Chapter 116: Miciela

**Althaia**

The whole experience of me trying on dresses gave me a strong sense of deja-vu when I went dress shopping for the first time with Damiano. He kept sending my ass back into the dressing room. And apparently, Damiano and his mother were much more alike than I had ever imagined.

Because now, she kept sending my ass back with a new dress for the same reasons Damiano had once given. It was either too revealing, too ugly, too boring, or too underwhelming. I accidentally made a comment about how it didn’t matter what kind of dress I wore as long as I was there for Cara.

“Oh no, honey! You now have an image to uphold. You have to show you are the soon-to-be wife to a Don. And not just any Don, but Don Damiano Bellavia. It is now your duty to also show off his wealth and power along with your beauty. You do so with the way you present yourself.” She explained, having my eyes slightly widen with this information.

“I had no idea…” I muttered as my eyes landed on my engagement ring. It must be why he had chosen a diamond this big. The idea of having to show off his wealth and power with the way I presented myself was unsettling, to say the least. Sure, I grew up not needing anything but I was not used to the kind of money Damiano possessed. Him, spending millions of dollars on me, was just pure mindblowing.

I was starting to feel hot and if it wasn't because of the air conditioning in the boutique, I would have melted.

“I really hope you like this one because it’s gorgeous!” I said and pulled the curtain to the side for her to see. I walked to the circular stage and did a small swirl for her to see the entire dress. I really hoped she would approve of this dress, not just because I was tired of trying on dresses, but because it was a beautiful one.

It was a sparkling arctic blue colored dress with an off-shoulder v-neckline. It went tight down my waist and then slightly loose around my hips as it had a split to the side. I had never worn anything like this before and the color complimented my tan skin. The more I looked at it, the more I fell in love with it but dreaded Eleanora’s answer.

“This is definitely the one!” She said happily and I let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, we had already found the dress I was to wear for the event tomorrow. It was a deep, royal blue dress with a sweetheart neckline and it came with a pair of matching gloves that went up to my elbows. The third dress was kept a secret for now.

“Oh, that’s a gorgeous one!” I turned to look in the direction of the unfamiliar woman's voice. A woman, who couldn’t be that much older than me, took off her sunglasses to admire my dress.

“How come you didn’t show me this one, Corinna?”

“Because it was not for you, miss Miciela.” Corinna gave a tight smile and the woman returned a much more obvious fake smile.

“Buona sera, Signore!” She greeted Eleanora with kisses.

“Buona sera, Miciela.”

“It’s so nice to see you again! How’s the family? Damiano?” My brow went up the minute she mentioned his name.

“My fiancé is doing great, thank you for asking.” I said, giving her a sweet smile when she turned to look at me as I made my way towards them. Everything in me wanted to let her know he was in fact my husband, but I managed to keep myself in check.

“Miciela, this is Althaia, Damiano’s soon-to-be wife. And this is Miciela. Her family is in business with ours.” In other words, an ally to the family.

“Nice to meet you, Miciela.” I purposely gave her my hand with the engagement ring on to shake. Her gaze did land on my engagement ring before she shook it.

“Likewise, Althaia.” She said my name as if she recognized it, having me slightly tilt my head at her.

“Honey, get changed, and let’s get to the jewelry store to get you something pretty with that dress.” I gave a small nod and went to the dressing room, but not before I shot Miciela one last look as she was also eyeing me from head to toe.

*Fuck, I really didn’t hope she was one of Damiano’s past lovers.*

I immediately shoved the thoughts out of my head as I had to remind myself that it was all in the past and it didn’t matter anymore. I was his wife now, after all.

I was happy to be back in my own dress, which was nice and light and helping my body cool down from trying what felt like hundreds of dresses.

“You can go right ahead while I sort this out.” Eleanora said when I was near. I tried to protest, telling her I would be the one paying but she lightly smacked my hand when I tried to reach for my card, and then she practically pushed me out to Giovanni and Luca. They had been standing outside the boutique with the two men Eleanora had arrived with.

“This was one exhausting round.” I sighed out to them and hoped we would find something quick in the jewelry store as I was now thirsty and hungry.

“We thought it would be. Here.” Giovanni said and handed me my favorite ice coffee and sugar-glazed Taralli.

“You’re the best, thank you so much!” I took the iced coffee gratefully and gave him one big hug. I almost wanted to cry in happiness when I took the first sip.

“There you go, getting recharged.” Luca chuckled as he watched me happily eat my Taralli.

“It’s definitely getting me the boost I need.”

“Done shopping?”

