Adrian
There was a momentarily silence.
Everyone’s eyes were on him.
There was an imposing iciness in his cold but charming eyes.
Even the staff and Mancini’s were afraid of looking him in the eye.
A subtle rustling of his fabric could be heard as the man placed his hands in his pockets.
His sleeves were folded on his arm, revealing a bite mark close to his wrist.
I should have flared up in anger, hearing him oppose the union, but curiosity clouded my heart.
“Do you think you deserve Isabelle?
You Morettis!” His gaze bore into mine.
I held my breath waiting for his judgement.
After a long while he said, “Aren’t you just an illegitimate son?”
His words were direct, but it only made me wonder what rights he had to give such opposing opinions.
Every attraction I felt when he walked in, was completely shredded.
I could feel my insides in chaos, but I didn’t utter a word.
I didn’t break my gaze, neither did he.
When his tongue stroked his lips, I felt like pulling him closer and wetting them with mine.
Oh, damn!
Distractions!
Just as I tried to calm my nerves, the man’s tongue seemed to bite at every word he uttered.
“This is absolute nonsense.
He is not worthy of Isabelle.
Did you see how he is speechless, just sitting there like a moron.”
My eyes darkened, and every reluctance binding me to the couch loosen up, and I muttered to him-
“If I am not worthy of her, does it mean that you are?”
“I’m her uncle!” He gritted his teeth.
“Oh, does that mean you are some old man that doesn’t have his daughter to order around?”
“Do you think your old eyes could see clearly what is better for my fiance?”
He gazed down at me, there was so much anger in those eyes but for some reasons, he avoided staring at me even longer than a minute.
“This is my brother, Nikolai.” Gabriel introduced him with a low grunt.
My breath hitched.
Nikolai?
How come father never mentioned him?
I noticed my father whose eyes had been gleaming was now darkened in fury.
“Nikolai, the head of Mancini’s household.” Leonardo feigned a smile as he stood and stretched his hand towards Nikolai.
He didn’t take it.
“Sitting and dining with the enemy is not something I’m skilled at, but I guess you’d never had any problems.
You even sent your only son to our home.
Interesting!”
“Let me be the one to worry about my safety.
It is an alliance, is it not?
How would anything happen if your family doesn’t break their own side of the deal?” I questioned him, but he ignored me, again.
Liliana seemed to be worried about the tension and she instantly broke the silence and ferocious gazes between me and her brother in law.
“Dinner has been served.
Let’s go to dinner.” She helped Gabriel and they walked to the dinner.
Isabelle didn’t waste time, she rushed to Nikolai and led him to the dinner.
I heaved a deep breath, but just as I took a step forward, Leonardo’s gaze was glaring at me before he excused himself.
At the dinning…
There was one chair left, and I went for it.
After I was seated, I noticed the man to my right was no other than Nikolai.
The man frowned and turned to face me, but before he could say a word, Gabriel intercepted-
“After marriage, Adrian will live in the Mancini’s estate.”
“That’s impossible.” Leonardo didn’t seem to buy the idea.
“It’s a rule in the Mancini’s household, the husband stays, or no wedding.” Nikolai looked at Leonardo’s ghastly pale face, and a wicked smirk appeared on his lips.
Seeing that he was pushed to a corner, Leonardo couldn’t object.
I noticed the way his fingers played on the table, and for the first time, I saw Leonardo being cornered and it felt good.
After the dinning, Gabriel and Liliana took Leonardo for a walk, they invited Nikolai but he rejected.
After a short while, a familiar rude voice muttered, “Why did you agree to this marriage?”
“Why shouldn’t I?” I turned to look at him.
It’s been forty minutes of sitting beside him, and I never spared him a glance, despite the allure of his perfume and how much time he kicked my chair underneath the table.
When I stared at him now, my breath ceased in my lungs and I forgot my eyes on his.
For the briefest moment, it felt as though he was completely harmless underneath that hardened face of his and the blunt words he had been muttering since the evening.
Suddenly-
He moved his chair closer, and his lips curved in a devious smile, “I heard your father only made your existence known a few months back, it must have been because of this wedding.”
“Now I understand, you don’t have a choice right?
You are just a weakling, an illegitimate son who’s never going to get daddy’s approval.”
I coughed, my grip tightening around my phone.
It was foolish of me to think that such a man, with a vile mouth as his could ever hide something so pure and gentle beneath the surface.
I guess, since there are twenty four hours in a day, he must use twenty making enemies by merely speaking.
I thought of how to respond but the man had a countenance that kept throwing me off.
It wasn’t that he was wrong, but the pain of how there was some truth in his words.
I never thought of why Leonardo accepted me publicly, perhaps, this wedding was his plan all along.
I suddenly felt suffocated, depressed and shaken.
My gaze faltered and mellowed.
But then-
He laughed.
He then sipped from his glass, void of any worries.
Twirling the glass around his thumbs gently, Nikolai ignored my whole existence.
I could only stare at him, speechless, broken and lost from words.
My gaze drifted from his face to the table and that’s when I saw it-
The ruby ring on his little finger was the same as the man from the club last night.
I grabbed his hand and struggled to stretch it out as he stared at the ring, he shoved me aside and loosened my grip on his hand.
“Filthy things like you, don’t get to touch me.”
I didn’t care about his insults, I just wanted to confirm.
Was he the man from last night?
Locking my eyes on his, I waited if he somehow understood my reaction but he seemed clueless.
“Who are you?” The words escaped my mouth before I could realize.
“I’m Nikolai Mancini, the man who will have you six feet under if you dare hurt my niece.”