Chapter Seven

"Lauren, have you made it to the hospital?" Camilla asked, speaking into her mobile phone.

"Yes, I'm here," Lauren replied softly.

"How's she doing?" Camilla inquired further.

"She's sleeping now, but she's stable. Thanks for checking in," Lauren responded, her voice tinged with relief.

"Don't worry about it, everything will be fine," Camilla reassured the younger woman on the other end of the line.

There was a moment of silence before Lauren spoke up again. "Are you sure you don't want me to come back and help? Isabel can take care of Maureen."

Camilla shook her head, even though Lauren couldn't see her. "I'll be fine, I promise. I can handle it," Camilla said with a chuckle.

Lauren let out a heavy sigh but ultimately accepted Camilla's assurance. "Okay, but if anything changes, call me right away. And try not to drink too much," Lauren added. Camilla laughed in response.

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight," Camilla said before ending the call. She then walked back to the ballroom where the rest of the guests were.

"How's everything going? Is she okay?" Alessia asked as soon as Camilla returned to their table and sat down.

"She's fine," Camilla replied simply, and her mother nodded in understanding.

"Here you go," her mother said, handing her back her drink which she had been holding while Camilla was on her call.

"Thanks, Mamma," Camilla said, quickly finishing the red liquid in her glass and placing it back on the table. She then scanned the room for her father.

"I thought Papá was with-" Camilla started to say, but her sentence was interrupted as she turned around and saw him standing behind her.

"Come, amore(love)." He said, holding out his hand to his wife. "It's time for us to go."

She placed her hand in his and he helped her to her feet. Camilla looked on, confused.

"Are you leaving already? I thought you were going to stay and have some fun with me," Camilla said, looking up at her father with a frown.

"It's late, my dear," he replied, giving Camilla a kiss on the top of her head. "Your mother and I have some unfinished business to attend to."

"Alright, but don't stay up too late. You're not getting any younger, you know," Camilla teased with a knowing smile, winking at her parents.

"Why are you winking at us? Are you implying something inappropriate again?" Alessia asked, raising an eyebrow at her daughter's behavior.

"Just trying to give you some advice," Camilla said with a shrug, unable to hide the smirk on her face.

"You naughty…" Alessia began to scold her daughter, but Fernando interrupted,

 

"Amore mio(My love), non sprecare le tue energie per questa nostra sciocca figlia, ne avrai bisogno più tardi stasera(Don't waste your energy on our silly daughter. You'll need it later tonight.)" He said to his wife with a loving smile on his face. Camilla struggled to contain her laughter.

Alessia cast a final glance at her daughter before nodding in agreement. Taking her husband's hand, they began to walk away. 

However, she abruptly halted and turned back to her daughter. "Remember, be mindful of your alcohol consumption. You know how it affects you," she cautioned, her eyebrows raised in concern.

Camilla rolled her eyes in response, "It's just a few glasses, Mama. What's the worst that could happen?"

Unconvinced, Alessia narrowed her eyes before turning and continuing on her way.

As her parents made their exit, Camilla beckoned a waiter carrying two glasses of rich, dark red wine. She gracefully took both glasses from him and proceeded to enjoy her time.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Later, as Camilla navigated the hallway, her steps unsteady and her balance off, she finally found her way to her hotel room.

With a spinning head, she stood in front of the door, squinting as she tried to make out the room number.

"Room...1...0..6," she muttered to herself, rereading the numbers multiple times, but the effort only made her headache worse.

"Mhmm, my head," Camilla groaned, her body slumped against the door frame, completely drained.

"Bambina,(Baby)" her mother's familiar voice called out to her. Camilla slowly lifted her head from the door, and saw her mother and father standing a few steps away.

"Oh, Mamma. Thank goodness you're here," she said, attempting to walk towards her mother, but her legs felt like they had given out from under her, and she collapsed to the floor.

"Camilla!" Her father exclaimed in a worried tone, quickly moving to assist her to her feet.