“Not yet, we’re heading for the jewelry store now and then I think we’re done.” At least, that was what I was hoping for. It was not that I wasn’t having a joyful time with Eleanora, but if we had to keep going like this with every shop, was definitely not something I wanted to do.

I took my time drinking my ice coffee and eating the Taralli before going inside the jewelry store, but with how hungry and thirsty I was, it all went down in mere minutes. Luca and Giovanni stood outside again while I looked for something that would go with my new dress. As I looked around, my eyes landed on one particular ring that had caught my attention.

“Can I please have a look at this one?” I asked Mr. Felini, a sweet older man who was the owner of the store he informed me while I browsed.

“Of course!” He immediately took out a key, unlocked the display, and took out the ring I wanted. It was even more magnificent up close; a wide, rectangle gold ring with a large green emerald. It had tiny diamonds on each side of the emerald and even some going down along the band.

Mr. Felini told me a bit more about the ring and its price. My eyes wanted to pop out of their sockets as it was one pricey ring and for sure the most expensive purchase I would make.

“I would like this one, please. Can it be wrapped as a gift?”

“Absolutely! It’s no problem.” He smiled as I handed him back the ring.

“I would like to pay for the ring with this card.” I handed him my card just in case Eleanora showed up and tried to pay for it.

“As you wish.”

“I will still have a look around.” I said once I was done filling out some papers as it was a large purchase.

“Take as much time, miss.” I thanked him as I continued to look around for a necklace but I didn’t want to buy just anything in case Eleanora didn’t approve of it. The door to the jewelry store opened and I turned to see it was Miciela. I mentally rolled my eyes when she gave me her fake smile.

“So, Althaia…” She said as she stepped closer to me while she looked at the displayed jewelry. “Are you also attending the ball tomorrow?"

“I am.” I gave her one curt answer, not hiding that I didn’t want to chit-chat with her.

“I’ve heard of you.” She stopped in front of me and I looked at her blankly. “Sofia is a great friend of mine.” Miciela smirked. Ah, so that was why she recognized my name.

“Sofia…?” I tilted my head, pretending I had no idea what she was talking about.

“She worked for Damiano.”

“Ah, Sofia, the housekeeper! How is she? Has her nose healed well? And what about her hands? Poor girl didn’t know what she was up against.” I sighed as I feigned a sad look and shook my head. The smirk on her face got wiped away immediately and was replaced with a glare. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when Eleanora came into the store and immediately plastered a fake smile on her face. I slightly frowned, disgusted with how phony she was.

“There you are. Found anything you liked?”

“I did! I thought of something like this?” I showed her what I thought would be great with the dress. It was a necklace with small diamonds on the chain and slightly bigger diamonds at the end as it was a longer-designed necklace. It was followed by matching long earrings.

“Perfect! We will get you this one for tomorrow.” She said excitedly and I looked at her confused.

“Is this not fitting for the wedding?”

“I have already chosen something special for you. It’s also a gift from me. Do you want to see it?” I nodded, curious to see what it looked like. Mr. Felini opened the jewelry box and I immediately shook my head.

“Eleanora, thank you, truly. But this is not something I can accept.”

“Nonsense! Damiano already told me you would try to protest but it’s not going to work with me.” She shut me doen immediately and I really wanted to tell her it was too much but then again, I didn’t want us to go back and forth in the middle of the jewelry store. Instead, I let out a small sigh and accepted my defeat.

Mr. Felini was done packing our things, and he handed me the bag with the ring as I thanked him. Eleanora saw the bag but didn’t ask about it.

“It’s always a pleasure to have you here, Signore Bellavia.” The man said while he handed her the bag.

“Pleasures all mine.” She gave him a warmful smile and we bid him goodbye. We stepped out of the store, not sparing Miciela a glance. A smile immediately found its way to my lips when I saw Damiano making his way toward us, making me walk faster until I was in his embrace.

“Missed me?” He smiled and lightly caressed my cheek.

“Always.” I leaned in and kissed him, not caring that we had a small audience. I pulled away when his mother started to chuckle and commented how we were cute lovebirds, which had me now slightly blushing. I felt someone was looking at me and I looked in the direction where Miciela just happened to stand.

“Oh, and tell Sofia I said hi.” I smiled sweetly before turning around and holding Damiano’s hand.

“Sofia?” He frowned as he looked at me while we made our way out.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” I reassured him and he gave a nod.

“Did you eat?”

“I had a snack and some iced coffee.”

“Let’s get you something to eat then.” He smiled.

“You know I won’t say no to that.” I chuckled and leaned into him as he wrapped his arm around me.

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Head to my Facebook page, Author Mariam, so see the jewelry^_^