Page 19 of Koroleva

I was very tired of the damn party…

I received over nine hundred kisses, four hundred fifty congratulations, and a million good wishes for my fertility. Did they think I was a field where they could plant lettuce?

I was about to be arrested by the new National Police unit dedicated to forgery crimes because of all the fake smiles in those damn photos, and, to top it off, someone decided it was best to seat the adorable son of hell next to me during the entire holy meal, instead of at the kids' table.

The kid didn't open his mouth, he just gave me looks of disgust that I couldn't return because on the other side was the Capo, who kept watching my reactions.

I endured like a champ the three or four kicks that the kid accidentally let slip under the table, but after the fourth, a pinch of my nails took away his desire to continue kicking me.

My behavior might not have been what was expected of an adult, but his wasn't very kind either. If things continued this way, I would soon be running out of time to find him a boarding school, regardless of how his father might react.

I watched as Massimo leaned over to the boy and urged him to say something. Adriano pursed his lips and turned to me.

"I'm sorry about the stomping earlier."

I was bringing a piece of steak to my mouth. The little rascal was apologizing just to please his grandfather, because he didn't mention a thing about the little kicks.

I paused my motion, thinking that I also shouldn't foster a hostile environment, at least for now.

"Maybe that's your way of expressing yourself, and you have a hidden talent. We could sign you up for flamenco; with that strength in your legs, you might be a dance genius." He looked at me as if he were about to vomit the breaded steak he had just eaten.

"I hate dancing."

"What do you like?" I asked, noticing the approval on my father-in-law's face.

"Dogs, we have one."

"I'm allergic," I commented, taking the bloody piece of meat and swallowing it defiantly, almost without chewing.

His eyes widened as if he expected me to say I'd have the animal sacrificed.

"Well, then, you sleep in the doghouse, but Brutus stays." I nearly choked. Damn kid telling me to sleep in the doghouse.

"Adriano…" his grandfather warned in a cautionary tone.

"What?! She wants to kick him out, I can see it in her eyes! She's the new one! So if she doesn't like Brutus, she can leave."

The kid had guts; he almost made me smile. The truth was, I wasn't that allergic, nothing an antihistamine couldn't handle. I brought the wine glass to my lips to swallow.

"Nikita isn't going anywhere because she's your new mother," Massimo added. That almost made me choke.

"She is not my mother and never will be!" he shouted, standing up. The chair fell over due to the young boy's anger. I felt like telling him not to get upset, that we agreed on this point. I didn't want him to be my son— "She's silly, blonde, doesn't like dogs, and is dressed like a giant snowball. I hate snow! I don't like it!" "Great!"

"Adriano!" his father scolded, who was sitting on my other side. "Apologize immediately!" The boy slipped under the table and ran off. My new husband clenched his fists.

"Forgive him, bella, my grandson doesn't know what he's saying, he needs the sweetness of a woman like you." He took my hand and kissed it.

"It's okay, if there's one thing children have, it's that they are at least honest and say what they think at the moment, a pity that gets lost eventually," I added, glancing sideways at Romeo. I almost added the tail end: "as has happened with his father, who loves to deceive women." "I'm going to the restroom, if you'll excuse me." My father-in-law stood to pull back my chair and set up the one his grandson had knocked over.

I gave him a nod and left the room where I was suffocating.

All those people kept shouting, laughing, celebrating a sham I didn't feel and of which I was the protagonist.

I passed by Andrey subtly and gave him a look.

My man waited a few seconds before following the same path I had taken.

I looked for a discreet place where I could fit with that increasingly uncomfortable dress. Fortunately, there was an adjacent room that was empty; I didn't think twice and slipped in.

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