Chapter 4 - Derek's POV

Derek’s POV

She was thinner than the last time I saw her, she had already been so frail, how the fuck could she possibly have lost more weight?

She was taller obviously but still nothing more than a child in front of me. Strands of her wavy, dark blood red hair were tied up in a messy bun which ached to be pulled open and cascade in waves down her shoulders.

 Her delicate, lean arms were clad in a fitting red shirt and I caught a slight show of prominent collarbones sculpted so perfectly they were fit to be hangars for Gucci clothes and a waist so narrow it could fit in my one hand. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable but I couldn’t help but behold each and every part of her for as long as I could. 

Then my mother decided that it was a good time for me to catch up with the gossip of the wives of the mafia and their “very” exciting life and then continued to engage me in some very boring conversation. I nodded at the right moments and mmhed and aahed along.

I couldn’t help but frown when I realised that Lia had been looking down at her shoes since I’d taken my seat. The least she could do was let me look at her face. 

I didn’t think I could take any more of this. I’d returned after years and this was the welcome I got from her after saving her life? 

But then she looks up and I know she does it unknowingly because she quickly freezes and looks away again. 

This was getting ridiculous. This wasn’t the Lia I’d known. The Lia I’d known would’ve squealed in joy at the sight of me and thrown her arms around me, not caring if anyone thought it inappropriate of her to do so.

“My son and brother have single-handedly managed to accomplish what many of my men and associates couldn’t and now there is finally peace between us and the Denaros. This peace has brought us incredible trade and business opportunities. There is now easy passage for our products where there was once surveillance to stop our products from passing through, profits have doubled and tripled, business is booming and the Clifford’s name has been solidified even more as one of the most prominent mafia families in all of mainland USA. And it is all thanks to the heir of this family and my very own son, Derek.”

 If I had to hear a word more of this bullshit speech, I was going to pummel my father into oblivion. The real work had been done by my uncle Edwin and he had hardly even mentioned his name.

There wasn’t even anything to numb my senses, this white wine tasted more like sweet water than alcohol to me.

******

Finally, the old man decided to shut up and the feast began which is when I realised that they’d given Lia the job of the taster. My father and I were going to have a long fucking talk after this dinner was over…. I’d asked one thing of him and he couldn’t even give me that. 

As if I didn’t have enough things to be frustrated about, it seemed like it was a great struggle for Lia to walk toward me, like my mere presence was revolting. What the fuck was wrong with her?

When she leaned toward me to taste my food, I finally got a glimpse of her beautiful face, unfortunately, marred by a frown instead of the huge smile she used to give me every time I looked at her.

She still had the same small face, just her cheekbones were sharper now, and her skin under the light illuminants of the chandelier appeared to be smoother and fairer than porcelain.

Then there were her vibrant hazel eyes which pulled you in and made you want to never look away, and plump red lips which she bit down on every now and then. She was nervous. Hopefully because of me.

She was irrevocably beautiful, so much more than I’d imagined her to be. 

There was just one problem, she seemed intent on ignoring my presence. It was like she didn’t even remember me. But she couldn’t possibly forget…. no, there was no way she could forget. 

I gripped the glass of wine in my hand when I noticed that whilst leaning and bending downward to taste the food, she was simultaneously leaning away from me.

It took all the self-restraint I had in me to not wrap my arms around her and feel her warmth engulf me, the feel of her being so close to me had never ever failed to put a smile on my face. I couldn’t help but smirk when I noticed her hand shake a bit and spill a bit of soup from the spoon. Forgotten or not, I still affected her. 

******

The feast had been going on for a while and I’d just received an alert concerning transportation involving our drug cartels. It could be a big issue if another gang was involved, it didn't matter if it was small time. 

But after a few calls, I learned it was only a few local thugs trying to create a ruckus.

Astonished to find that it was already 8, I was about to dig into my food when my eyes started searching for red hair and I grew increasingly irritated when I realised there was none to be found.

Frowning, I was just about to gulp down more of the sweet water but the door to the banquet room suddenly burst open and a man in a blue suit followed by several other guards who were supposed to be on patrol outside entered. 

Blue suit whisper-yells something at my father moving his hands around frantically, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. 

“Boss, we’ve got an anonymous tip that the food’s poisoned.” Blue suit whispers low enough for the guests not to hear but Uncle Edwin and I do hear and instantly drop our forks and motion to the rest of the family to do the same.

“Everyone! You’ll have to excuse me and my family for today. It seems that something important has come up,” Waylen got up from his seat, strict composure in place, making it seem like we had some callup for a meeting or something instead of an ambiguous tip about poisoning.

“Waiters! Please escort the guests to their respective quarters.”

The guests quickly filed out, all carrying bewildered expressions but none of them asked any questions, they knew better of course.

Once the banquet hall was empty except for me and my family and the new arrivals, father asked with not an ounce of emotion in his voice, ”Is anybody feeling faint or dizzy?”

Everyone shook their head in a vehement no. 

The door burst open…. Again.

“We found her trying to escape from the mansion and sneak out past the guards.”