Page 26 of Masked Hearts

I slip through the crowd and head straight to the bar, dodging any extended family and their congratulations, because I don’t know how to react to it.

Thank you for coming to my arranged marriage, where my wife hates me.

“One whiskey, single ice cube,” I bark at the bartender, who jumps up to serve me.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re the younger version of Ambrose and your father?” I hear Enzo from next to me. “You even order whiskey like them.”

“A lot of people drink whiskey like this.” I try not to give in to his very obvious jab at what he knows will rile me up the most.

“I will say I was very hurt when I wasn’t invited to your wedding,cugino.”

I stay silent and sip my drink, letting the liquid burn its way down my throat, straight to my stomach. But the heat it leaves behind is nothing compared to the lingering feeling of having Theresa close to me.

“I figured there’s no way you would’ve purposely forgotten to invite me, especially since Mattia is your best man.”

“I wasn’t in charge of the guest list, Enzo.”

Enzo has always had a bit of a soft spot for being left out of things. Everyone assumes he and Ambrose would be close due to their age, but they’ve never gotten along. Their bond suffered before it ever had the chance to form; they were always pinned against one another, and in the end, Ambrose got everything Enzo ever wanted. It’s a feeling I can relate to—Ambrose does get everything. He gets the girl, the job, the reputation.

“So I’ve heard.” He sips his drink, and I’m surprised that he isn’t pressing the issue more.

“So what are you doing here?” I pry, and a smirk settles on his lips.

“I came to watch my younger cousin make the biggest mistake of his life.” He pats my shoulder harshly. “Be careful, Nino. If you lay down with the dogs, you’ll wake up with fleas,” he says lowly before walking off, leaving me alone with my increasingly dark thoughts.

This is going to be a long night.

“Antonio.” A female’s voice rings through the air.

God no. Not now.

Valerie slides into the space Enzo previously occupied. “That was uhm…something,” she says, referring to the little dance show Theresa and I just put on.

She looks up at me with concern simmering in her eyes. It looks so out of place on her soft features, and even more against the short, pink, babydoll style dress she has on. She looks beautiful. She always does, but something about her being here today is almost bittersweet.

A few years ago, I truly did believe that we would end up here, but under very different circumstances.

“Yeah, all of this is something.” I sip my drink, finally pulling my eyes away from her.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I scoff.

“Everything. You wouldn’t be here right now if I never married Mattheo…” she trails off, dropping her voice at the mention of him, presumably because many of these people are his family. “If I never married him and then came home and got you all involved, this would have never happened. I—"

“Stop,” I cut her off. “Please just stop apologising. As much as I want to hate you for everything that is happening, I can’t, so please stop. It’s just a constant reminder.” I down the rest of my drink and turn to face her. She seems taken aback by my sudden outburst, and I don’t blame her.

I’ve always been quick to forgive Valerie just to keep her in my life, but right now, she is the exact reason this is all happening. And everywhere I look, I see her and the constant reminder that she’s not mine, nor will she ever be.

“Congratulations, by the way.” I look down at the giant engagement ring on her left hand. “My invite must’ve gotten lost in the mail.” I mimic Enzo’s earlier mood.

“Antonio, we didn’t mean to not invite you, it was for your safety.”

“Oh, and you lost my phone number, too? So you couldn’t just call to maybe I don’t know…give me a fucking heads up, Valerie?”

Her eyes start to water. “And please don’t cry. I can’t handle that today as well. I’m sorry.” I find myself rushing to apologise, not wanting this to get any bigger.

“Why is she crying? What did you do to her?” Ambrose says as he steps up next to us.