The night air bit sharper than I expected, stinging on my skin, I leaned against the stone railing, welcoming icy sting on my palms. Inside of me felt like I was a performer who had forgotten her lines but, Out here, I was just a girl with a lot of grudges.
Matteo. Vincenzo. Cousins
A bitter laugh escaped my lips, disappearing into the wind. Of course, The man who had destroyed my family would have a perfectly intact one of his own. But....why hadn't Aunt Olivia mentioned him?,Or was this just another piece of truth she thinks it might not be important for me to know, Nothing feel like a coincidence anymore.
I dragged my hand through my hair, my fingers tangling in the strands as my other hand tightened the grip on the railing. The air shifted, and that subtle suffocating awareness crept up my spine before I heard a sound, I didn't need to turn to see who it was. Vincenzo stood effortlessly, composed yet radiating a jagged sort of danger. His sleeve were rolled up this time, revealing a dark ink curing along his forearm which I had just acknowledged.
"The sea bass was excellent" he said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated in the small space between us, swirling the glass with it content. " Though you spent more time shredding it with your fork than actually eating it".
"I wasn't hungry," I replied, keeping my eyes on the dark horizon.
"Strange", He mused, his well polished shoes clicking on the marble floor grew louder as he approached. "Olivia mentioned you usually have a healthy appetite".
I stiffened, "I'm not used to dining with a person who holds my life in a folder and yet felt like they could control me, Mr. Ruggiero "
He stopped, as if he just heard what he didn't expect, the atmosphere in room became heavy suddenly and the aura became choking to the core. He turned suddenly, his dark unreadable gaze pinned me to place.
"Mr. Ruggiero?" He repeated, the name sounding like foreign insult on his tongue.
"And why should I do that? I snapped, finally found the courage to face him.
He closed the distance in two long strides, looming over me until the world was nothing but him and his expesive colognes, I was forced to look up, my neck arching from the height difference, "To world and to the people that fears me, I am Mr. Ruggiero. But the woman who signed the contract...and that is you. He leaned down, his voice dropping to a dangerous vibration. "To you...I am Vincenzo, Now say it Jennie"
I gritted my teeth, the name sticking in my throat. I hated his proximity,I hated how close he was and I hated the traitorous part of me that didn't want him to step back.
"Why should I do that?."
"Say it, Jennie" he commanded, his gaze locking into mine. "I want to hear how it sounds when you are defiant"
"Vincenzo." I whispered lowly, the name feeling like a spark against my lips.
For a split second, something flickers through in his eyes, not his usual coldness but a raw satisfaction. He was about to speak when a shadow emerged from the doorway.
A man dressed in black, his posture straight and his expression was a mask of stone. He didn't seem to acknowledged my presence, he leaned in toward Vincenzo's ear and whispered some few words.
The air around us turned from heavy to lethal, Vincenzo's hand tightened on his whiskey glass until his knuckles turned to a ghostly white.
"Don't wander too far", he warned, leaning down one last time so his breath brushed my ear. "You have seen how cold it can be, Jennie. Don't make me show you how much it hurts to burn". He brushed past me with the cold command of a king, and the man in black followed him behind like silent reaper.
Was that a warning or a promise?
I stood there, my heart thudding against my ribs, trying to understand that warning or would I say 'threat'. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear footsteps behind me.
"Jennie?"
I almost jumped, turning to find out that the voice belongs to Matteo, he is standing where Vincenzo was earlier, He looked more relaxed with his charming smile on his face, he looks different unlike that.... grumbling monster called Vincenzo.
After tonight, I knew better than to trust a Ruggiero.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Matteo chuckled, his voice so smooth and easy. He didn't loom over me like Vincenzo instead, he leaned casually against the railing, staring out at the dark gardens. "Or maybe just Vincenzo. He tends to have that effect on people."
I tried to slower my racing heart, gripping the cold iron rail until my knuckles ached.
"He's difficult to understand...the aura around feels more like a—"
"A predator " he completed my sentences, taking the words out of my mouth. Matteo turned to me, his smile fading something more serious, "I have know Vincenzo for so long, he is..."
"He is what?"
Matteo turned back toward the dark horizon, hiding his face from me.
"Nevermind, it doesn't matter but Jennie...You have to be careful"
His voice grew more heavier, making me more nervous than I was before.
"Even when you are blinded by your revenge"
'What?!' The world stopped arounde for a second.
Wait...How did he know?!
"How did you know about that?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
Matteo didn't answer instead he gave me a look that was half pity, half warning and then he was gone, melting back into the shadow. I lowered my face as my mind was In chaotic storm. Aunt Olivia said the same thing to me about Vincenzo. If they both knew, if the mask was this thin, how was I ever going to survive long enough to destroy him.