Chapter 23 A new man: Trouble at sea
Damien hadn't told me the gala was supposed to happen late at night. He was dressed in a tuxedo.
Lord, he had never looked sexier. I desperately wanted to pin him down and kiss his lips until they hurt.
Is that too much?
Anyway, I was dressed in a red dress.
Oh, and there was a theme; we had to dress like it was the Victorian era.
My dress had multiple layers of fabric underneath, giving it volume, almost as if it were made just for elegance and not for movement. I had to walk more slowly than usual, as it was slightly heavy. The corset around my waist was tied too tightly, making it slightly difficult to breathe.
The dress revealed the pale skin of my shoulders and had little gold stones embedded in it; my hair, on the other hand, was curled by the stylists Damien had hired.
Damien's gaze wouldn't leave mine as we got into the car. I pretended not to notice, but my smile failed me. “Why are you staring at me, dear husband?” I asked, my gaze still fixed outside the window.
He groaned softly. “Dear husband,” he repeated after me. “You have never called me that before.” His fingers slowly climbed mine as he slowly said, “Look into my eyes and say that again, vita mia.” I heard him swallow. “Please.”
I turned my head to look at him; it was dark outside, but the lights from the car beamed against his green eyes. “My dear husband.”
His face melted, and he let out a soft gasp.
“I love you, my dear husband,” I said with a smile on my face.
“Come closer,” he spoke gently.
I let out a sharp giggle. “This dress is too heavy, Damien. I can't afford to move too much.”
“I want to touch you,” he yearned, his fingers brushing mine.
“I know,” I responded. “Let's get to the gala first.”
His gaze didn't leave mine until we got to the venue.
My lips were agape as I realised that the gala would be on a ship. It was one of the biggest I had ever seen; it looked like a whole city on water.
Men and women climbed the ship, chatting amongst each other.
“The gala is on a ship?” I asked in awe.
“Surprise,” Damien spoke as he led me into the ship. People stole glances at us as we climbed; I pushed closer to Damien as I realised that most of these men were his enemies.
Why haven't we sent our soldiers here for protection?
Soon we got deeper into the ship, classical music played, and people danced under the moonlight; men and women turned to look as Damien and I walked hand in hand.
“Luciano!” Damien shouted as he waved at a blond man in a black suit.
Luciano smiled as he gestured to Damien to come in.
Damien led me through a door, and far ahead was a table where Luciano had gone to sit; as we moved to the table, they all shot me a cold look. As if I wasn't welcome here.
Damien pulled aside a seat, and as I moved to seat it, one of the men spoke, “This table is for leaders only.” There was a stern look on his face.
“My wife goes everywhere I go,” Damien responded curtly, "If she's not welcome, then I'm not welcome.
“Then leave!” Another man barked, his fists slamming against the table, the lid echoing through the classical music that played outside.
Luciano quickly waved his hands in the air. “Please, this is a peaceful meeting; I'm sure his wife can sit wherever she wants.”
Damien leaned closer to their ear. “I need something from them; after this meeting, I'll drive a knife through their heart in your honour.”
I wrapped my hand around his arm and gently shook my head.
I moved closer to the chair and said, and Damien sat beside me.
“Don,” Luciano spoke, his hand gesturing to another chair, higher than the others.
Damien’s hand slowly reached for my thigh; under the loads of fabric, I felt his grin tighten. “I sit where my wife sits.”
Just then, through the loud music, I heard the loud echo of a woman's laugh tearing through the crowd. Dressed in purple, she walked with elegance; her composure was like that of a woman who owned the place.
She moved to the seat Damein was supposed to and pulled it open, positioning herself on it.
She clasped her fingers on the table and spoke, “Damien Davenport ... it's been such a long time.” Her gaze shifted to me, and I could feel the cold air shift. There was something in her gaze that was unsettling. “How come you are sitting way over there?”
Damien didn't respond; his gaze squeezed tighter against my thigh.
“What? Did the cat get your tongue after seeing me again after all these years? You sure didn't look so quiet when you cut my husband's body into pieces and sent them to me.” Her smile dropped, her eyes turning colder as she spoke.
My hands immediately flung to my mouth; the painting in Damien's wooden house…that was this woman's husband.
“If you do not shut up, Chaira, you will end up like your husband.”
