Chapter 36: Meeting his family PT 1

**Adrianna's pov**

Today is the D-day. And I'm nervous as fuck. I rarely get nervous so I don't know how to handle this. We are sited in the car heading to his house. Armando is driving while Dante is right beside me rubbing circles on my arm to reassure me.

I rest my head on his shoulder to relax. Soon enough we arrive at a mansion which I can practically say is made of gloss. It does not look as elegant as ours but it's definitely bigger and looks like old money.

If I were to roughly estimate the amount of guards from the outside, I'd say about 20 excluding the ones that were definitely hidden. Two guards open the large black gate and bow down beside the car. It doesn't take a genius to know that it's Dante that they are showing respect to. Perks of being a mafia heir, I guess.

Dante winds down the car window and faces the guard by his side.

    "Is father in?". The guard suddenly straightens has posture and raises his head up like a military man who shouldn't look in the eyes of his senior.

"No sir but he is most likely to be back in a few hours". Dante nods in acknowledgment and winds up the window hinting at Armando to drive in.

Like I had previously noticed, this place isn't as elegant as ours, the interior definitely looks better. The floors are made of white sparkly marbles and chandeliers hang so high from the ceiling that I feel it's going to fall on me. We walk into the living room and I first noticed the two main white couches that form a semi-circle, a round coffee table in the middle of the sofas, the huge and strategically hanged paintings on the walls.

Dante's comment to sit down comes at the right time because if I continued standing, I'd probably faint. My legs have been getting swollen these past few weeks and my protruding belly isn't helping out either.

"Are you okay?". Dante asks as he takes a seat next to me on the sofa.

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Lies. I am nervous as hell but I would never show that. I just hope I don't flunk this.

However, Dante didn't quite believe me. My hands were doing that nonsense again. Dante places his hand over mine and smiles at me.

"It's okay." He mouths. Armando's face is grim. He's sitting on the second sofa, his eyes trained on the door. He definitely looks like he doesn't want to be here. Well, boo-hoo brother! We are stuck here together.

    Just then, a woman descended from one of the stairs that is situated at one end of the room.

    Her flowing red gown precedes her giving her an air of elegance. Her red heels making her presence known.She is really beautiful with her shining bronze skin, caramel brown eyes, red lips and a button nose standing out.

     Her black curly hair was done in a half up,half down style which enhanced her high cheekbones. Her red gown showed off her beautiful curves and fitted her in all the right places. The gown is so simple yet she made it look like it was a line off Paris fashion week collection.

My eyes drop to my outfit and for the first time ever,I feel out of place and insecure. My blue gown and sandals couldn't hold a candle to her outfit.

"Mom!". Dante softly exclaims with his dark eyes glowing brightly as he walks to the bottom of the stairs and embraces her. I could see the resemblance but it wasn't much. It was just the hair and the lips.

As soon as they pulled away, Armando helped me stand up. She faces me and a huge smile takes over her face which makes me feel warmed and relaxed. Good she does not hate me. That's a good start. Looking at both her and Dante, I start to crave a mother's love. I'd be lying if I said I didn't envy Dante.

"Adrianna! My love! You look even more beautiful than Dante described." She pulls me into a warm hug and her scent of lavender and jasmine calms me as I melt into her arms. Pulling away from me, she spots Armando behind me.

Armando just nods his head in greeting and I pursed my lips at him giving him a disapproving look. He was so cold. Tch. You can smile a little! It won't take your life!

    "I ...erm... Thank you for having us Mrs Rizzo". He finally managed to form words after standing like a statue for the past five minutes.

"Oh nonsense! Call me Araceli. No need to be formal. We will soon be family." She waved a dismissive hand, her smile never faltering for once. Araceli was a head taller than me because of the heels and when she smiled, few wrinkles showed. Old age really suits her and in fact makes her look sexy.

"Oh my! You shouldn't be standing for long. You must be starving. Do you have any preferences? I made a lot of food for you. I'm sure you will love it". She said in a motherly tone as she ushers me into the dining room. It could easily seat twenty people excluding the extra space.

Looking at the table,my jaw dropped. The food was enough to feed the Southern water tribe in Avatar. From pasta to lasagna to chipotles, even Mac and cheese, anything you can think of was on the table. Even cake.

Dear cake...

"Where's Rina, mum?I haven't seen her yet." Dante inquired from his mum as we all took our seats on the table.

   "She was playing in the garden earlier so I told her to take a bath. She's looking forward to meeting you Adrianna."

I knew Dante had a sister that was about 8 or 9. He had briefly mentioned her on one of our dates. The way his eyes lit up as he was telling me about her was one I could not forget. From what he told me, she is currently in her first year of middle school and absolutely loves playing dress up. Dante had even shown me a picture of her 'make-over' on him. Let's just say I choked because of laughter. He really looked like a clown.