--Lucian POV--
I was talking to one of my business associates when I noticed something odd, the change in the mood within the socialites mingling around my garden.
"It seems that there's a surprise guest," Reid spoke as he walked up to me.
"Surprise guest?" I echoed, confused.
Who had the audacity to enter my home premises without an invitation? Were the security guards doing that bad of a job? Or did I invite someone unexpected, the only people I could think of were Donovan and his wife, but they came a few hours ago and that drama's already calmed down.
Unless...
"Did you hear? I heard a Gonzalez was here," Two gossiping young women walked passed as they giggled to themselves, confirming my suspicions.
"Why is he here? Especially when he said he couldn't make it?" I cursed under my breath, eyes scanning over the large expanse of space as I searched for a man in black.
"I did warn you to be on your toes when a Gonzalez was involved, especially if the Gonzalez we're talking about is Leandro," Reid sassily spoke as he sipped on his champagne.
"That man is going to cause havoc in my home if he's here. Find him," I turned to tell my secretary as he nodded, quickly rushing away to do as told.
"If you'll excuse me, we'll continue with this conversation later," I stepped back, excusing myself from the group of old men I had been talking to about business related things before going to sea5rch for the man myself.
Thankfully, all the Gonzalez's have something in common; they wear black, and nothing but black, when they're socialising or working, it's their signature. And I was trying to use that to my advantage as I looked through my guests who were all following the dress code of the party.
"Did you find him?" I asked Stefan, my secretary, as he walked up to me.
"No, sire. I've asked some of the workers to help look for him though. It's safe to assume that he's somewhere in the mansion, it might be a good idea to keep the missus by your side in the time that his whereabouts remain unknown-"
"-Where is she?" I realised, coming to a halt.
Over the fact that Leandro Gonzalez was in my home right now, I was more fearful of the fact that my wife wasn't within my line of sight. 5 minutes, I look away for 5 minutes and she's managed to disappear.
And on cue, I caught sight of Julia talking to another friend of hers not far from me, and i didn't wait another extra moment to go and ask her.
"Have you seen Angelina?" I asked.
"I thought she'd be with you or your mother? We went to the conservatory together, but I went to get my champagne refilled, and when I went back she wasn't there. Is something wrong?" She looked concerned as she asked.
The nerves began to dance inside me the longer I stood there thinking. She wasn't with my mother since that woman was busy dancing with her husband inside, she's not with Julia who's right in front of me, and I'm not sure where else she could be.
But I wasn't afraid of the fact that I couldn't see her. It's because I didn't know where she was, especially now of all times when many of my enemies are gathered in the same place, and not to mention, I've got a missing guest, and my wife's ex-husband in the same estate.
Things can't get any worse.
"The fireworks are scheduled to go off in half an hour, sire. I'm sure your wife will make a reappearance with the rest of the guests when that happens,"
I didn't have the patience to wait half an hour.
"I'll go look for her myself," I grumbled, storming off as I entered the conservatory, walking passed Milo who was trying to catch one of the many birds living in the glass dome.
Julia said this is where Angelina last was before she disappeared, and it's not like Angelina to leave someone alone, so I was thinking up the worst-case scenarios like she had unwillingly been taken away from here.
Walking down the halls of the mansion, I cursed myself for having to pick this large estate to live in when I decided to leave my parent's home, a different estate owned by the Vandenburg's. I should have bought a small house for myself, that way I could be closer to my wife.
My thoughts were cut short as my ears perked up at the sound of familiar voices talking in the distance, and I didn't need more than a single guess to recognise her voice.
"And who the fuck are you to meddle in my business?"
I didn't need a second guess to figure out who that despicable voice belonged to either.
And with that realisation, my legs picked up their pace as I started walking faster towards the scene that I already knew I wouldn't like the sight of.
"...It's Leandro Gonzalez. And I guess it's not very nice to meet your acquaintance, is it?" My legs came to a skidding halt when my ears picked up on those words.
Well, on the bright side, I found him.
And as I turned the corner, my breath got caught in my throat at the sight in front of me, and not in the good way as it usually is when I see her.
Two people that I very much did not like, holding her by a hand each. What a horrid sight to have to behold this late at night.
"How about both of you let go of her?"
Three sets of eyes all darted to look my way, three vastly different gazes. My Angelina looked relieved, the Moretti looked even more annoyed, and the Gonzalez, well, I couldn't tell with him. I never really could.
"Well, well, well, would you look at who's decided to join the party?" Leandro smirked my way as I swiftly moved in to take both his, and Donovan's hand, away from Angelina before pulling her back to me, masking my face with an emotionless look.
"It's a party that I'm hosting, why would I not be a part of it? Besides, you are the uninvited guest who's wandering around someone else's home unsupervised, wouldn't you say that's quite rude?" I turned to look at the man, raising a brow as I did.
"The only thing I find rude right now is how both you men interrupted the conversation I was trying to have with my wife," Donovan snapped from the side.
"You mean ex-wife. Because she's my one and only wife, what happened to your Nivea?" I smirked, purposely getting her name wrong to rile him up even more, and it definitely worked.
"Forget his Nivea. You invited me, and I showed up, so I don't understand what the problem is," I turned back to look at Leandro when he spoke.
"I sent you an invitation which you declined, so therefore, the invitation was retracted. Is that not so easy to understand?" I ruffled my hair as I spoke.
"Well, you know being in my line of work is unexpected. I could be free one moment, then busy the next, you of all people should know that," He sighed as he spoke, placing a hand on my shoulder as I shrugged him off.
"I still did not get a proper introduction, who the actual fuck are you?" Donovan cursed, glaring at the blonde man whose smirk was unmoving.
