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It’s not at all what I thought he was going to say. I thought he would try to defend what he said, to try and convince me it is the truth. But somehow, this is worse. Because he’s leaving me to believe whatever I want.

Natural is worse than good. Natural feels real, and this can’t be real.

Chapter nine

Theá

Iwatchasmyfatherwhisks Antonio away, and I’m left standing awkwardly in the middle of the dance floor.

Of course, I was stupid enough to think he’d want to dance with me. I knew what this was from the start, and I shouldn’t have expected anything different. This is all just a business deal to him. Nothing more, nothing less.

An old couple who’s extremely passionate about their waltz nearly knocks me out of the way, and I take that as my cue to leave the dance floor. I look around the room and decide to follow the crowd and head straight for the bar, because God alone knows I can’t be sober if I’m expected to be that close to Antonio for the entire night.

His presence is warm, but his touch,fuckhis touch sends bolts of electricity through me.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I apologise as I bump into someone. The sudden impact shakes me from my Antonio-induced daydream.

“Oh, it’s no worries,mia cara, I guess it’s as good excuse as any to introduce myself.” Her Italian accent is thick, and just by looking at her eyes, I know immediately that she’s Antonio’s mother.

“Mrs. Vitale,” I say without a second thought. Her face pulls in disgust, and suddenly, I’m worried I may have guessed incorrectly.

“Please, call me Gianna. I’d prefer not to be reminded of my late husband. It’s nice to finally meet you, Theá. Antonio and the boys have told me so much about you.”

Hmm, I wonder what they would’ve said since I’ve only known them for just over a week, and that hasn’t left us with much time to get super close and personal. “Hopefully, all good things considering the circumstances.” I chuckle, and she joins in immediately, alleviating the nerves that were swimming in my stomach.

“One thing they didn’t mention is just how beautiful you are. Antonio’s lucky to be able to call you his wife, even though this is supposed to be…fake,” she whispers the last word.

“Thank you, Mrs…Gianna. Sorry.”

She laughs. “It was lovely meeting you, Theá. I know this is probably a lot for you to be dragged into as well, so on behalf of my boys, I just wanted to say sorry.”

That’s a first.

In this entire situation, not one person has cared about how it may affect me or how I may feel, and the first person to do so is my new husband’s mother.

“It’s okay, it would’ve happened one day or another. At least Antonio is good-looking and nice most of the time.”

Her face saddens a bit. “Trust me, he was probably the best option of my boys that you could’ve gotten. Ambrose has always been the most difficult. You would’ve been lucky if Adriano spoke to you, and Gus, well, Gus just hates commitment, so he would’ve probably left you at the altar and dealt with the consequences later.” She laughs. “Antonio is the softest of them all, and he cares so much about other people that he’s often harder on himself if it means protecting someone else. Even with this, he did it all for Valerie and Ambrose. Even after everything that happened, it’s so selfless.”

“Whatdidhappen?”

Her eyes widen as if she’s realised she’s said too much. She sighs. “You’ll have to ask him more about that. Sorry, Theá, it’s not my place to say any more.” She offers me an apologetic smile and places a hand on my shoulder. “It was so lovely meeting you.”

“Likewise, Gianna, enjoy the rest of the night.”

“You too,mia cara.” She winks and then leaves me to resume my mission of finding liquid courage. I wish I’d managed to get a shot in before running into her, maybe then the whole interaction wouldn’t have been so awkward.

“A shot of tequila, please.”

“Make it two, top shelf,” a deep voice from next to me says, and I draw my eyes up to the person slowly.

“How’s your wedding day going?” Adriano asks.

I sigh. “What are you expecting me to say? It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of?”

“Lying would make it more believable. Isn’t that the point of tonight?” He shrugs.

“I guess. Did you want something, Adriano? I’m trying to drink until this night turns into everything I’ve dreamt of or until I’m too drunk to care. Whichever comes first.”