“Giovanni…” Eleonor's surprise disappears quickly, and she untangles herself from Emily's arm to go to her husband. “Honey, I told you didn't have to come…”She approaches him and says quietly, almost in a whisper, “Why are you here?”“I couldn't let my wife come alone, right?” Giovanni holds her tightly around the waist, pulling her body against his. “Besides… this is your precious sister's engagement party… I needed to give my regards.”Emily is shaking. She rubs her eyes, certain she's having a mirage. She even discreetly pinches her skin, trying to wake up from this nightmare. Because, of course, there's no way she's awake right now. Why is this man… are you saying this man is the mobster? This tall, strong man with an angular face, marked jaw and piercing eyes… Is this the man she was supposed to marry all along?The bold smile on his lips and the stubble… the black hair straightened out back only raise the masculine features of the face… It's such a surreal appearance that it s
“Giovanni…” Eleonor's surprise disappears quickly, and she untangles herself from Emily's arm to go to her husband. “Honey, I told you didn't have to come…”She approaches him and says quietly, almost in a whisper, “Why are you here?”“I couldn't let my wife come alone, right?” Giovanni holds her tightly around the waist, pulling her body against his. “Besides… this is your precious sister's engagement party… I needed to give my regards.”Emily is shaking. She rubs her eyes, certain she's having a mirage. She even discreetly pinches her skin, trying to wake up from this nightmare. Because, of course, there's no way she's awake right now. Why is this man… are you saying this man is the mobster? This tall, strong man with an angular face, marked jaw and piercing eyes… Is this the man she was supposed to marry all along?The bold smile on his lips and the stubble… the black hair straightened out back only raise the masculine features of the face… It's such a surreal appearance that it s
Giovanni's makes it clear that he's saying, in other words, that Josh should be worrying about his bride, not looking at Eleonor with such a pathetic expression.Sensing the mood, Eleonor changes the subject.“It's a relief… I thought that due to my sudden marriage, you might resent me…” Eleonor says, a little deflated. Of all people, the Henderson were the only ones who treated her sincerely, and didn't use twisted words and false flattery to humiliate her. Somehow, she felt like part of the family.Maybe it's silly that her former self, so hungry for affection, accepted Josh's feelings for something she didn't get at home… something his family could offer. But despite everything, they were never able to fill the hole that was in Eleonor's chest. And cruelly and ungratefully, she was also capable of forgetting the existence of this very kind couple, as she immersed herself in the new life. How couldn't she feel such guilt?“We can understand why we weren't invited to the ceremony… we
“I've been wondering… when is the wedding?” Eleonor asks with a kind smile, after sipping her juice. Her unexpected refusal of wine and champagne caught Giovanni's attention, but he kept quiet.Now that they were all at the table, talking, with a silly smile on their lips and without worries, Eleonor was able to look closely at the guests. In addition to the Henderson family, who are seated next to Eleonor and Giovanni, and from the Evans — who are naturally the hosts and therefore are at the head of the table, with James sitting in the most prominent position… On the table, there is also the Blake, Emily's maternal family, who didn't bother to send a single representative to Eleonor's wedding. In addition, other families with important business connections to the Evans are present, some who even treated Eleonor with contempt.“We haven't set a date yet…” Emily gives her sister a smile across the table and takes Josh's
“Oh, but now that I think of it… what are we going to do? Emily loves traditional weddings… It may not seem like it because she's shy about it, but she’s very sentimentalist…” Eleonor pretends to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. “Emmy, if I had known you were getting married, I would have kept my wedding dress, so you could wear it…”“What? What are you saying suddenly, sister?” Emily tries to hide her cranky tone, but her shaky voice doesn't go unnoticed by Josh.“Emmy, there's no need to be embarrassed, we're here in family, right?” Eleonor uses her sweetest, most sly tone. “You told me that your dream was to marry in the dress that someone important to you wore before…”“When did I say that?” Emily struggles to follow the same tone, but it comes off as just unnatural. In the eyes of others, she just seems like a shy girl who doesn't want her
Eleonor splashes water on her face, trying to compose herself. Just a few moments ago, she had been throwing up everything in her stomach. Now, looking in the mirror, she can see the paleness in her face that even makeup can't disguise. After feeling bad for so long and being so sensitive, she can no longer deny that something is wrong. There are only two options… either she's sick, or she's pregnant. Still, Eleonor can't pull up the courage to take the test, which is well hidden in her belongings. Her priority at the moment is focusing on her revenge. As water droplets trickle down her face, Eleonor's green eyes focus on the male figure through the mirror's reflection. The man, who's leaning against the wall, watches her carefully with some amusement. It's not a very familiar face, and she's certain that he wasn't sitting at the table. But Eleonor manages to recognize him, as it hasn't been that long since they first met. “What are you doing here?” Eleonor asks without taking her
“Can we go home?” Eleonor looks at Giovanni with tired eyes. Giovanni can see that she's on the edge just by looking at her face.“Of course, love.” Giovanni caresses her face and kisses her forehead, asking permission to say goodbye to the other guests, especially Mr. Henderson, who has been talking to him for a long time.Eleonor looks around, looking for Theodor Marchetti in the crowd, but he really is nowhere to be found. She sighs because, somehow, he actually managed to get into her mind and make her feel uneasy. Ever since poker night, she'd been thinking about it. This man is really dangerous and hard to read.“Oh… You don't look very well, daughter.” Erica approaches with a high-pitched voice, putting on the mask of a worried mother.“I'm fine, Mother… just a little tired. Do not worry.” Eleonor gives her a sweet smile, which doesn't falter even as Erica moves even closer — so close that she can see her mother's wrinkles.“If you're tired, why burden yourself? You can leave t
In the car, Eleonor remains silent, watching the scenery pass before her eyes through the window. Now that she's away from those people's attention, Eleonor feels like she can finally breathe again. Surely, she should be happy that her plan had worked out so well.Her main goal was to steal attention for herself. And she succeeded because from the moment she set foot in the Evans' garden, she was targeted with all kinds of looks. Some looked at her inquiringly, others aggressively, judging her for wearing such an inappropriate dress for an engagement party. But evenly, Eleonor could sense that she was the target of lust and curiosity. Her first step was to use something hideous to destabilize Emily and her mother.Then, she would use the small talk, which she learned in order to survive in high society, and use it at her favor. Thanks to that, Eleonor not only managed to steal the spotlight, but also achieved her second and main objective — to take control of this marriage. That was d