Chapter-13🌜 Trust me?
William's POV
My face is burning red like a tomato. And I am not even the fluster-type.
And there's not even a thing to be flustered about.
So what if a man pulled a chair for me? No biggie.
Everything is under control.
So what if that man is my girlfriend's killer?
First of all, it's a fucking man—So what?
And for the record, this is not a date. And even in someone's sick dreams-it was, why is he being the man...the gentleman here?
We are both men, and how selfish of him to already come to the conclusion that he will be the 'man' in this relationship-if you can call this one?
Yeah, 'cus he is SAB!
The reason why I blushed...must be anger.
Nothing Else.
And there's definitely not a sick part in me which actually liked it.
I don't even realize we're not alone until the host speaks.
"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen." His tone is smooth, practiced.
"You'll find the menus on the table. When you're ready, just ring the bell-someone will attend to you shortly."
He gestures subtly toward the small silver bell before stepping away.
And of course there's a bell, because apparently when you have this much money you don't call for waiters.
You summon them.
And now I am already feeling out of place. Like I don't belong here, but at the same time I do.
It's just that I have money, sure. But it's my dad's, not mine.
Something like this is not something I have earned myself.
Like Zane did...
But then another thought comes to my mind-of course I have earned it. I am fucking marrying a man for my dad and his business.
And that brings some of my confidence back.
So I move my eyes back to the man-
The man in question is actually staring at me. What the—
And I feel my face heat up again. Like bruh, I am not the blushing type, but god forbid, if someone's staring at me or if I'm nervous...my face shows it.
And I look away. Ahh-why me! It should have been him this time!
Like whenever we have eye contact, I look away first.
First at home...
Now here.
Nope, currently it's 2 v/s 0.
This time I will show him who's in charge here.
I look back at him, and I notice the subtle twitch in the corners of his full lips.
Is he actually smiling? If it's his version of a smile, then it's pathetic.
Although, I wanna know why he's smiling.
But wait-is he making fun of me?
This asshole-
He asks me in a composed tone, "Have you been here before?"
Now have I? Nope.
And the lie is right on the tip of my tongue, like "Of course I have!"
But then I remember, even if I do lie, when it comes to ordering stuff—I will have no idea.
And that embarrassment would be much bigger than declining this.
So, I tell him, "no, I haven't." I try to keep my tone monotonous.
But it's getting hard to keep it going.
Hey bhagwan! I want to go back to the goofy nerd personality.
This nonchalant bitch is definitely not my expertise.
He nods at me without a word.
Okay, excuse me? Now I wanna know if he has or not...
"Have you?"
Although I already know the answer.
"Oh, I have." He says.
"So are you frequent here?" I ask him.
Because let's be real, it's an Italian restaurant, and he's Italian. So if he knows it, then of course he will be a frequent customer.
"Kinda. I mean it's my restaurant so..." He shrugs his shoulders a little.
Wait, did he say his restaurant? He owns it? Of course he does.
The billionaire mafia heir owns every-fucking-thing. Even lives.
And all I can say is, "Oh."
And this time, he actually smiles and his cheeks dimple.
And yeah...
Dimples? He actually has fucking dimples?
What kind of partiality is it? Ughhh!
So this time I ask, "So what do you do?"
I mean he said, we are here to know each other right?
Plus I can actually use this stuff.
Although for this particular question...I already know the answer.
But he looks surprised, as if he wasn't expecting to talk. I mean I won't expect me to talk either...but I don't like the way he already knew this.
"Didn't I mention it that day? I run my company Valentino Co." He says.
"You did, but you didn't mention being the heir to the mafia..." I tell him.
And that changes something on his face. A look passes on it, but it was gone too fast for me to read it.
And this time, I stare at his eyes, but he breaks the eye contact and looks away.
Hmm, so being the mafia heir, is a sensitive topic, I see.
"Yeah...I didn't." He says, back to his calm persona.
"So why would you go with your middle name only in Valentino Co.? I mean I didn't even know you were a Belladonna, because you address yourself as Zane Valentino." I ask him.
Because it's something I wanna know, like why would he not use Belladonna?
