Page 22 of Velvet Chains

"Well, what she was holding was my underwear. When she realized that, her face turned red instantly. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen."

"Cute? More like the most embarrassing thing you had ever seen." I sneered.

"It was cute. You should have seen her. Once she realized what it was, she threw it at me so fast you'd have thought it was on fire." Vincenzo's voice was genial and one look at Sarah told me that she had bought the story.

So Vincenzo went on with his version of our meet cute, weaving a romantic fantasy tale, one that I knew could never happen to me.

Every time I spoke, Vincenzo would give me a weird look which I often ignored, then he would continue. I wanted to run away, but I couldn't do that. I had to face what I was doing and take some control of it.

I felt awful about lying to my best friend and I didn’t want to make it worse with a ridiculous love story. So, while Vincenzo's words painted a picture of a whirlwind romance, full of charm and passion, my additions to the story were opposing, trying to make the whole story sound less "dreamy," and more in my league. I wanted it to seem like meeting Vincenzo was just something that happened, not destiny or something that was meant to be. I needed a semblance of normalcy.

Vincenzo continued to look confused, even a little sad sometimes. He believed that I deserve a dreamy love story, and probably wondered why I didn’t like the idea of painting one to my friends. I turned away from his gaze, already seeing too much, I would explain when we were alone.

“So, when's the engagement party? But, most importantly, where?” Sarah finally asked once we finished telling the story. Her eyes were shining with excitement. She had definitely bought the whole surreal love story we told her.

It made my heart hurt to see how happy she was for me. On the other hand, Mark looked like I had punched him in the gut. He kept looking at me in shock, like I had somehow betrayed him. That pissed me off and made me feel sick to my stomach. He had no business looking at me like that, especially since he was married to my friend. I stole a glance at Sarah and let out a small sigh of relief when I saw that she hadn't noticed how weird her husband was acting.

“We're having our engagement party at the end of the week. We would be honored to have you as our guests, if your schedule and permanence in Palermo allows it.” Vincenzo's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I was shocked, and all of us at the table turned to look at him. I didn't know what he was getting at, but I didn't like that he suddenly sprang that on me.

“Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss it for the world!” Sarah exclaimed and with that, it seemed like everything was set. I found myself fidgeting with my ring again, grappling with the fact that the end of the week was in two days.

I could see that Mark’s face turned ugly when he heard that, but I didn't pay too much attention to him, my twisting up in knots. We only had two days until the engagement party, and I felt a bubble of panic rise within me. Everything seemed to be spinning out of control.

The rest of the meal went by uneventfully. The only strange thing was how much Mark was drinking. He drowned his first glass of wine like water and finished another two glasses just as fast.

“I better stick to juice, it looks like Mark is drinking for two.” Sarah, bless her heart, was being a good sport about it. I had to stop myself from glaring at him for his embarrassing behavior.

“I need to go to the restroom,” I finally said. I walked briskly to the toilet, and when I was done, I washed my hands, then headed back to our table. I only managed to take a few steps when I felt a hand wrap around my arm and pull me to a relatively hidden corner of the ornate main sala.

My first instinct was to panic and try to hit the person. My mind began to run wild, thinking that it could be one of Vincenzo's enemies.

“Shh, Izzy. It's just me. Calm down.” The words were said in the familiar tone, accompanied by the wave of alcohol that told me that this was Mark.

“What's wrong with you, Mark? You scared me.” I said, straightening up and yanking my arm out of his grasp.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk."

"About what?"

“Izzy, I just needed to tell you I'm sorry for everything. I didn't realize what I had until it was too late.” He suddenly said, and I felt my jaw drop. I stood there for a few seconds, stunned as I tried to make sense of the emotions warring within me.

“How dare you?” I finally asked through gritted teeth.

He looked confused at my words, and I found myself holding back the urge to punch him. I felt my heart break a little, but I knew I had to stand my ground. Things had gone too far to be fixed now.

“Mark, you're married now. You need to focus on Sarah. It's too late for… whatever you and I were.” I finally spoke, and even as I spoke, I felt terrible. Standing there, talking to Mark, made me feel disgusting, like I was betraying my friend. I turned around to leave.

“Please Izzy, just hear me out…” He stopped me in my tracks with a hand on my arm. Luckily enough, before I could respond, we were interrupted.

“Mark, Sarah was worried about you. You should head back to our table. Isabelle and I were just about to leave.” Vincenzo said coldly through clenched teeth. His gaze wandered between the two of us, and he must not have liked what he saw because his eyes darkened. He pulled me into his arms and placed his hand on my waist in a possessive, yet gentle way.

Mark stared at Vincenzo's arm in a daze, and before I could say anything, Vincenzo spoke again.

“We'll see you at our engagement party,” he said, right before he pulled me away.

On the drive home, he turned to look at me, I felt my heart pounding fast. I was terrified he was going to ask about what happened with Mark.

CHAPTER TWELVE

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