She slammed her hands against the table in anger. “Was that a threat? Have I not lost enough because of you?”
“Your husband killed twenty-nine of my soldiers!” Damein barked in anger, “He deserved to die.”
I had never seen him so angry before.
I quickly reached for his lap and parted it gently; his gaze shifted to me, and he exhaled sharply. “Keep yours in order, Chaira,” Damien spoke, but it was a threat.
Luciano quickly began to speak to clear the air, and just then, the waitress began to pour champagne into our glasses.
“We have gathered here today for peace and not war, a peace treaty.” All eyes were now fixed on Luciano.
Damien immediately picked up the glass in front of him, but as it touched his lips, he froze and put it back on the table.
I looked up at him, my eyebrows raised.
He looked at me, as if he understood my gaze. “Poison,” he mouthed.
My blood ran cold.
I didn't dare touch my drink. As the meeting proceeded, their voices blurred out, and my gaze was fixed on Chaira, who gazed at me and Damien with a deathly stare before looking back at Luciano to focus on the meeting.
Damien leaned towards me and whispered, “Her husband is the man in the painting.”
“I figured,” I responded.
His fingers gently curled around my thigh, his face refusing to leave mine, and I could tell he had begun to question my love for him again.
“I love you.” I mouthed.
A smile of relief formed on his lips. “I love you too,” he mouthed.
“Damien?” Luciano's voice cut through our little moment: “You are not listening.”
“Sorry, my wife’s presence can be a little distracting.”
I didn't want to delay the meeting because Damien couldn't get his eyes off me. “I want to look around,” I quickly spoke. “Can I go outside?” I asked.
Damien hesitated for a few seconds and then spoke, “Yes, Vita Mia.”
“Vita mia?” The people around the table murmured in confusion.
I pulled away from the table and walked outside the ship; it hadn't sailed off, and people were still coming on.
I gazed around and watched waiters carry trays of champagne around. I desperately wanted one, but what if these ones were poisoned as well?
I watched as the door to the ship closed, and soon, it was back to moving. I quickly grabbed onto the edge; I had never been on a moving ship before.
The water made a loud slushing sound as the ship ran across it.
“You don't have to hold onto it, beautiful; it's not like you are going to fall over.” A man's voice spoke from behind.
I turned around to see a man dressed in a black tuxedo; he was an Asian man in his late twenties with a mocking smile on his face.
I quickly removed my hands from the edge and tucked my hair behind my ear.
His smile dropped. “God, you are beautiful,” he whispered loud enough for me to hear.
I tugged at my dress to adjust it as he drew closer to me. “I'm Alexander, the head of the Silvio Mafia family.” He reached his hand out for a handshake.
“Aren't you a little too young to be a leader?” I accepted the handshake. Damien was the only leader I knew who was young; the rest seemed to have ages of experience.
“I'm forty years old; I believe I'm old enough.” His voice was husky, and he kissed the back of my palm.
My lips were agape. Forty? He looked much younger.
As he stood up straight, he didn't let go of my hand; he held it tight and caressed it.
“What's the beautiful name?”
“Charlotte,” I responded.
He gasped, “It's as beautiful as your face. How are you?”
I felt like I was being interviewed. “Twenty-four”
He pulled closer to me. “I don't go for younger women, but for you, I'll make an exception.”
I quickly yanked my hand away from his. “I'm here with my husband, Damien Davenport.”
His smile dropped, but it suddenly appeared again. “How did the devil make such an angel marry him?”
“He's not the devil.”
“Do you know how many lives he has taken?” His brow raised.
“I do not care,” I responded curtly.
“Well then, I'll make it my mission to show you the monster that you have married.”
“Stop that!” I spat in anger.
He lifted his hands up in the air. “I do not want to fight… But I would like to have a dance with you.”
“Not interested”
“I'll kneel.” His brow raised.
I shook my head and turned around; suddenly, the water shook the ship. Before I could balance myself, the force suddenly knocked me over.
“Charlotte!” Alexander's voice and the loud screams of the people on the ship were the last things I heard as I landed in the water with a loud splash.
The cold seawater immediate
ly rushed into my ears and my mouth. I struggled to swim, but the layers of fabric had been soaked with water and were weighing me down. My heart raced, fear pulsing through my veins.