Chapter 126: It's Time

**Althaia**

Before the wedding ceremony, I walked around and made the last round of checks in the massive banquet hall. Everything looked like it belonged in a fairy tale, and Cara deserved every single moment of it.

The wedding was held in a gorgeous castle and had the reception banquet exquisitely decorated in all white. Even the floor was in a beautiful glossy white design. The ceiling was just as stunningly decorated with flowery chandeliers, and long white vine flowers were hanging down, almost creating a beautiful curtain of white flowers. This was her dream wedding, and I was so happy that she could finally have some happiness in her life with Lorenzo.

I had one final look, pleased with the work that had been done, and walked up the stairs and down the long hall in the direction of the master suite. I opened the door to the suite to check on Cara to see how much longer she needed to finish getting ready. My eyes met hers in the mirror, and I let out a gasp in astonishment.

“Wow… You look so gorgeous!” I entered the room, admiring her big, sparkly princess dress. It was an off-shoulder dress with gorgeous streaks of silver design and diamonds and pearls stitched to it. It was a stunning Cinderella-esque wedding gown. Her hair was beautifully done in an updo, and she even wore a tiara that just completed the look altogether. Her neck was decorated with a classic round diamond necklace with matching earrings.

“Thank you, Thaia.” She smiled warmly at me, and I noticed her take a deep breath. I smiled as I grabbed the veil and walked up to her.

“How nervous are you?”

“So fucking much, and I don’t even know why. I knew this day was coming, and it’s all part of the deal.”

“Because this is no longer just a business deal for you. You love him.” I chuckled.

“I guess… He’s nothing I ever thought he would be like. When I first saw him, I thought it was game over. He would be able to snap me in half if that’s what he wanted. I thought I would die… but he is so gentle with me.” My heart clenched hearing how much suffering she had gone through. Her father was one crazy bastard who used to beat her. I didn’t blame her for having these thoughts about Lorenzo when she saw him. Hell, I was scared of him for a long time because he was this huge, silent, and mysterious man.

“You’re finally free. To live the life you want with Tank Man.”

“He’s never going to hear the end of that nickname, is he?”

“Never!” We both laughed. I finished putting on the long veil and took a look at her. She looked like the most beautiful Disney princess.

“I wish mom was here to see you. She would have been so proud of you.” I told her. She gave a sad smile, and I felt tears brim in my eyes.

“I’m happy I got to see her one more time …” Cara sniffed. “Oh no, the tears are coming, and I just got my makeup done!” I chuckled as I blinked my own tears away and helped her blow some air not to ruin her makeup.

“I will check on Tank Man and see how it’s going on their end.”

I walked down the hall where Lorenzo’s suite was and looked around at the unique interior and paintings. I couldn’t believe I was in a freaking castle! This was always a dream of hers to have a big, beautiful wedding, and I couldn’t describe how happy I was that it was finally happening.

I neared the suite and saw some of Damiano’s men outside.

“Donna.” They greeted me with a nod, and I smiled in return.

“I told you, Althaia is just fine.”

“Not going to happen.” I shook my head, a little amused at them. They insisted on calling me Donna as a sign of respect, and no matter how many times I told them just call me by my name, they refused big time.

I knocked on the door, waited for a little and opened it to poke my head in. It was the usual gang present with Lorenzo, and I walked in.

“Oh wow, look at you! You cleaned up well.” I chuckled as I walked up to Lorenzo. I quickly glanced at Damiano and drooled a little, but I snapped my attention back to Lorenzo. He did look impressive in his wedding tuxedo; an elegant silk dress shirt in a deep copper color with gold patterns on the collars, his cuffs following the same design, and a tie to match it all together. His west was black with crisscross patterns of the same deep copper color and had a crown symbol in the middle. He finished the look with a black velour blazer and classic black dress pants.

“Thank you, Althaia.” He looked at me as I stood before his tall, broad frame.

“So, Lorenzo…” I trailed off while I fixed his tie. “Since Cara has a useless father, I have taken the role to say this.” I tugged on the tie to have him meet me at eye level and have it slightly tighten around his neck.

“If you hurt her, I will kill you. I’m not sure how since you’re Tank Man, but I will find a way. I promise you that.” I said firmly. The corner of his mouth went up.

“I can assure you I’m not going to hurt her.”

“Good!” I said happily and released him with a big smile.

“You’re lucky you’re my brother’s wife. Or else I wouldn’t have let it slide that you just threatened to kill me.” He said with a slight smirk.

“Ah, yes. This kind of power feels amazing! How does it feel to be outranked by someone who has only been around for a few months?” I teased. Damiano had told me about my new status as his wife, and I may have rubbed it in Gio’s face that I outranked him. He gave me his usual scowl in return as I continued to make fun of him.

“Only because you’re fucking Damiano.” Lorenzo scoffed.

“Guilty.” I grinned, and he cracked a smile.

“You may outrank me in status, but I outrank you in everything else. We can fight and see who will win.”

“Ah, as much fun that sounds, I will happily give you the win. I’m pretty sure my head would pop off if you put me in a headlock. And I’m definitely not about to have you smash me to the ground Tank Man style and break my back. I would rather have Damiano break my back, if you know what I mean.” I wiggled my brows at him. My answer had him throw back his head as he laughed. I gave a surprised expression but smiled as I thought this was the first time I had ever heard him laugh like that.

“You’re really something else. It’s good to see you’re not scared of me anymore.” He said with a smile.

“I’m almost there. I still get intimidated, and the only reason I’m not right now is because my husband and bodyguards are present.” I joked, and he gave an amused look.

“Anyway, you look amazing.” I gave one more smile before I turned around to leave, but not before giving a cheeky wink to Damiano.

