Falling For Ace

Twenty-eight

I V Y

I stared at the huge mansion in front of me. It was undoubtedly the largest and most beautiful mansion I've ever seen.

"Ivy!" Isabella exclaimed, rushing towards me before pulling me in for a hug, "god, you look absolutely stunning!" I thanked her before hugging her back. Now that I think of it, I have never seen let alone been to Ace's house before.It was absolutely jaw dropping and everything about it as screaming money.

We were invited to Ace's birthday party which his parents organized for him. My eyes landed on the guests who were rushing inside, like they wanted to be the first ones to arrive. they were all dressed in expensive outfits; the men were wearing sits while the women had their revealing dresses on.

Breaking the hug, Isabella shot me a tight smile, "let's go in. Mason's waiting for us inside as are your parents." My parents decided to leave the house early in order to help Rose with the decorations as Rose hated having maids do everything in her place.

Isabella had a blue glittery knee-length dress on while I was wearing a thigh split red dress with matching red heels which my mom forced me to wear in order to put on a good impression.

We made our way inside the mansion. I had to refrain myself from gasping when I saw how beautiful inside was. We were standing in a large room which was filled with tables, chairs, balloons, sweets, drinks, lights and tons of other decorative stuffs. It seemed like it was the party of the year judging by the amount of guests and how well they were dressed up. It didn't look like a birthday party at all.

"You girls look fabulous." Rose complimented with a smile, "I hope you enjoy yourselves tonight."

"Thanks, Rose. You look splendid, as always." Isabella replied while I only nod in response with a smile before we walked further into the house.

My eyes scanned the place for Ace. We haven't spoken at all in the past two days. The last time I saw him was when we were in that club two days ago. Usually, he'd come to meet Mason every night and they'd spend hours playing video games with me but he didn't come.

"Damn, baby, you look hot." I heard the familiar voice of Mason and Isabella's chuckles, "thanks, honey. You don't look too bad yourself." Turning around, I was met with Mason who was facing Isabella and had his hands on her waist while she was fixing his tie. Mason was wearing a blue suit, matching Isabella's dress.

"Hey baby sis." Mason grinned, letting go of Isabella, "you look like a princess."

"Thanks Macy. Where's Ace?" I asked, knowing that he'd know where he waa considering he was his best friend. However, a frown was placed on my face when he shrugged and replied, "I don't know. Haven't seen him since morning."

"The birthday boy is late to his own party." Rose approached us, holding a glass of wine in her hands, "unbelievable, isn't it?"

"That's Ace for you," Vincenzo added, standing beside his wife, "being late is his speciality." I couldn't help but notice the bags under Rose's eyes. She did a good job covering them but you could still see them if you look close enough. Her eyes were also slightly red. My eyes flickered from Rose to Vincenzo who also had bags under his eyes. It wasn't much visible, definitely paler than those of Rose's. He placed an arm around her shoulder and squeezed it in a comforting matter as Rose leaned in to his touch, needing the comfort.

Something was clearly wrong. Nobody else would've noticed it—like Mason and Isabella who were smiling, obvious to the tension in the air. But I did, I wasn't dumb.

Izzy and Mason walked away after excusing themselves, leaving me alone with Ace's parents. I tilted my head to the side, looking at them, "something's clearly wrong."

"What?" Vincenzo's head shot up, "what makes you think so?"

"For starters, Rose has bags under her eyes which are also red," I pointed out and watched as Rose's eyes widened slightly, probably shocked that I noticed. Then I nodded in Vincenzo's direction, "you've got pale bags under your eyes as well."

My relationship with Ace's parents were strong, like really strong. They loved me as if I was their own daughter and the feeling was mutual. They were really nice people. Even though, Vincenzo was a mafia leader, a man who had undoubtedly killed more than I could count, I didn't care.

My brother was in this. I was too at some point but nobody has to know that yet.

"It's nothing to worry about," Vincenzo assured, "go enjoy the party. Ace should be here anytime."