Page 69 of Frayed Bonds

My phone rings beside Nat, and before I can jump to retrieve it, she has it to her ear answering it.

“Val’s phone, Natalia speaking,” she says in her sweetest tone. “Oh hey Antonio,” she smirks up at me. “No, we’re not doing anything tonight, what’s up?”

Immediately, I’m shaking my head and hands. “I have to work on my commission,” I mouth to her.

My lack of creativity, or as I like to call it, painter block, has been making starting this commission incredibly difficult. It needs to scream passion, and right now, my brain is barely whispering it.

“Yeah, we'd love to come to The Vice to celebrate with you guys, see you then.” She hangs up and faces me with an innocent smile

“We are not going.”

“Yes, we are. He said they're all going to be there, which means Ambrose as well. Besides, I think it’s good after the realisation you just had. You need to be sure, and hanging out in a public setting around close friends can show you what he’s truly like.”

That does leave me quiet, contemplating, and unfortunately, Nat takes my silence as compliance. Before I have the chance to say no again, she’s dragging me by the wrist up the stairs.

Chapter twenty-six

Ambrose

“Adriano, I could not give a flying fuck about being here right now.” I sigh over the same glass of whiskey I've been nursing for the last hour.

“What is wrong with you? This is the biggest news for Vitale Holdings since Papá died and even long before that, it’s major. It’s the expansion we need right now,” he explains.

Deep down, I know my out-of-the-ordinary behaviour is raising some red flags around the room—especially with my brothers. Adriano is right, this is exactly what we need and it proves all the media wrong about everything they've said about me, especially since I brought Horatio to the table in the first place.

Technically Valerie did.

There it is. The reason for my sour mood. The media may have to eat their words, but all I care about are hers and whether I truly can prove her wrong.

God, I want to. I’ve never wanted anyone to be wrong so badly in my life.

I never want her to question it again, because God knows I belong to her.

“Ambrose,” Adriano snaps.

“What?”

“Diego is here, fix your mood and pretend to be happy or more people are going to notice and start questioning it.” He leans until he's next to my ear. “Especially Antonio.”

He knows.

How?

My eyes scan his, but they give nothing away. How does Adriano know anything he does? Right place, right time.

When he came out with beers at Sunday dinner.

“Ambrose, here you are.” Diego pats me on the back.

His shirt buttons are fighting for their lives again as they struggle to hold the thin fabric together. You would think for a man with his kind of money he’d be able to have a perfectly tailored suit, but I suppose we all spend our money differently.

“Good to see you, Diego, glad you could make it.” I plaster on a perfect smile.

Gus and Antonio greet Diego in a similar way to me, with fake smiles, overly polite, as if we all weren’t talking shit about him hours ago.

“Thank you for inviting me. This is Skye, my fiancé.

As the words leave his lips, a tiny girl with pitch-black hair appears in a dress that leaves barely anything to the imagination. From the corner of my eye, I can see all of my brothers try to disguise their surprise before we all offer her a curt smile.

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