I walked out of the suite and down the hall, smiling a little as I knew Damiano was following me. Before I knew it, a hand clasped around my arm, and I got pulled into another hallway. I got pressed against the wall, and Damiano claimed my lips with his. I placed my hands on his chest as he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into him as much as possible.

“Hey, handsome.” I said, smiling against his lips.

“Hey, beautiful.” He gave one more kiss before leaning slightly back.

“You look heavenly, my love.”

“And you look magnificent as ever.” My eyes went down to check him out. He was wearing an elegant three-piece suit tuxedo with gold outlining, and the inside of his blazer had a beautiful gold flower design. He looked royally as always.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, having me look back at him.

“Good. Though I can’t wait to hit the bed and sleep.” Damiano looked at me, almost concerned.

“You were tired a lot last time..” He trailed off, and I immediately shook my head.

“Maybe because I have never attended so many parties in such a short time before.” I chuckled. Of course, we had to celebrate Luca and Cecilia's news, and a massive engagement party was held. And we also celebrated my birthday in Italy. With everything that had been going on, I had completely forgotten all about my birthday, and Damiano held a surprise party for me. I had never been spoilt that much in my life as I did on my birthday, and I may or may not have cried a little for all of them showing their love to me.

Damiano did really go out of his way once again and had my jaw drop to the ground. He gifted me a Bugatti Chiron. I thought he was joking, but it turned out he wasn’t. He freaking gave me my own Bugatti! However, he did say something along the lines of ‘don’t make me regret it’ as I’ve had a tiny bit of history of driving fast. I found that situation fitting to make a joke about how we should race to see which Bugatti was faster, to which I received warning glares from him.

But what truly left me speechless was that he made me his official designer for his winery business as he wanted to redesign all of the wine bottles and have their own unique styles. I also signed a contract to be part-owner as well. That part still feels unreal to me.

And then there was Cara’s bachelorette party, which was beyond crazy! It came to a point no one could stand upright from drinking too much, laughing at everything and running away from Damiano, Lorenzo, Luca, Rafaelle and Dom when they wanted to take us home.

So far, being 25 was not too bad.

“It really has been crazy and dealing with jetlag too. I also didn’t get that much sleep to ensure everything was ready.” He frowned a little, his eyes landing on my stomach. I put my hands to his cheeks, smiling a little.

“If it will make you feel better, I will take a test when we get home.” I offered, and he gave a nod. Ever since that moment in Italy, he had been very attentive to me. More than usual. I had to keep reminding him that just because we got lucky that it happened fast the last time, it wasn’t guaranteed it would happen just as fast. It could take months, years even. But I knew his excitement was talking, and I knew just how badly he wanted a baby. I was thrilled about the idea of having a baby with him, but I also didn’t want to get my hopes up and just get disappointed in the end if it turned out to be a false alarm.

Damiano wrapped his arms around me, giving me a grin.

“I have been filling you up pretty good…” He said lowly, having me laugh a little.

“You have… If you’re not too busy later, I’m pretty sure we can find a room and have a little fun.” I winked. We might as well use this opportunity and say we have fucked in a castle.

“Or we can just find a room now.”

“Nope. Can’t ruin my hair and makeup and wrinkle my dress before the wedding. Keep it in your pants for now.” I said and pressed a finger into him to step back.

“… Worth a try.” He muttered. I shook my head and walked into the other hallway.

“I will let Cara know you’re ready.” I informed Lorenzo, who had stepped outside. Just as I was about to leave, I stilled when I spotted my uncle at the end of the hall with some of my father's men. An involuntary shiver ran down my spine in disgust at the sight of him, and I took a step back. I didn’t want to walk past him and decided to wait until he was gone.

“What’s wrong?” Arms wrapped around me, and I only just realized I had pressed myself into Damiano to comfort myself.

“He just creeps me out ..” I muttered. They all turned to look at uncle, their expression blank but their gaze so intense. Uncle looked in our way for a split second, his eyes meeting mine before he turned his back to us.

“Disgusting perv for grabbing my butt ….” I shuddered again in disgust as I relieved the moment, and nausea started to appear. They all snapped their heads at me simultaneously, and a flare of anger showed in Damiano’s eyes as he looked at me.

“What did you say?” His tone let me know he was one second away from storming to uncle and most likely ending his life.

“When the fuck did he do that?” Damiano's jaw tightened, and his hands clenched into fists when I didn’t say anything.

“… At the dinner party.” I quickly grabbed his hand when he started to move.

“Damiano, no. Besides, you already cut his tongue that day so let us just enjoy the wedding and deal with him another time.” I tried to tell him, but he kept glaring daggers into my uncle’s back. Eventually, I got to tear his gaze away from him and calm down. I didn’t want anything to start when this was Cara’s and Lorenzo’s big day, and I was not about to have it ruined after all this hard work.

“Did he do anything else?”

“No.” I shook my head. I would have definitely broken a vase on his head if he had. When he grabbed my ass that evening, I was too shocked to actually react and just left in a hurry to be as far away from him as possible.

“I need to go back to Cara. It’s time for you to go as well.”

“I will go with you.” Damiano said, and I looked at him. His expression was still deadly.

“Only if you can walk past him without crushing his skull against the wall.” He looked at me for a long time, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

“Yeah, I thought so… Oh, look, he’s going now, so all good! Hurry up and go to the altar. I will get Cara.” I smiled and quickly went my way before he could say anything. It was first when I was closer to Cara’s suite I started to hear them move. I opened the door to her room and smiled excitedly for her.

“He’s ready.” Cara took a deep breath before plastering a smile on her face.

“It’s time to get married.”

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Head to Author Mariam on facebook to see Cara's dress!