"Mija, are you trying to impress the boy or tease him?"
My mother was helping me pick an outfit for tonight and this was the third outfit that she had turned down, telling me I couldn't wear it because it was either too revealing or not revealing enough.
It was now the evening and the time was nearing for Alessandro to arrive to pick me up.
At this point, I could've just worn trousers and not given a fuck.
"Mama, please. I need your help but you turning all the outfits down isn't helping." I sighed.
I went back into the cupboard and went through each of the hangers, trying to find a good enough dress for me to wear.
Then, my fingers skimmed over a gorgeous dress, hiding between the various other dresses I had bought or had been gifted. I pulled it out with its hanger and held it up in front of me.
The dress was elegant and classy, with thin spaghetti straps and a slit on the left side. It was a beautiful, backless dress in black and I thought it was perfect.
"I think I've found the one." I said, calling out to my mother. I quickly changed into it and took the towel off of my head, letting my curls fall down my back.
I walked out holding a pair of heels to go with the dress, and presented myself to my mother.
"So, what do you think?"
Her eyebrows rose in surprise and she gushed at me, "Oh mija, you look incredible! Alessandro should want to have you by his side at all times tonight, he won't be able to resist."
"Gracias Mama, honestly. Thanks for your help." I smiled, kissing her on the cheek. "Now quick, I need to dry my hair properly and grab a few accessories so I can leave soon."
She left me alone, and I began to work on myself. The wand of the mascara made a satisfying pop as I pulled it out and applied a little to my eyelashes. I began to dry my hair and made sure I did it on a low heat, then swiped my lips with a layer of lip gloss.
I heard the doorbell ring downstairs and I looked at the time on my phone. It was seven on the dot.
He really is punctual, isn't he?
Carefully I slipped on my heels and went downstairs, my hand gliding over the banister to steady myself in case I fell.
I looked to the front door to see my father and mother speaking to Alessandro.
He was wearing one of his usual suits, with silver gleaming cufflinks and no tie. He held a bouquet of red roses and when I reached the bottom of the stairs, I caught his attention and his eyes moved from my parents to me.
Despite trying to hide his surprise, I noticed the slight raise in his eyebrow as he looked me up and down, taking in my appearance.
I walked towards them and greeted my parents first, kissing them both on the cheek before saying hello to Alessandro.
As he gave me a kiss on the cheek, he whispered: "Bellissima..."
I let out a small breath as a laugh and thanked him. He handed me the flowers and I smiled at the gesture.
I gave them to my mother to keep, then turned back to Alessandro.
"Shall we?"
* * *
We arrived at the restaurant on time for our reservation. Alessandro had come in his Audi R8 and had gotten out before me so he could open the passenger door for me.
I walked beside him and I took in our surroundings. He had chosen a restaurant on neutral ground and before we had sat, he had already insisted on paying for our meal. It seemed that he came here often, as the staff all recognised him as a regular and treated him with a higher amount of respect than expected.
He had ordered his usual for the both of us along with a red wine bottle. The waitress tried to gain his attention as we sat at the table, batting her eyelashes at him and leaning over the table when an opportunity came her way.
"So, I have a few things that I would like to mention before we start with our conditions- is that okay?" He asked me.
"Sure, go ahead." I said, taking a sip of the wine.
"My father would like to have a meeting with you. With the mess between Salvatore's gang, he's trying to convince my father that you are a threat and this marriage shouldn't happen. He wants to make sure you aren't a threat, so I'm warning you now to not do anything stupid before the meeting. I don't know when it is but until I know, I'd prefer if you'd lay low with whatever you get up to in your free time."
I felt a smirk creep onto my lips and I shook my head at this lightly.
"Thank you for the warning, but I assure you that my free time doings are none of your business and you have nothing to worry about. I'm not stupid, Alessandro. I can look after myself and you should trust me enough to continue what I do without getting caught doing anything stupid." I shrugged. "You expect that I'll get caught doing something, but I haven't been caught ever. You shouldn't be concerned, Sandro. Trust me."
He sighed in frustration but I ignored it, knowing that there was no point in answering an argument about this.
"Chiara, you have to understand what would happen if you get caught. This is a serious matter, and if they catch you... doing whatever you do, then we might run into a few problems. Do you understand?"
"Can we move on from this topic? I am well aware of the consequences if I get caught and I've been taking that risk for years now." I asked, rubbing my temple.
"As you wish, but I'm not dropping this topic completely. Should we talk about our conditions?"
"Could I start first?" I asked him.
"Okay, go ahead."
Then, before I could start, the waitress had come back again.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" She asked us, mainly aiming her question to Alessandro himself.
I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my wine, eyeing her up and down in her waitress outfit. She had unbuttoned another button of her shirt, showing more cleavage.
I didn't register what had happened until the woman screamed in shock and I realised what I had done.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry." I gasped, looking at her white shirt which had now been dyed to a wine-red.
"I'm so clumsy, honestly."
"It's fine." She said through gritted teeth before walking off, her fists clenched by her side.
I tried to stifle my laugh with a cough and said, "I'll just start now then, shall I?"
"Jealous much, Martinez?" He questioned, an eyebrow raised at the accident I caused.
"Over you? Never. Carrying on, here are the few conditions I have for when and before we get married. I expect you to treat me with the same respect you would treat your family with. I wish to save myself till after marriage so if you're expecting sex, you can forget it. Once we are married, I am your wife, not a fling. I'm not someone who you can have on your speed dial for sex and if you dare lay a hand on me, I'll show you that money doesn't buy happiness but it sure helps with grief."
"Okay. Your points are reasonable. I would never lay my hands on you regardless, and if you are completely set on saving yourself till after our marriage, then I will put up with it to fulfil your wish. I will respect you as I respect most people in my life but I will say this now- when I demand something of you, I do expect you to do it. Whether you don't agree with it or not, you have to listen to me and trust that my judgement is right."
I nodded at his conditions; they were all fair and didn't ask too much of me anyways.
"Oh, that reminds me- I have one more condition. As of now, I don't want you to be dating anyone before or after our marriage. So your girlfriend has to go. I don't want to cause any inconvenience, it's just that you and I are to be together for the rest of our lives after our marriage and I don't want someone coming in between the two of us if it will cause problems."
"What, so I have the break up with her now? She'll be heartbroken."
"Everyone gets over heartbreak eventually, Alessandro."
He sighed, but said nothing in answer.
"So, when will you do it?"
"I don't know."
"Well, I suggest you do it soon. Give her some time to process before she finds out about the wedding."