Chapter 45 Double-Double Cross
It was the D-Day, the day we would finally take Celeste down for good.
Charlotte, Ezera, and I had come to the party an hour before Alexander did.
It was the perfect plan; Celeste wouldn't suspect we were working together.
The event was held outside the host's mansion under the dark night. Waiters strolled around the place with trays of champagne in their hands. The place was dark but light enough to see each other's faces due to the moonlight.
The decorations were exquisite, with ribbons and flowers laid around, and mafia bosses stood in groups as they discussed.
I looked around for Celeste, but she wasn't here yet.
My gaze met Alexander’s. He tugged at his suit and looked away, walking toward a cocktail table. He picked up a wine glass and downed it. He seemed to be nervous.
As he leaned against the table, his gaze was fixed on something in the distance, so intense he seemed to be bewitched.
I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at Ezera across the field. Unaware she was being watched, she drew a wine glass to her mouth and sipped.
She was dressed in a purple floor-length gown, and her hair was high up in a bun.
“Damien,” I heard Charlotte’s gentle voice. I turned to face her, my eyes lighting up. She was the most beautiful woman at the event tonight. She had on a red fitted dress that revealed her slender figure. Her hips swayed as she walked to me.
Her dress stopped just above her knee, and the top stopped above her breasts, leaving her shoulders exposed. Her brown hair danced against her back as she drew closer with a wine glass in her hand.
She had gone to get non-alcoholic champagne.
My gaze narrowed as I noticed that her eyes were a little dim. The smile playing on her lips was a sharp contrast. She placed her left hand on my shoulder, and I wrapped my hand around her waist before she could fall.
“Charlotte…” I mumbled softly as I grabbed the glass from her. I drew it to my lips and sniffed it. My brow raised. “You said you didn't want alcohol; why did you get it?”
“I…” Her voice trailed off. She suddenly pouted, and tears formed in her eyes.
Her heart raced. “Is everything okay, my love?” I pulled her closer.
“I'm scared.” Her throat tightened as she spoke.
My gaze snapped up and i looked around the busy place. “Did somebody touch ou? Did somebody hurt you? Tell me, and I'll rip his head off,” I growled.
She shook her head and looked to the floor. I held her tighter. She seemed to have drunk a little too much. “It's you.”
“What? I hurt you?”
She nodded and looked back up to meet my gaze. She clenched her fingers into a fist and hit it against her chest desperately. “My heart is hurting.”
I quickly grabbed her hand. “Stop that; you’ll hurt yourself.” I cupped both sides of her face. My heart ripped into a million pieces as a stream of tears ran down her cheeks. “How did I hurt you? How do I make it up to you? Please, tell me.”
I wondered if it was Becky's spontaneous visit to the house that made her cry.
She swallowed before she continued, “Celeste plans to kill you today. What if she succeeds? I can't take it.”
“No…no, baby, don't cry. It won't work. I have a plan, I swear.” I wrapped her up in my arms and gently patted her on the back. “You won't lose me, I promise.”
Just then, my gaze caught Celeste. Her eyes scanned the place like a man on the run. I looked back at Alexander, who was already looking at me. “Charlotte, Celeste is here.”
I gestured to one of my soldiers, who ran to me immediately. “Take my wife to the car, watch her, and make sure no one gets to her.” I slowly pulled her away from me and let him hold her.
She staggered a little before she caught her balance. As he led her away, I gave a long stare before I turned back to face Alexander.
He began to walk towards me. “It's me; I'm the distraction,” he said immediately as he got close. “She wants me to lead you into the building.”
I nodded, and we both began to head to the building. Before we walked in, I turned back around to see Charlotte being led into our car.
My heart broke that she thought she would lose me. “I will live for you,” I muttered. I think that was the most intimate form of saying I loved her, and it hurt that she didn't hear it.
Inside the mansion, it was empty. Alexander led me all the way to the back of the building. My soldiers had hidden in corners, waiting to attack once Celeste showed her ugly face.
“We have had a feud for years, Damien,” Alexander began. It was Celeste's plan to make me distracted with a conversation before she struck. “Now I want to…” His face froze as his phone began to ring.
My jaw clenched. How could he let that distract him when we had important business at hand? Keeping a straight face in case she was watching, I spoke, “I swear I'll snap your neck when this is over. Toss that fucking phone away.”
“No,” he reached into his pocket, a confused expression on his face. “This is a second phone. Only Celeste can contact me on it. It's her.”
He slid his finger across the screen and placed it against his ear. “Yes?” As he listened, his gaze grew wider. He immediately removed the phone from his ear and put it on speaker.
I instantly knew something was wrong. “What is it?” I drew closer.
“Oh, I knew you and Damien were working together all this while. I figured it out when you stayed at the hotel when we got back from Italy,” Celeste's cold, horrid voice came from the phone.
“I decided to do some digging, and I found out you were sleeping with one of his soldiers, so low. I sent my men to follow you around, and they saw you go to Damien's home; that's where I figured it out.”
“Why didn't you say anything when you found out?” I asked. “You wanted to have fun toying with us?”
She let out loud, maniacal laughter. “I guess you could say that, since I’ve got Ezera.”
Alexander gripped the phone so tight it could break. “What! Celeste, don't you…”
“Don't bother; you became an enemy the moment you decided to work with him, and now…your little girlfriend pays the price.
“Celeste!” He barked, his eyes blazing with anger. “If you touch her, I swear to God!”
“And as for Charlotte….”
My brow flickered up as I heard her name, blood rushed hrough my veins and my fingers trembled. I didn't let Celeste finish. I turned around and dashed towards my car to see if she was okay.
All eyes turned to me as I ran past the party like a madman.
And I swear to God
if she touched a single hair on my wife's head, “Charlotte!” I shouted as I ran towards my car.