14. Chapter Fourteen #2
“Are you going to cry?”
A rueful smile crosses his lips. “I’ll try not to. I am proud of you, Luciana. You should know that. I’ve always been proud of you. That has never changed.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“You still call me that.”
“It just slipped out,” I admit.
“You can always call me that. No matter how old you get.”
Now I’m the one in danger of crying. “I love you.”
“Are you safe? Happy?”
“I’m getting there. I’m trying to be.”
He nods and blinks rapidly like he’s holding back tears before clearing his throat. “Well, I have some other people I should go say hi to. Enjoy the evening.”
“That was so touching,” Joan’s condescending voice is loud behind me.
I spin around to find her smirking at me. Matteo is across the room, talking to other guests, but right now, I wish he was right beside me. Helping me. My scary, intimidating husband who’s not so scary or intimidating as before.
“What do you want, Joan?” I ask. “You showed up here uninvited.”
“No. If I recall, you did invite me.”
“But you declined.”
She waves a dismissive hand. “None of that matters now. I’m here. So is my husband.”
“I saw that.” I pause, waiting for her to say more and when she doesn’t, I say, “Did you need something?”
“No. Nothing. At the moment.” It’s not until she walks away that I realize her words sound threatening.
The dinner party continues into the dining room. Everyone takes their seats. The sounds of awe as the chef I hired brings out the food makes me feel proud. Roasted lamb and duck. Green beans in a creamy sauce. Artichoke stuffed potatoes. Red or white wine, depending on what each guest chose.
I sit up straighter in my seat with a smile. It feels good to finally do something right.
Everyone digs into their food. Compliments are thrown my way about how delicious everything is. Pride swells within me.
Until Joan stands up, drawing all of the attention to herself. “I’d like to make a toast.” She raises her white wine high. “To Luciana. To her wonderful party. Even if the lamb is a little dry.”
That gets a strained chuckle out of the guests. Heat covers my face. I know instantly what Joan is trying to do.
“To a subpar dinner party,” Joan says.
The other guests hesitate. They all understand that what Joan is doing is an insult.
Joan walks right over to me and pours the wine onto my dress. I stand up with a gasp. “Oops. Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” She smirks and sits back down.
“What is the meaning of this?” Matteo asks, getting to his feet. “You don’t get to come into my home where my wife planned this entire party only to insult her.”
The color leaves Joan’s face. Did she really think there wouldn’t be consequences to her actions.
Hearing Matteo defend me fills my heart with warmth.
“You and your husband should leave,” Matteo continues.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Gregory slurs. From his voice, it’s clear he’s already had a little too much to drink. “My wife was invited to this party. Your little wife should respect that.”
“Don’t talk to me about my wife,” Matteo growls.
“Your wife slapped my wife’s best friend. Your wife is a bitch.” Gregory gets to his feet and stumbles over to me. And right before everyone in the room, slaps me across the face.
My father shoots to his feet but before he can do anything, Matteo already has Gregory by the front of his shirt and is shoving him away from me. I clamp my hand over my cheek. It stings.
Aurora and Gabriel look shocked. There’s a fire in Sienna’s eyes I haven’t seen since her father died. None of the guests were expecting this.
I wasn’t expecting this.
But I should have known nothing would go according to plan.
Matteo punches Gregory right in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground.
“How dare you!” Joan gasps.
“Your husband just hit my wife. That cannot stand. I will not let anyone hurt her. Do you all understand me?”
Every one of the guests nods.
“Leave,” Matteo says to Joan. “Get your husband out of here. Before I kill him.”
Joan blanches and then hurriedly helps Gregory to his feet. They stumble out of the dining room. It’s so quiet in the room that I can hear the front door open and close.
Aurora turns to me. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I whisper, getting to my feet. Honesty, I remind myself. No more putting on a brave face just… because. “Actually, I’m not ok. I’m in pain. I think it’s best we end the party here.” I rush out of the room and can hear footsteps behind me.
Matteo and my father follow me down the hallway.
“Luciana,” Dad says. “Are you ok?” He tries to touch my face but I jerk back.
“I said the party is over, Dad. Please. Just go.”
“That fucker hit you. I cannot let that stand. I’m sure Gabriel will punish Gregory if I ask him to.”
“Dad,” I sigh. “I love you but give me my space right now.”
My father doesn’t listen and instead, turns to Matteo. “And you. You should have been keeping my daughter safe.”
“Rocco,” Matteo warns.
“No. You promised to keep her safe and yet, she was just assaulted at her own dinner party!”
“And I handled it,” Matteo snaps. “I punched Gregory and got him and Joan to leave. I protected my wife.”
“You should have protected her from getting hurt in the first place.”
“I can’t prevent Luciana from never getting hurt. Then nothing would happen to her.”
“You fucker,” Rocco growls before grabbing my husband’s shirt. “I should kill you for this.”
“Dad!” I shout. “Just go! I don’t want you here right now acting like this. Just go. Please.”
After a long beat, my father releases Matteo’s shirt and turns to me. “Luciana –,”
“Go,” I repeat.
Disappointment covers my father’s face as he turns and walks away.
I storm up the stairs and to the bedroom. I just need to breathe. I need a moment. The guests down stairs all leave. I can sense when the house is quiet and empty.
Matteo follows me into the bedroom. “Luciana?”
“You protected me from Gregory,” I say. “Thank you for that. I…”
“What?” he asks in a soft tone.
I stare at my strong, handsome husband. The husband who used to scare me and now excites me. The husband I want.
“Take me again,” I say.