Chapter 3 - The Return of the Discarded
The Grand Ballroom of the Bellagio was still alive with music and laughter when we returned.
Richard Bennett was standing on the stage, a glass of champagne in his hand, delivering a speech about family values and corporate synergy. Vivien stood by his side, beaming, while Celeste stood slightly behind them, looking like a silver princess.
"And so," Richard boomed into the microphone, "Bennett Development looks forward to a long, prosperous partnership with our investors, ensuring a legacy of honor—"
The heavy oak doors of the ballroom slammed open.
The music stopped instantly. The crowd turned, murmuring in confusion, which quickly turned into breathless silence.
Walking through the doors was Alessio Romano.
But he wasn’t alone.
I walked beside him, my hand resting securely on his arm. I was no longer wearing my old shoes. In the span of thirty minutes, Alessio’s people had dressed me in an emerald-green silk gown that clung to my curves like liquid fire. My damp hair had been styled into soft, elegant waves, and around my neck rested a diamond necklace worth more than my father’s entire car collection.
My father choked on his words. His glass slipped from his fingers, shattering on the stage.
"Richard," Alessio’s voice echoed through the silent room without the aid of a microphone. "I believe you dropped something earlier."
Vivien’s face turned an ugly shade of gray. Celeste’s jaw dropped so low I thought it might shatter like the glass on the floor.
"Mr. Romano," Richard stammered, stepping down from the stage, his eyes darting frantically between me and the mafia boss. "I... I see you’ve met this... this imposter. She was causing a scene earlier. Security was supposed to—"
"If any of your security touch my fiancée again," Alessio interrupted, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper that made every guard in the room take a step back, "I will have their hands removed."
Fiancée.
The word went through the crowd like a wildfire. Whispers exploded.
"Did he say fiancée?" "Is that Richard's other daughter?" "The one he said he didn't know?"
"Fiancée?" Vivien shrieked, forgetting her high-society manners for a split second. "Richard, this is a joke! She is a nobody! A gutter rat!"
Alessio’s gaze locked onto Vivien. The sheer malice in his eyes made her flinch and step behind her husband.
"Careful, Mrs. Bennett," Alessio murmured. "Your husband’s company exists solely because I allow it to. One more word about my future wife, and I will foreclose on your penthouse before midnight."
My father looked at me, his eyes pleading, desperate, and filled with a sudden, sickening terror. "Elena... sweetheart. You didn't tell me you knew Mr. Romano. We had a... a misunderstanding earlier. You know how stressful these events are—"
"I don't know this man," I said, repeating his own words back to him, cold and clear enough for every reporter in the room to record.
May you like
The satisfaction of seeing his face fall was sweeter than any wine.
"Come, darling," Alessio said, looking down at me with a gaze so warm it almost felt real. "We have a wedding to plan. We shouldn't waste our time with... strangers."
