Chapter 148 Defeat
Serena’s POV
I sat up immediately against the headboard suddenly at the sudden shift in his mood.
I tried to keep my gaze on him but faltered as I couldn't match his for long.
He had shifted to the edge of the couch now while resting his elbows on his knees for a moment, staring at the floor.
He hadn’t moved since he finished saying those words, like he was weighing up the possibility of telling me.
The room felt smaller now, quiet, the only sound coming was the low hum of the air conditioner, and my own heartbeat in my ears.
I waited, but he didn’t speak. He just put his hands through his hair repeatedly.
So I gulped hard. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?” I asked carefully.
He took a long breath through his nose, then let it out slowly.
His shoulders dropped a little, like he’d been carrying something heavy for too long.
“I want to,” he said. “Just looking for the best way to put it.”
I nodded even though he wasn’t looking at me. “Okay,” I muttered, then silence followed me.
I watched his back, I watched the way the muscles moved under his shirt when he breathed.
The way his hands clenched and unclenched on his thighs.
He looked tense, more tense than I’d seen him in days, like the words were stuck in his throat and he was fighting to keep them down.
I pulled my knees tighter. “Dante…”
He took another breath, deeper this time. Then sat back against the headboard beside me, close enough that our shoulders almost touched.
Then, he stared straight ahead at the wall. “The ball,” he started in a low voice. “It didn’t start with my father.”
I stayed quiet, letting him talk.
“It started with my great-grandfather. Back when the Russo name meant nothing,” he continued.
“Back when we had no territory, no money, no respect. Just a few hungry kids trying to survive on the streets,” he added and I raised my brow.
I would never have imagined a time when the Russos were nothing.
“The other families already had their possessions, one ran the docks, one moved the drugs, one handled the girls, one controlled the guns, one sold the cars. Everyone had something,” he explained.
.
Moretti must be the drugs, Romanos should be the guns, that's all I knew.
“Everyone hated everyone else, they fought over every corner, every shipment, every night,” he continued, then paused, rubbing his jaw.
“My great-grandfather saw it, he saw that the fighting was killing them all slowly as no one was winning. He saw that they were just bleeding each other dry,” he went on.
I nodded, still giving him the room to continue.
“So he came up with an idea. One night a year, everyone comes together, no weapons, no deals, no blood, just masks. Masks so no one knows who’s who,” he continued.
And it was beginning to make sense to me.
“Everyone brings what they have, drugs, girls, cars, guns, money… they trade it among themselves. One night, one place, no fighting, just existing, together… peacefully,” he added.
I turned my head to look at him as his shoulders had eased but his eyes were still far off.
“He called it the Great Ball, said it was a truce, said it was a way to remind everyone that we’re all part of the same world. That we can hate each other tomorrow, but tonight, we’re just people. Tonight we dance, tonight we drink, tonight we remember we’re alive,” he said warmly in a way that showed the respect he had for this great grandfather.
Then he exhaled through his nose. “It started small, a warehouse, a dozen men with a few bottles of cheap wine. But it didn't take long for the word to spread.”
“The next year more came, then more, then it moved to bigger places, then it became a tradition. My grandfather kept it going, my father kept it going, and now… it's in my hands.”
I waited, but he didn’t look at me.
“That’s why I can’t cancel it,” he said. “Not only because of optics, not because of weakness, but cause if I stop, the truce stops. The families start fighting again, the streets turn into battlegrounds, the city bleeds, and people like Luca win,” he ended slowly.
“Woah,” I muttered.
“Luca wants chaos, he wants us divided. The ball is the one thing keeping everyone in line. The one night they remember they’re stronger together than apart,” he added softly.
I stared at him for a long time as the room felt very still.
“So… it’s not just a party,” I whispered.
“No,” he said. “It’s the only thing holding the city together.”
I looked down at my hands as they were shaking a little. “And Luca will be there?” I asked.
“Yeah, he's the head of the family. He must be there,” he said.
I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I hate this,” I said.
“I know,” he replied.
I looked up at him again. “But if it’s the only night he lets his guard down…”
He nodded once and I closed my eyes for a second, before opening them again.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll go. I’ll stand beside you. I’ll watch,” I finally accepted.
He let out a breath he’d probably been holding. “Thank you,” he muttered, like I was doing him a favor.
I reached for his hand and he took mine before I could, his fingers were warm on mine.
“But if anything happens to my mom because of this ball…”
He squeezed my hand. “It won’t. I promise,” he muttered.
I searched his eyes for any sign of doubt, but there was none. So I nodded once. “Okay.”
He pulled me closer and I rested my head on his shoulder.
We stayed like that for a long time, saying no words, just breathing.
When I finally pulled back I looked at him. “But I still don’t like it,” I said.
He gave a small, tired smile. “I know.”
I stood up slowly. “I need some air, I guess,” I said
He nodded and didn’t try to stop me.
I walked out of the living room just as he pulled open his laptop again.
I used the elevator, lacking the will to climb stairs. I remained silent till I stepped into the hallway into my room.
I dragged my feet towards my room and closed the door softly behind me.
I leaned against the wall in the hallway with my eyes closed, and my heart pounding.
I hated this, I hated all of it. But most of all, I hated that part of me believed him.
One day, I could survive one day.
I had to, and if the ball was the only chance to see Luca weak.
Then I’d be ready, I pushed myself off the wall.
I’d be ready for whatever came next.