And even in the reservation too-it was under Zane Valentino, no Belladonna.
Hmm, that same expression passes on his face again. Like he almost looks pained.
So this is another sensitive topic, I see.
"Well I just wanted to make something of my own and independent." He says, "But my last name won't let me, so yeah."
Oh, so the mafia heir wanted independence? But as much as I remember, his twin actually works for their family, but still he's the heir...
I'll have to wait for these answers. Because it can definitely raise suspicions.
But this time he asks me a question, "So does that mean you knew me before that meeting huh?" He smirks.
Smug Asshole!
"I knew Zane Valentino, I didn't know he was you though. Or that you exist..."
This time he laughs and it's a raspy laugh with no filter. It's like his eyes crinkle and a deep-chested velvety sound fills the room. Pure masculine.
God damnn! Even his laugh is like that, why don't you just kill me now huh?
And is he actually laughing? It should have been an insult to him and he has made it funny... What an odd creature.
He composes himself and then asks, "Shall we order?"
Oh, we goin' bougie huh?
I just nod in reply. But now I feel weird again. It's like a knot in my stomach tightens, as he rings the bell.
How am I gonna order? I pick the menu back up and it's...it's in proper Italian-so I can't understand anything.
The words blur together-antipasto, secondo, something I can't even pronounce.
I stare at the menu like I understand it.
I don't.
And there are like options of what seven course meal?? I don't even know in which of them ravioli and pasta come...
Hey embarrassment my childhood bestie, welcome back home! I'll be embarrassed in front of my biggest enemy...wow!
I don't even realise I am bouncing my toe under the table.
Google! I think I should pull out my phone and search "how to order in an Italian restaurant when you are on a not-a-date?"
I guess, just the how to order part works... There's no need for the rest.
"Hey" Zane says.
Wait- Did he notice me doing all this shit? Fuckkk-can he tell I am anxious as hell! I thought I was hiding it well...
Where the hell is the poker face, when I need it the most?
"Do you trust me with the order?" He asks gently. And I can't see any emotion on his face that will tell me it's out of narcissism. Because whatever is on his face-it looks genuine.
And in some other scenarios, I would have spat out a no! Tell me you wanna decide my sub order and I'll punch your nose.
But this one is different.
Although that doesn't mean, I don't pretend as if it's bothering me. As if he is the one being irrelevant.
"Do whatever you want. I don't care."
This is the first time I am gonna let him take charge. Because how will it be embarrassing for me if he himself asked?
The left corner of his lips twitch again, and then he nods.
And I can't help but gulp.
"Do you have any dietary restrictions or allergies?" He asks, now he's looking at the menu he picked up a moment ago.
Although, I can tell from his voice, he has already planned the full meal. Because within the next second he puts it down, and now all his attention is back to me.
And I just clear my throat and shake my head in a 'no'.
He just says, "Good." He's not smiling but somehow his eyes are. Because those unreadable olive green eyes are suddenly looking like deep oceans.
But I look away. Because what the hell?
And also, allergies? I have one!
"Wait!" Okay, I shouldn't have screamed, but I do. As if my life is dependent on it-I mean in a way it is.
And he looks concerned, "What happened? You okay?" He leans forward from his chair, in my direction.
And I cough-which I definitely didn't need to..."Oh yeah...I am good. But don't order anything which contains crab. I am allergic to it."
And he releases a sigh of relief, and then shakes his head, "That was way too dramatic. But noted." His voice is teasing, as if he's pulling my leg.
But then he says, "There will be no crab in the order." he says with seriousness, "You are safe."
Am I though?
Shit! I told him about my deadly allergy! What if he orders something which contains crab...
He won't even have to do anything dirty with his hands and I will get my pit in hell, way too early!
Oh my-
Okay stop, he will not do that. He needs me for this marriage...
Right?
He wouldn't... would he?
A/N??
Trust issues are wildin' huh?
But damn, did you guys feel the tension... Because I did.
Can you guys order in such a restaurant? Will you fumble or are you the type to know every dish with proper accent and pronunciation?
Thoughts on the chapter? ??
Comments? ??
Votes? ??