Chapter 36 Greeting the Guests
"You're Alessandra Benetti? Daughter of Valentino Benetti?" the man asks. Earlier, he introduced himself as Martino Lazzari, a name that sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard the name before, but I'm not sure when. I guess my father mentioned it before, either in a meeting or when he talked to me.
"Yes. That's me," I say, smiling widely at the man. He looks like he's around my father's age, older than him, probably, considering all his hair has turned grey. However, he still seems healthy and fit despite his looks.
"You've grown up a lot. You might not remember me, but we've met a few times when I visited your father while you were just a kid. Do you remember?" Martino says.
So that's why he sounds familiar. I've met him before. I don't have a clear memory of him, though. Who is this man, actually? I'll ask my father about him later. If Martino meets my father often, he must be someone important.
"I'm sorry. I don't remember. My childhood memory is blurry," I say, smiling apologetically. The man smiles back at me, not making my poor memory a big deal.
"It's okay. It doesn't matter. I'm just glad to know you're well. And congratulations to you both. I heard you're in a relationship right now," Martino says.
Speaking of relationships, I'm sick of talking about them. He's the tenth person so far who brought it up in our conversation. It's unavoidable. A couple who are in a new relationship, especially if they come from successful and powerful families, always catches people's attention. Most of them are either just curious about being involved in our families' businesses.
Two people from two powerful families being in a relationship can only mean one thing: an integration of power. The more power someone has, the more people are interested in either being an ally or an enemy. The choice is theirs to make. However, most definitely want to be on the good side of people with more power, because more power means better protection as well. I don't want to think about it too much, though. It's not like I'll actually get married to Antonio, and my family is already powerful on its own. Other than that, I'm not interested in continuing this kind of life. I want peace. I don't want to deal with violence and the underworld for the rest of my life.
"Yes. We've been dating for almost three months now, thanks to our fathers. If they didn't introduce us, we might not know each other," Antonio says. I turn to him and catch him smiling at me. I can only return his smile and shift my gaze back to Martino.
I wish Fabio and my father hadn't introduced Antonio and me to each other. The possibility of Antonio and his family being on our side instead of the Romanos makes me sick. What if everything he's done for me is out of his genuine feelings towards me? I hate the thought that I've been leading him on all this time, when my intention from the start was never to be with him. Our breakup would definitely hurt him more than me, and just thinking about it makes my chest hurt. I might not love him, but I still care about him. However, we're still not sure which side the Ricci is on, so I can't let my feelings and emotions cloud my judgment. I need to stay clear-minded until we know the truth.
"It's nice to know that such a wonderful relationship comes out of both of your fathers' arrangements. You look perfect together," Martino says.
"Thank you. It is indeed amazing," Antonio says.
I stare at him, and my heart clenches at how he stares back at me. Love is very apparent in his gaze. It's either that he's too good at acting in love with me or that he's actually in love with me. Fuck my life. I can't ignore the fact that I might ruin his life by calling our relationship off in the future, but I can't pretend that I love him back. Yes, I am fond of him because he's been nothing but nice towards me. However, my heart still chooses Dante. No matter how much Antonio tried to win my heart, I will still go back to Dante.
"I won't bother you any longer. Have a good night, lovebirds," Martino says.
"You too, Mr Lazzari," I say.
"Thank you, sir," Antonio says.
Overwhelmed by my own thoughts, I sigh to myself. Fuck this. I don't think I can do the secret interrogation with the Ricci tonight. My mind is already too clouded with thoughts about Antonio. I hope my father can do it on his own because if I try to help, I feel like I'll only ruin our plan and make everyone suspicious of us. I'm not focused enough to play pretend and act like everything is fine when it's not. Why is everything so complicated now? I hate that I actually catch feelings with Antonio. This is not my plan. I should've never let him get into my head and heart and make me feel like this towards him.
"Are you okay? You look a bit pale," Antonio says. I feel the back of his hand on my forehead, and I slowly grab it and put it down.
"Just tired from talking with people. The downside of being an introvert," I say, shrugging with a tired smile. Just like always, my own facial expression almost gives away my true feelings. I guess I need a lesson on facial expression with Dante stat. I can't keep letting people know my feelings through how I look. I need to be more mysterious and make people guess. Being easy to read like an open book is bad in this kind of life. It'll definitely make it easier for the enemies to attack me and use everything they know about me against me.
"Let's go back to our table. We've greeted the important ones, so we're all good," Antonio says.
"Thank goodness. My legs are about to give up," I sigh.
"Let's get you back before you pass out."
We're back on our table. None of his family and my father are here already. However, Dante is still standing near the table. His face is as serious and firm as ever as he stands by the wall with his hands behind him. I catch him glancing at me for a second before focusing his eyes around the huge room again, searching for any possible threats.
"How are you feeling right now?" Antonio asks for the hundredth time. All this time, he's been staring at me with worry in his eyes. Even in silence, uneasiness lingers on his face, causing a frown to mar his face. He's definitely worried I'll get sick again, but of course, I won't let that happen again. Not anytime soon. I only have about two months left to find out the truth about the Ricci, and I can't let anything stop me from revealing the truth about them.
Sighing, I grab Antonio's hand with both of my hands. With his hand on my lap, I hold them and stare right into his eyes full of worry. For a second, I almost fall for what might be his trap again, but I remind myself of who he might truly be and compose myself again.
"I'm fine. Seriously. I'll let you know if I'm not feeling well," I say.
"I'm sorry. I'm just worried," Antonio says, smiling awkwardly at me and letting his gaze fall to his lap. I frown at him.
"Don't be sorry. I know you mean well," I say, squeezing his hand once again.
"I can't help it. Just the thought of you getting sick again makes me anxious," Antonio says.
"I know. But seriously, though, I'm fine. A bit tired, but still fine," I say, shrugging nonchalantly. Antonio brings his eyes back to mine and smiles. Behind his smile, his concern still can't be hidden. A smile is not enough to hide how he truly feels, or how he wants to look in my eyes. I need to pull myself together. I can't fall into his trap. Fuck. This is harder than I thought. If he's actually bad, then his manipulation technique is too fucking good because I keep falling for it.
"Alright. Just let me know if you're not feeling well. We'll tell our families, and I'll get you back home early, with or without your father. You need to rest before your body gets too tired," Antonio says.
"I'll let you know about it," I say.
"Antonio!"
My head spins, and my gaze lands on a girl and boy walking towards us. They're dressed formally in a red sleeveless dress and black suit. With how similar they look to each other, they must be related. Oh. They must be Valeria and Giorgio, Antonio's younger siblings. Now that they're here, I need to step up my game. It's time to get more serious.