Birthday
POV: Elena
The day of the party at Ferrari's house arrives quickly.
My mind didn't notice the time passing because all I could think about was the reunion I had with Silas.
My relatives tried everything to distract me and I can say that in a way they succeeded.
I'm much closer to all of them. Well, almost all of them.
Leonardo has become a presence that I simply accept living with. Whenever he shows up I stay away, I don't want the others to have to choose sides and that's why I prefer to stay away.
I haven't spoken to him since the day Eloisa left and I think it's better that way. He also doesn't make an effort to talk to me, he knows I can't stand him around.
Now I'm freaking out in my room because the dresses we ordered didn't arrive on time.
The clothes I have in my closet aren't appropriate for the occasion and the ones that are are too loose on my body.
Another thing that made me freak out was finding out that the party is a masked ball. And no one thought to tell me.
I throw myself on the bed, already giving up on the idea of going to the party, when a knock on the door snaps me out of my tantrum.
"Come in," I shout without getting up.
Angelo enters my room with a huge box in his hands.
"Hey Elena, they asked me to give you this," he says and places it on the bed.
I look at the box confused.
I undo the tape that wraps the box and carefully remove the lid.
My eyes light up at what I see.
The same dress that I had to return to the store that day is now folded in front of me and a mask with small golden stones is on top of the dress.
"Who asked you to deliver it?" I ask, returning the dress from the box.
"I don't know who the gift is from, Lorenzo just told me that they sent it to you and asked me to bring it," Angelo explains and I nod, "Go get ready, we'll be leaving in two hours."
He leaves me alone in the room and I rush to get ready.
I put on some simple makeup, since I'll be wearing the mask for the entire party. I curl my hair and only tie it up in the front.
I put on my dress and black high-heeled sandals.
I look at myself in the mirror and don't recognize myself.
If someone had told me a few days ago that I would live with a new family and be happy, I'm sure I would have told them to go to hell.
Even now, I still have trouble believing that all of this is real.
I leave the room fifteen minutes late. On the way, I meet Uncle Carlo, who smiles at me and extends his arm to help me get down without falling.
"You look beautiful, bambina," he compliments me and I blush with embarrassment.
As soon as we enter the living room where the others are waiting, my brothers look at me angrily.
"You're not leaving our side tonight," Sandro says in a serious tone and I smile at him defiantly.
"I'll go wherever you want, fratello," I say in the same tone as him.
"Stop bullying your sister," Grandpa scolds them and smiles at me. "You look divine."
"Thank you, Grandpa," I say, smiling at him.
"Elena, this party may be celebrating your friend's birthday, but it's also an introduction to the other mafias," Nicco says seriously, and everyone falls silent.
"Then I ask that you stay within our sight during the party," Lorenzo adds, and I nod.
"Words, dear," Aunt Andreia asks.
"I'll stay within your reach," I say, showing that I understand.
Luca approaches me with a smile and hands me a small box.
I open it and find a necklace with a V at the end, studded with pink diamonds. It's beautiful.
"It has a built-in tracker," Luca says, placing it around my neck. "We all have one, and you should always keep it with you."
"It's beautiful," I say, ignoring the information about the tracker.
"Now let's go or we'll be late," Aunt Isadora says, getting up from the couch.
In the garage, the cars are already divided, I stay in the car with Matteo, Giorgio, Sandro, Luca and Antoni.
The drive to the party is lively, Antoni and Luca share the same sense of humor, so we laugh the whole way.
When we finally arrive, my cheek hurts from laughing so hard.
The car stops and Sandro helps me tie my mask on my face. I notice that the joy they showed a few minutes ago has been replaced by a cold and somber calm.
"Remember, stay in our sight," Matteo says before we get out of the car.
My brothers surround me as we get out. My grandparents stand in front of our family, followed by my uncle and then my brothers.
I stand in the middle of the boys who watch over me on either side.
We are announced when we arrive and I can't help but notice the whispers I hear because of me.
We stop in front of Anabela's family, they look as serious as my family.
But Anabela and I can't keep up our tough act and we run to hug each other.
"Congratulations," I tell her happily.
I take the gift I bought and hand it to her.
Anabela opens the package and squeals with joy.
"It's perfect, thank you Elena, I loved it," she says and hugs me.
We hear someone clearing their throat near us and we turn to our families who look at us with raised eyebrows.
We both laugh and simply walk away from them, letting them talk about what they need to talk about.
Anabela asks me what happened that day I went to pick up her brother and left her alone and I decide to tell her what Eloisa did.
Anabela listens to me patiently and hugs me when I finish the story.
"I'm sure her family took great care of her," Ana says somberly.
"So, what exactly is this party?" I ask, wanting to know the real purpose.
"It serves to form alliances and also to introduce me to our society and the family business." She explains and then says: "You will have one too, it's almost a tradition."
I laugh at what she says and shake my head negatively.
"I don't want to get involved with the mafia and I've already made that clear to my family," I say seriously and she smiles.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," she says ironically.
We're talking about our brothers when a loud noise silences the entire room.
For a few seconds no one dares to breathe until an explosion in the wall near us sends us flying away.