I should be falling over my feet, vying for his attention. I imagined every other woman in the room shooting me dirty looks as they drooled after him.
Would my opinion of him have been different if I’d never met Nikolai? If my heart wasn’t already spoken for, would I be one of the many women chasing after him?
Although I’d never been attracted to blondes before, we’d never know what might’ve been. Although I knew with one hundred per cent certainty that if I’d never met Nikolai, I wouldn’t have ever been in the same room as Rachel Varela and Marco Bellucci.
Rachel smiled so wide I pictured her face breaking in half at any second. She stroked my arm and gave me a reassuring squeeze before turning and making her way back to Kaleb. He stood across the room watching us as he stood amongst a group of similar-looking men.
Ignoring my parents lingering eyes, I turned back to Marco. “So... you’re the famous Marco Bellucci that I’ve heard so much about.”
Lie. I’d literally heard fuck all about him. I tried to think back on everything Rachel had said about him but I couldn’t remember a word, other than his name. And that he’d been shadowing his father for years… which meant that he should be knowledgeable about the goings-on inside the Bellucci empire.
“Welcome home Anastasia, this meeting has been long overdue.”
“Thank you. Can I ask you something… honestly?”
“Yes, this is my natural hair color.” He chuckled at his own joke. While it was lame, and as I eyed his blonde locks I highly doubted it, it put me somewhat at ease.
I had to admit, Marco was an attractive man. I was glad for a second that Nikolai wasn’t there, if he’d seen me alone with another man he would’ve charged right over here.
“How old were you when you found out about… all this?” Arranged marriage sounded too outdated, even though that was exactly what it was.
“I call it a business arrangement, and to answer your question, I can’t remember. I’ve just always known, for as long as I can remember.” His lips twitched into a small smile, a dimple making an appearance on his left cheek.
His lips were thin. I couldn’t stop staring at them. Nikolai’s lips were full and soft looking.
“Continuing with this honesty thing, are you not mad about it?” I knew I had to tread lightly to not tip my hand. Who knew what he would do if he found out that I didn’t want to marry him, or that I wasn’t intending to go through with it at all.
“Not really.” Marco tilted his head slightly as if he had more to say. The slight movement had his too-long hair flicking into his eyes. I couldn’t help but compare him to Nikolai, again. The man stood before me was the complete opposite of the man that had stolen my heart. Diverting my thoughts quickly, I narrowed my eyes and asked, “Anything more you wanna add to that?”
“You’ve been gone for so long, I never thought I’d have to go through with it - so it didn’t bother me. But maybe it happened that way for a reason because now, I know what’s at stake. It’s good business.” He flashed his teeth at me once again, smiling at me before he sipped his drink.
Perfect.
Good business. I was good business, that was what he’d meant and he’d somehow made it sound like it was a fucking compliment. If he kept that flattery up, I didn’t know if I’d be able to hold my big head up.
A couple approached us, standing either side of Marco, I deduced that they must have been his parents. The man was an older version of Marco down to a T. The woman while sharing the same hair color, bore no resemblance to her son. For a split-second, I even wondered if she was his mother. I let it go as Marco began the courteous introductions.
“This is my father, Cassio Bellucci. And my mother, Rosa Bellucci.” Cassio stuck out his hand, a small curve tilting his lips. It was clear to tell that Marco loved and respected his parents. I would’ve bet anything that he was their golden boy, a child that could do no harm.
If nothing else, I liked their connection. I hoped that one day my children would look at me like that. Like I’d hung the moon and the stars just for them.
“We just thought we’d stop by to introduce ourselves. We’re heading over to the bar, can we get you two anything?” Rosa asked, her eyes flickering back and forth between Marco and I.
“Thank you, but I’m good for now.” As parched as I was, I knew that I might need that excuse later on to get out of this conversation.
“I’m fine.”
“Okay, well… we’ll catch up with you later.” Rosa smiled as they pulled themselves away and made their way towards the bar.
Cassio hadn’t said a word. I wondered if I was the only one that had noticed. My skin crawled being so close to him. But hell, I couldn’t think of a distance that would have made me feel safe.
I was sure it was him. He was head of the Bellucci family, and he would’ve been since before I was born. He had the means and the motive. I had no knowledge of the extended family, yet - that was definitely something that should’ve been on my to-do list.
If Cassio wasn’t the one to order my kidnapping, I would be out of ideas because who the hell else would it have been? What it all boiled down to… he had the most to gain by my disappearance.
But how would I prove it?
My only options were to extract a confession - I’d have more of a chance extracting all of his teeth - or
