see how many scars I have on my body. They laugh, and then others stare. I don't want that for you when you don't deserve it, the backtalk."
Christ.
"Let me make one thing clear," I drawled out slowly and loosened my tie while getting up from the bed. This time, she stared at me, yet she didn't look to be afraid. Instead, she stared at her wrists still held out as I gently gripped her them. Her body was small, tiny compared to me while I hovered over her. "I'm only going to say this once."
"Okay."
"I don't care what the fuck people think about me," I stated lowly. "People know me and know I wouldn't do something like that either. If they did have something to say, they better come to me. If anyone gives you a hard time, you let me know. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes."
"Good girl," I praised lowly. Her whole-body flushed at the appraisal, making me wonder where else she was sensitive to. Neither of us moved, our eyes connected. Her eyes were like lush spring grass. Never ending, curious, and warming. The innocent she held despite the hell she went through contradicted my eyes that were probably dark, cruel, and dangerous. She broke away first, staring at her wrist which both of my hands had wrapped around, covering most of it. It seemed to calm her more than staring at it. I didn't know what possessed me to even continue talking, "Do you want to hide it?"
She stared at me; a bit startled by my question. I didn't care in my head about her comfort, so the question spewing out of my mouth bewildered me too. She tilted her head to the side, her lips curled upwards to a small, pained smile. "How? These are permanent. Not even makeup or concealers can cover it. He made sure of that."
My blood ran cold at that. For once, I knew this was out of my control like the branding she had on her ribcage. Pulling away from her to let the bile of anger set me straight, I straightened my tie. I hated the feeling of not being able to do anything, because in the eyes of everyone, I was close to a God. No, the Devil. So I did the next best thing which was to put it in the back of my mind and ignore it. If anyone did have anything to say about her wrists or about me amusing her, I'll make sure they pay. "Let's go before we're late."
Thank you for everyone's patience, Beautiful!
Any comments and votes would be amazing!
What do you think will happen at the party? Hm...