Page 134 of The Devil's Fire

Giovanni: I am telling Damiano ;)

Althaia: Shut it.

I looked back at my mother; her face brightened with happiness.

“It’s still new…” I trailed off, feeling completely awkward.

“No reason to hurry! At least I know he’s a good kid.”

“He’s a good guy.” I smiled.

Giovanni: Damiano is going to love this.

I quickly flipped him off when my mother wasn’t looking, which only made him smirk.

“How’s Cara? Is she doing all right?” My mother asked as we finished dinner with dessert.

“Yeah, she’s good. Quite demanding with her endless list of things she wants to have done for the wedding, but she deserves it.” I chuckled, and my mom gave a small nod.

“Which one is she marrying again?”

“Lorenzo.”

“Hmm.”

“Something’s wrong?”

“He’s the younger brother, right?” She asked. I just nodded, confused about where she wanted to go with it. “I was just wondering why she is getting married to the younger brother and not the oldest… But I guess it’s for the best. I heard he’s quite the monster, and that’s saying it mildly.” She scoffed.

I felt myself frowning when she called Damiano a monster, but I had to be careful with my words.

“I wouldn’t say that. I’ve met him a few times, and he seems … nice?” I was beating myself mentally for being such an idiot. Out of all the words in the world, I settled on nice.

“Are you making jokes now?” My mother frowned.

“I just mean that he hasn’t done anything to me to think otherwise, so…” I trailed off when I should have just shut the fuck up already.

“Be careful. Don’t get too close to him. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Or I swear to God, I will kill him with my own two hands.” Her voice was low and threatening. I looked at her in shock, and I noticed Luca and Giovanni react as well at the mention of my mother promising to kill their Boss.

“Don’t worry, I will stay away.” I tried to give her a reassuring smile as guilt flooded me. I didn’t want to lie to her, but now I could hear there was no way she would approve of me being with Damiano.

“You have been working really hard lately, mom. How about you take some time off while I take over?” I tried to change the subject.

“Yeah? I have been thinking about it, going away for a week or something. My back has been killing me lately.” My mother sighed.

“I know. I feel bad for leaving you alone with all of this. You and Mrs. Park can go somewhere nice, get drunk, and have massages. Maybe get laid for once.” I snickered, and she did not look amused when I said the last part.

“Eat your cake.” She said sternly. I laughed when she mumbled about me being a cheeky child.

We sat quietly and chatted as we finished our desserts. Then my mother’s eyes kept drifting towards Luca and Giovanni. At first, I didn’t think anything of it as she casually scanned the restaurant, her eyes darting from person to person. But this time, she took a few extra moments to study them closely. For so long that Luca even made eye contact with her and gave her a small smile and nod, to which she returned.

Nervousness crept over me. Did she figure out who they really were?

“Want to leave?” I asked, trying to distract her.

“Sure. Let me just use the restroom before we leave.” She rose from her seat. Before she walked to the restroom, she looked at Luca and Giovanni with a big smile.

“I apologize for staring at you earlier, I wasn’t trying to be rude. I’m just very happy that we live in a time where we can love whomever we want. And if I may say, you two look absolutely gorgeous together!”

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