Chapter XXXI

"Dante Dante Dante..." Ella called excitedly and ran into my arms.

"Well Princessa, what are you doing here? The others are playing at the pavilion." I picked up the little girl and looked at her lovely face.

"But they're annoying me." I had to laugh inwardly at the look on her face. I put her down in front of me and gave her a kiss on the head. Her little hands grabbed mine and held them tight.

I leaned over to her and pretended to whisper a secret to her. "Ella, have you seen the ice cream cake? It looks like a flower." I tried to sound as impressed as possible, which was really difficult with cake. How easy it is to impress children and make them happy. Ella looked at me and shook her head.

"No? Then you have to do that before Marco eats the whole cake. He always eats everything." She looked at me in shock and then ran to the bench to get her teddy bear.

"Marco, I want one too!" the little girl screamed as she ran towards the pavilion. I turned to the bench and looked at my girl. It's time I got her away from here, from Fabio. Just the looks he gave her made me furious. He should take his dirty eyes off her body. I would punch him in the face if Anastasia wasn't here. I don't want her there when I'm polishing someone else's face, even if it would be good for her to see what happens when she flirts with others.

"Anastasia, darling, we should greet the rest of the guests." I held out my hand to pull her up from the bench. My gaze wandered to him and he stared at me piercingly. Oh, if he wants to play, then we can do that.

"Hello cousin," said the idiot. First he thinks he's better than us and doesn't want to have anything to do with the family business anymore, and now he's provoking me in front of my fiancée. I just nodded at him.

Then I turned my attention back to my beauty and pulled her off the bench. I grabbed her waist with one hand and pulled her tightly against me so that even the last person here would finally understand that she belongs to me.

"So you've already met my fiancée."

Fabio stood up and held out his hand to me. We shook hands, purely out of politeness. He stared straight into my eyes.

"Yes, she really is even more beautiful than Marco described." I tightened my grip on her and pulled her even closer to me. His intention behind the comment was more than clear to me, but I'm not going to respond. This is my engagement party and I'm definitely not going to let a hypocrite like that ruin it, especially not when Anastasia is standing next to me. I simply nodded at him in response and maintained eye contact.

"Tell me how did you meet?" It's none of his business. Besides, he knows that it's a kind of forced marriage. At first I wanted to tell him an incredibly cheesy love story from one of Isabella's favorite films, but he didn't resist the effort. I also came up with a much better answer. I blew a kiss on Anastasia's head and then turned my attention back to Fabio. His reaction was exactly what I had intended. The poor guy clenched his jaw and his whole body tensed up. That's what he gets for trying to provoke me.

But unfortunately my cousin didn't get the hint and carried on. He slowly let his gaze wander over Anastasia, lingering longer on her cleavage and leg cutouts. I was furious inside. Our oh-so-great lawyer always acts like a gentleman, but he's a dirty dog. I mean, who looks at his cousin's fiancée with that kind of look? Those who don't want to listen will have to feel, but not yet. First I have to get Anastasia away from him. I grabbed her hand, said a quick goodbye to the bastard and pulled her behind me.

We walked through the garden and I headed for the house. I could hear her whining over and over, but I didn't have time for that now. And she shouldn't have put on that damn dress.

I dragged her through the living room to get her into my office. I slammed the door behind us. The anger I had been trying to suppress rose up in me again. First she puts on that dress and then she spends the evening with my cousin. She's my fiancée and I explained to her just a few hours ago how it should work. But no, of course she has to do the exact opposite of that.

"What about us being a couple in love don't you understand?" I started the topic, my voice louder than I intended. Her expression changed from confused to angry. She looked really cute when she got angry.

"Me? You're the one who can't take your attention away from other women. What was I supposed to do? Keep listening to Barbie's ramblings?" Did she just say Barbie? I couldn't help but grin. Who is Barbie? Wait a minute, does she mean Leonora? I looked at her confused and saw the light go on in her head. She must have only just realized that she had used that word in her rant.

"Barbie?" I asked her, amused.

"I didn't remember her name," she said. She sounded calm, but I could hear that her voice was shaking slightly. Is my girl jealous? I grinned devilishly at her. My girl is jealous. Let's see how she will talk her way out of this situation.

"You're jealous," I asked her directly. Her gaze was frozen. I could see the thoughts racing in her head. Suddenly she answered in an angry tone.

"Come on, me and jealous? Our relationship is as close as mine is with that wall."

Okay, I was expecting that kind of reaction, but the comparison was a bit strange. Her desperation was really amusing, but I didn't let her stand there. Better if I tease her a bit more. I took a step towards her while she mirrored the movement, but stepped back.

"Oh, yes, clearly jealous." Goosebumps formed on her shoulders, which made me grin. Oh yes, I have her exactly where I wanted.

