CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: La Festa Delle Maschere [The Festival of Masks]
ALESSANDRO'S POV:
"Where the hell is she?" I ask in an agitated tone as I pull on my tie, while taking a sip of my wine.
"She's probably on her way, Alessandro." Aldo says in a placating tone as he gives me a concerned look.
"The ball is about to start and if she's not here, we can't proceed. She's my wife and she should know that." I say through gritted teeth, the familiar feelings of annoyance coursing through my veins.
"That's not fair actually. You didn't introduce her to our world. So my bet is on the fact that she doesn't know our rules." Aldo says, playing devil's advocate.
"I've told her our rules on countless occasions, yet she seems determined to keep testing me." I say, my hands tightening around the glass of wine.
"No you haven't. All you've done is punish her when she breaks rules that she didn't know existed." Aldo says.
From any other person, his blunt honestly would have cost them their heads, but this is Aldo, my consigliere and one of the only men I trust.
"Don, everyone is waiting for you to make an appearance." One of my guards say in a tentative tone, pulling me out of my self reflection.
I nod my head as an indication that I've heard him clearly. "Get me Aurelia." I say to the guard who starts to leave when Mia steps into the room.
"Oh there's no need for that. I'm just coming from her room right now, and she's barely dressed. She said something about oversleeping and ruining her dress." Mia says, offering a believable explanation.
I have to physically restrain myself back from storming off to look for her and break her neck. By the time this farce of a marriage is over, I hope I wouldn't do something too drastic.
"I can do the dance with you." Mia offers tentatively and I see the genuineness of her offer in her expression.
"We are all going to be wearing masks, so it's not like people will notice." Mia further offers.
"I don't think that will be a good idea." Aldo starts to say from beside me but I ignore him. I'm done dealing with Aurelia's bullshit.
"Let's do it." I say to Mia as I storm out of my office heading directly for the ballroom with Mia in my arms.
The music starts playing and my hands find their way to Mia's waist. Her hands are displayed flat across my chest.
"This is so nice. I remember when we used to do this all the time as kids." Mia says with a soft smile on her lips.
I smile a little in response saying nothing else. It's not that I didn't enjoy dancing with Mia, it's just that I knew of her feelings for me, and I refuse to take advantage of that.
I would rather keep her at arms length than lead her on when nothing would ever come of our friendship.
"Giulia will be so proud of you." Mia says with a nervous giggle. My sharp gaze lands on her, wondering what she's talking about.
"My wife is not a topic that is up for discussion." I say in a harsh tone, while frowning heavily.
"I'm sorry— I just meant that she would be happy that you set aside your differences to get married to Aurelia to perform your duty as Don." Mia says hastily as a nervous expression clouds her face.
I say nothing else in order not to encourage further discussions about my wife.
"But when are you going to call off the whole marriage facade? Aurelia might not be the person you think she is." Mia says, not taking my hint about not being in the mood to discuss my missing wife and my present wife.
I see what is going on here. Mia thinks or believes that the only reason why I'm not with her is because I'm married to Aurelia. And the moment I call off my marriage to Aurelia, she will have a chance with me.
"I do not want to have any discussion with you concerning my wife. Not my missing wife and definitely not the present one." I say in a tone much harsher than I intended.
"I'm sorry, I just—" Mia starts to say, but I interrupt her.
"You are beautiful woman and an asset to your father, Mia. If you wish to marry, I have many willing capos who would not hesitate to seek for your hand in marriage. Is that what you wish for?" I ask, the threats extremely clear in my statement.
If she continued to plague me with her questions or insinuations about getting married to me, I will be forced to marry her off to get rid of her delusions about ever being together with me.
"No, Alessandro. I'm perfectly okay with my life as it is." She responds with a strained smile.
"Good." I murmur as the dance comes to an end. I don't care about my harsh methods, so long as they give me the desired results.
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AURELIA'S POV:
"Somebody help!" I scream once again as I try the door knob for the hundredth time but it still doesn't budge.
"Open the fucking door!" I scream in anger and annoyance.
Who the hell locked me inside? It can't be Alessandro, because while he might be extremely annoying, he doesn't play childish games. If he didn't want me attending the ball, he would have told me to my face.
Just as I'm about to bang on the door one last time, the door is pushed open and it almost hits me square in the face if not for my fast reflexes.
"Who the hell are you, and why did you lock me inside?" I demand in a furious tone.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I was merely wandering the hallways and I heard your voice and decided to come help you." The strikingly handsome young man says in explanation.
I take a step back as I notice the budge of what seems to be a gun in his trousers. Is this man an assassin who has been sent to kill me?