"Goodness, is that foul language really belonging to a Duke? I'm disappointed," If anyone knew Leandro, they would know that this man was always smirking even in the worst situations. He always acted smug about everything, which is why no one really liked him.
"Is there a reason why you showed up here?" I asked Leandro.
"Can I not just come because I want to enjoy the party like everyone else?" He asked, already knowing the answer. But I didn't say anything, I just looked at him as he got the memo, giving in with a quiet sigh as he nodded his head.
"I'm guessing your study is where it always is, I'll be there so come meet me when you can," And he saluted me before turning to Angelina who was oddly silent this whole time.
"And I shall look forward to our next meeting, lovely lady," He bowed down as he took her hand in his, attempting to kiss her knuckles but I quickly pulled her back, chuckling at him as he was left kissing the air.
And showing me his middle finger, he stuck his tongue out before spinning on his heel, and walking away without another word, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit pants which went against the dress code.
"And next time you come to a party I invite you to; wear the right colour clothes," He paused, turning to look at me as he smirked, both of us knowing full well that he'll never do that.
"You know that's never going to happen. Unless your dress code is black," And without waiting for a reply, he turned back around before continuing on his way.
And then there were three. Turning to look at Donovan, I waited for him to say something first, holding Angelina's hand in mine as I tucked my other hand away in my pocket.
"I'd like to speak to Angelina alone," He calmly stated.
"That's not going to happen,"
"And why the hell not?" He glared, his composed self, beginning to crumble apart.
"Because she doesn't feel safe being alone with you, and as her husband, it's my job to keep her safe away from people like you," She looked at me, surprised by the accuracy of my words as I reassuringly squeezed her hand.
She doesn't need to say something for me to know. That was the difference between me and Donovan, he need reaffirmation, I just needed to look at her and I would know, and right now, I knew that being in his presence would be damaging to her.
"I'm her husband, you're just a fake. So, give her back to me, she belongs with me, in Rome, that's where her home is," I huffed, scoffing at him in disbelief as he spoke.
"And what about Nivea?"
"Her name's Nevaeh for goodness' sake!" I covered my mouth to hide my smirk when he finally burst like a waiting Volcano, trying to hold back my laughter.
"What about me?" And we turned around to see the said homewrecker approaching us with a small smile on her face, completely oblivious to her husband's real feelings. These two were a joke, an actual match made in Hell, which I find ironic since her name is literally Heaven.
"Nothing, darling," Donovan was quick to regain his composure. "We were just talking about work," And I turned, watching as he scurried away to her, taking her hand as they walked away.
"Are you alright, Angel?" I asked as soon as they were out of sight, turning to look at my wife just in time as she released a loud, shaky breath before collapsing to the ground, squatting down as she covered her face with her hands.
"Angelina," I called, getting down beside her as I placed a reassuring hand on her back.
"I'm sorry. That was just so..." She didn't need to say anything for me to know that whatever Donovan was going to do, wasn't something good.
"What did he do?" I seethed.
"Nothing, he just- He's delusional. I don't know what I saw in him," She whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as I continued to hold her for a bit.
"Should we go get some fresh air?" I suggested as she slowly nodded her head.
And I did as told, holding her hand as I led her out to the garden, in a hidden corner that overlooked the party happening in the distance.
Taking my suit jacket off, I slung it over her cold shoulders as she moved to sit down on the bench, breathing out even breaths of air with closed eyes.
"I won't let him be alone with you ever again," I whispered.
But upon catching sight of her feet, I squatted down in front of her when I noticed the laces of her heels were undone. And she opened her eyes, sitting up properly as she looked down at me while I silently did the laces in a neat bow.
"This is like when you proposed to me," She chuckled, and my hands paused in their movements as I noticed the same, looking up to see her smiling at me.
"Thank you, for being there to protect me. I never thought I'd get the privilege to have someone worry for me in the way that you do, so thank you, Lucy," And the mood quickly shifted with that nickname which I was hoping she'd have forgotten about by now.
She laughed at my face, ruffling my hair as I scoffed, feeling my heart thumping against my chest in an uneven rhythm, expect her to be the only woman that can fluster me like this.
But I was wrong to assume that this was as far as my love could go for her.
Because it can grow to become much larger than anyone could possibly have expected.
"I love you," She whispered.
I stopped. I froze in the moment, all of me did.
I had been dreaming of this moment for too long that it felt like a dream to hear it right now, maybe it was a dream.
Hearing her say those words, I didn't know how to react.
Looking up at her with large, surprised eyes, she smiled down at me.
And she leaned forward, holding my cheeks in her hands as her lips touched mine in the most beautiful way, but her words were still echoing in my head so I couldn't move even after she leaned back, chuckling at my breathlessness.
"Say that again." I whispered, just to be sure.
"I love you. My dear, Lucian," She kissed my forehead, complying to my request.
"And again," My voice cracked as I held her arm, helping her stand up as I stood up with her, wrapping an arm around her waist as I pressed my forehead against hers.
"Am I the only one that needs to say it, you're getting greedy," She softly spoke, but the amusement was loud and clear.
"Can you blame me? I've been waiting to hear you say that for too long," I said, placing my other hand on her cheek as my thumb stroked her soft cheek.
"I love you," I said, not even hesitating because if I was sure of one thing in this world right now, it was that I loved her. I loved her, I loved her, I loved her. And I could say it a million times over, the words will never be lost in my throat.
"Far more than you could ever know,"
And I kissed her again.
"But, tell me again. Just to make sure I haven't gone mad," She laughed, grinning up at me, her eyes sparkling with the light of a thousand stars, and the longer I looked at her, the larger my heart bloomed, unable to contain the love that I had for her, for this wondrous woman.
"I love you. I love you so much, Lucian," And she hugged me, tightly.
And of course, I hugged back.
...