"I told you not to drink too much. Look at yourself, you can barely stand on your own," her mother scolded as she helped her husband in supporting the young woman who was laughing hysterically at herself.

"But, Mamma I only had one... or three," Camilla complained, trying to lean on her father to prevent herself from falling to the floor as she held up five fingers to her mother.

"Let's get her to his room, Fernando," Alessia said, offering support to Camilla on her right side. Together, they guided her towards the elevator.

A short while later, the three of them stood in front of room 109.

"Mama, I feel so hot," Camilla murmured sleepily, trying to lift her head from her father's shoulder. "I feel like my body is on fire."

Fernando placed his right hand on her forehead to check her temperature. "Fire?" he asked in concern.

"Amore mio(My love), I think she's coming down with a fever." Fernando said with concern, as he looked over at his wife. 

Alessia rolled her eyes in response. "She's fine, it's just the pill I put in her drink taking effect," she reassured him, dismissing his concern.

Fernando stared at her in disbelief. "You gave her the pill as well?"

"Of course," Alessia replied, matter-of-factly. "How else are they supposed to get intimate?"

"Let's get her inside, hand over the key card," Alessia instructed, holding out her hand expectantly.

"What key card? I thought you had it," he said, looking confused.

"What do you mean you thought I had it?" Alessia exclaimed in disbelief.

The couple stood there, staring at each other in bewilderment, both realizing neither of them had the key card.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Alessia asked, clearly frustrated by the situation.

"Can you give me your purse?"

Fernando asked, and Alessia, confused, handed it to him.

"Help me hold her," he said, and Alessia took the young woman from him, holding her head on her shoulder as she watched her husband search through her bag.

After a moment, he pulled out a card and inserted it between the door frame.

"What are you doing?" Alessia asked while still holding Camilla.

"I'm trying to open the door," Fernando replied simply.

Alessia looked at him in confusion. "I can see that you're trying to open the door, but how is using a card going to open it?"

"Ugh," Camilla groaned, drawing Alessia's attention back to her. Alessia soothingly ran a hand down her back.

Camilla's body felt heavy and tired, her eyelids drooping as exhaustion consumed her.

"I've seen this in movies, this is how they do it," Fernando said, in response to Alessia's question.

"Okay, but hurry up. We don't have much time," Alessia replied.

With a 'click', Fernando turned the handle and pushed the door open, revealing a luxurious suite with a beautiful king-sized bed covered in silk sheets and plush cushions.

Fernando immediately took Camilla from Alessia and placed her on the bed. She continued to complain about the heat she was feeling.

"Turn on the air conditioner, it's hot in here," she said, as she suddenly sat up and tried to remove her gown.

"Hey, wait! Wait!" Alessia shouted, reaching out and pulling Camilla's hands away from her body, causing her to let out a loud whine.

"But I'm so hot," Camilla whined, trying to remove her gown again, but her mother held her hand firmly in place to prevent her from doing so.

"Fernando, I think we should leave now. The pill is taking effect on her, and I'm sure it's the same with Alexander. He should be here any minute, so we should go," Alessia suggested, looking to her husband for his response.

Fernando hesitated for a moment before replying, "Okay, but are you sure she'll be alright?" He looked over at his wife for reassurance, who nodded in response. The couple then left the room together and waited in the hallway for Alexander's arrival.

Soon enough, they heard male voices approaching from down the hallway. One of the voices belonged to Alexander, who was slightly tipsy but still able to hold himself together despite the sudden arousal he was feeling. The other voice belonged to his friend, who had decided to accompany him back to his hotel room to ensure he got there safely.

"Thanks for…escorting me back here," Alexander said, slurring his words slightly as he grabbed the handle of his hotel room door. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," the dark-haired man replied. "A cold bath should do the trick. Make you feel better." 

With that, Alexander walked inside his hotel suite.

"So, what's next?" Fernando asked, turning to Alessia.

"We wait until morning…then we'll make a call to Mariah Collins, the owner of Snitch Tongue to make this newly formed relationship public," she said confidently, a grin spreading across her face.