There was a girl named Theodora Noor. She was constantly moving around the World to different boarding schools with her father for his job.
But one unexpected day her father dies, leaving her alone with the person she thought was dead, her mother...
When we finally made it back to the castle, we all made our way to the ballroom, where most guests were mingling.
The large ballroom was overflowing with at least 300 dressed to perfection. The women were adorned with the finest jewelry and gowns, while the men wore suits tailored to perfection.
Everyone mingled together, no doubt trying to scout out their next business deal or the latest gossip, while servers, dressed to the nines, lightly treaded around them, serving the best champagne and hors d'oeuvres money can buy.
It was a scene only the extremely powerful would ever see. The Noor parties were exclusive events, and attending one meant you had something to offer. Whether that be money, fame, power, beauty, you had to have something to offer.
"Theodora, come meet my family; they are over there talking to Ms. Alexandria Noor," Alessandro said, pointing to an older couple and slightly younger couple. They were facing away from me and looking at my mom.
They all chatted, but I could see the two men, and my mother seemed quite tense. As we made our way closer, I stood with Mira as we followed behind the three boys. Though I could only see their backs, I tried to make out the people who we were talking to my mother. They seemed familiar, but I couldn't put a face to them.
When we reached the group, Alessandro went first, greeting them with kisses on the cheeks. "Nonno, Nonna, Padre, Madre." He turned towards my mother and greeted her with a smile and a handshake, "Good evening Ms. Noor; the ball looks beautiful as always."
"Thank you, Alessandro; where did you all run off to," she said, glancing at Afanasy, Maxence, Mira, and me. She took a double-take once she realized I had somehow ended up with them and seemed to be questioning the situation before her.
"Who's this Alessandro," a familiar voice said. I felt my blood run at the sight of them, specifically, my former boss and mafia don Giovanni.
The man I had been running from since that dreadful year in Italy, Giovanni Andriano. To say I was shocked was an understatement, but surprised, no, this is no doubt the place you would expect to see him.
I felt the goosebumps on my arms but tried to brush my anxiety away. My dad always told me that when you are in a situation that makes you scared or nervous, you have to remember Mind over matter; to be truly in charge of your emotions means to be in charge of them.
Masking my fear and slight anger, I plastered a smile. "Hi Sir, I'm Theodora Robert; I'm a friend of theirs," I said, going to shake his hand.
As he was about to respond, a waiter slipped, his tray almost flying at my head. "Theodora, watch out," my mother said, pulling me out of the way just enough for the tray to fly past my head.
Once the waiter finally gained his footing, he turned, slightly shaking to my fuming mother. "Watch it; I don't want my guests hurt by your inability to hold a tray," my mother said whisper yelling at the poor server. He looked scared. "I'm s-sorry, madam. It was an a-accident."
We all watched as she took a deep breath, calming down. "Go on, go clean yourself up." The waiter nodded "thank you, madam. It won't happen again."
As he scurried off, Giovanni laughed at the poor waiter. "I'm Giovanni Andriano; I'm Alessandro's grandfather, and this is my wife, Elena. This is my daughter, Azzurra, and her husband Benjamin; they are Alessandro's parents."
I had to stop myself from scoffing at Giovanni's lack of empathy. "Nice to meet you all," I said while once again plastering my fake smile and going to shake all of their hands.
When I went in to give Alessandro's Nonna, Elena, a handshake, she pulled me into a loving hug. To be honest, I missed her hugs. She was like my grandma and having to say goodbye was harder than I thought.
Besides Giovanni being my ex-boss, he was like a grandfather to me... that was until he made it clear I was his prized fighter, nothing more, nothing less.
Elena was a sweetheart, she was like a grandmother, and if it weren't for everything, I would probably still call her my Nonna.
Elena turned to me and gave me a once over quizzically, "You seem so familiar, dear. Have we met before? I swear we have." She looked at me so intently, like she could read my every thought.
"I don't think so, Ma'am. This is my first year at the school," She continued to watch me, seeming to not trust my claim. "Well, we don't want to hold you, young people, up. Go on and have fun." She said, shooing us away.
As we walked away, we made our way to the bar to get some drinks; the perc of a private ball is the limitless alcohol. We all ordered our drinks and started to make our way to the ballroom.
By the time we got there, we had finished our drinks. Alessandro grabbed my hand and slightly bowed as a tradition before asking, "Can I have this dance, my lady."
Slightly bowing, I responded, "Of course."
He put one hand on my waist, and I put on hand his shoulder as our other hands joined together.
(Like the photo shown below)
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As we danced, I looked into his eyes; it felt peaceful, like I could stay here forever. We watched each other for what seemed like forever until I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I turned around to Viper behind me, smirking his evil little grin. "Well, hello, darling."
"What are you doing here?"
*Alessandro POV*
She looked stunning. The way her dress flowed and the crystals sparkled around her caught the eyes of many, but her eyes never left mine; she seemed worry-free.
After spending quite a bit of time with her, I started to realize she was always putting up this facade. She did it so well, like she had been doing this her whole life, which wouldn't surprise me.
An approaching figure brought me out of my thoughts.
Viper?
A/N: I think I'm going to start updating every Sunday or Saturday... if I'm motivated:) Anyways enjoy the chapter; please don't forget to vote and comment!!!