"I'm not!" she retorted stubbornly, but it sounded like she was trying to convince herself and not me.

"And besides, you just acted like a jealous lunatic," she finished her argument. Oh, I did and I had every right to do so, I thought to myself. But I left it unsaid. I closed the remaining distance between us and pushed her ever closer to the wall. Her relationship with the wall had changed quickly in the last few seconds.

"Oh babe, I wasn't jealous. I was just making sure you were safe. How would it look if my fiancée spent her time with my cousin at our engagement party instead of greeting the guests with me?" I explained to her, even if that was only partially true, because I was jealous. But not like those couples in love. I don't like it when someone looks at mine or touches it and if that means I'm jealous, then I am. I leaned down and took a strand of her hair in my hand. Her hair was so soft and her incredible smell filled my nose. It reminded me of my mother's peonies. God, this woman is making me soft. This has to stop. I should go now, but I couldn't help but make one last comment. "Oh, and by the way, your relationship with the wall just got a lot closer." With that, I let go of her strand and left the room.

"I'll be waiting for you outside in five minutes," I called out to her before I went into the hallway. She shouted something after me in Russian, which was most likely an insult. I love it when she speaks Russian, her voice sounds much smoother and lighter. She practically flies over the notes. I went back outside and went to the bar where my brothers and some cousins were standing. Luckily Fabio wasn't among them.

"Have you found her?" came Luca. I nodded at him and then took a glass of scotch. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Ella chasing Marco around with her hands covered in cake. I smiled at the little girl and pointed in the direction in which Marco was hiding from her, putting my fingers to my lips. She grinned and made her way to Marco on her tiptoes. I hope she gives him a good mess, he would deserve it.

"I'm going to Anastasia, mother is already looking for her everywhere." came from Luca. At first I wanted to stop him and say that she'd be coming in five minutes anyway, but then I decided to leave it. It's good if he brings her here so that she doesn't dawdle or someone else approaches her. I'd already had enough of the men staring at her today, I don't need another show.

I was still looking after Lucca when Fabio came into my field of vision. Good, because I still have a score to settle with him. Before I could even start to say anything, he came up to me and looked at me challengingly.

"You're not fooling me, it's a contract between you and her, nothing more." He really wants to know today.

"And yet I'm going to marry her, so get out of here or I'll help you." My voice was strong and you could clearly hear my anger. "

I'm begging you, she might as well marry me to fulfill the contract, I've looked at it. Maybe I should suggest that to her, she doesn't seem to be that keen on you."

I tightened my grip on the scotch glass in my hand so much that my knuckles turned white. Enough of being held back.

I put the glass down loudly and slowly walked towards him. I actually wanted to smash his face in right there, but there were children here.

I looked at him intently and then walked past him. He knows what that means.

Behind me I could see the twins and Lorenzo, as well as Pablo. I'm sure Marco is still playing hide and seek, such a toddler.

After a few meters I stopped on an open patch of grass, a little further away from the bench where I had seen her earlier next to Fabio. The anger rose up in me again when I thought about the way he looked at her, bastard.

I turned to him, but he was no longer alone. His brothers had joined him, which was irrelevant because we would sort this out on our own. My brothers and Pablo also stood near me, but not to watch my back, but to make sure I didn't kill the wanker. He deserved it anyway.

I didn't expect Fabio's next move, because weapons were not allowed in such a fight. But of course the rate has to take his gun out of his waistband. "She doesn't want you, so it's better if you just let her go." Does this bastard really presume to know what's best for my girl? I'm going to kill him.

He pointed his gun at me.

"And what? Pull the trigger if you've already got it out, otherwise it was unnecessary." Real men shoot in the first seconds after they draw a gun and don't lecture like the rate did to me. He withdrew from the family business when it became clear that I, and not Lorenzo, would be the new Don. Everyone knew that I would never make him my number two. And now years later, here he is, acting like a big shot. The only thing he can handle is a pen, not a gun.

I could see the anger in his face, good thing. I would be very disappointed if the fight ended quickly.

But Fabio apparently realized that he couldn't intimidate me with that, so he pointed the gun at Leonardo. He's out of his mind, he wants me to lose my temper.

I pulled my gun out of my waistband and fired into the air before aiming at him. I could see the fear in Fabio's eyes.

"Take my brother's gun now and get off my property before I have you carried away in pieces."

Two of his brothers walked up to him and talked to him. Mr. Lawyer must have realized that his place is behind a desk and not in the field, because he lowered his gun and had his brothers accompany him outside. I sent two of my men after him to make sure he had really left.

"Pablo, look where Anastasia is!" I said dryly in a stern tone. I was glad that she hadn't seen it, but also angry that she had left me standing there again.

After the wedding, a lot of things will change.