His mother does not like me...

We were walking hand in hand through the hall again but this time, I was already used to the states I was getting.

None if it made a difference to me anymore and i did not bother nodding back at those who nodded.

It was a weird ball. One that still made no sense to me. From the attention Luciano was getting to the unnecessary show of respect and why guards were all over the hall holding guns. None of it seemed normal but I was done being the crazy one who pointed every single thing out.

It only ended up making me the one who seemed to have strings attached. I could not be that person anymore.

He led me and we walked hand in hand to where a group of women seemed to be standing.

They all turned once they noticed our presence.

To say they are all dressed extravagantly would be an understatement. Their ball gowns were beautiful but it was quite a lot. Maybe they are supposed to dress like that. I do not know.

They were all looking at Luciano with widened eyes, like they had never seen him before. Or may they haven't. I don't know.

Only one woman seemed to be looking at me. She had blonde hair, striking eyes and a beautiful face.

She looked like she was in her early fifties but still radiant and young.

It did not take me a long time to realize that this was Luciano's mother. For some reason, the way she was currently staring at me made me want to curtsy to get and greet her. Did something, anything to stop her from boring into my soul with her eyes.

I had to Avery my gaze immediately. It was just too much for me to handle a at once. Luciano seemed to have gotten his intense stare from her. J could get anything on that.

"Good evening." Luciano greeted all the women.

To my surprise, he did not now or show any sign of respect. They are the ones who slightly bowed their head as a form of greeting.

Only his mother did not bother to do any of that.

He met her eyes and nodded. She smiled immediately. "I can see that it took you quite done time before you finally came to meet your mother." She said to him.

He did not smile back but I could see the little amusement in his eyes. "I was busy." He simply said.

One if the women grinned. "oh my, Victoria, your son is handsome!" She gushed.

Wow. That was quite expressive.

Victoria raised her head in pride. "I know. I am aware." Oh, so the conceited talks was a family thing. I see."

"He is also very smart and intelligent. This is the type of man I want my daughter to marry!" Another woman gushed.

I found their unnecessary giggles and words annoying but who was I to complain?

I forced a smile then finally made my presence known. "good evening." I tried to make my voice sound happy and excited.

From the looks I got, u was successful. Only one woman maintained a straight face. The woman I actually wanted to smile. Luciano's mother.

What kind of luck was this? I could not even put it into words. She was observing me. Looking at me intently like she could read my every move.

It was weird, it was uncomfortable but for the first time since I got here, I held her face with a new found confidence. "good evening." She said.

I bowed my head just a little bit. That seemed to pick her interest.

"She us do pretty." One if the women said.

The rest if them agreed but Luciano's mother did not say a word. I felt like asking her why she was being so stiff with me but I did not date do that. I did not really care if she liked me. It's not as if I was dating her son or anything. It was a platonic gathering. One that was just going to serve it's course and move on to being what it was.

"You look stunning my dear." Another woman complimented.

I took my eyes off Luciano's mother and decided to focus on the women who were actually bring nice to me. "thank you so much. You look lovely." She flushed then waved her hand in dismissal.

"Oh please, don't flatter me." She chuckled. "The only beautiful woman here had to be Mrs Roberto." She limited to Luciano's mother.

The rest if the women nodded in agreement. Mrs Roberto seemed to wait for me to say something but I did not.

Who likes such pride and attention for themselves. I did not know what I was expecting but I thought his mother would be a sweet woman. Like we read in the novels, the grumpy man always had a loving mother that was just too sweet.

That was what I expected... Maybe I just did not know her.

I could tell that the women wanted me to say something on agreement so I had to give in. "you look especially stunning, Mrs Roberto. I can tell that he gets his looks from you." I complimented.

It was not entirely what I really felt. She was a beautiful woman. Very stunning but I felt that Luciano only got his eyes from her. I have never seen his father but I could bet that he looked more like his father. There was not much resemblance between him and his mother.

I could tell that Luciano's eyes were in me but I kept my attention on his mother.

She forced a smile. "thank you, my dear." She said.

I forced a smile too. Oh, I was very tired if forcing smiles. It was so draining yet I found myself doing it almost every second today.

Only certa had been able to get a genuine smile from me.

How hard was it for people to drop the pretense and just say it to people's faces if they don't like them?

"I don't like you." Mrs Roberto said out of nowhere.