Mafia Ties & LA Skies

Chapter 6 - Matteo

Eliza is just as fierce as I remember her. Her golden blond hair is still in that half-pinned bun, giving her the look of a high-powered executive ready to pounce on a deal. Not much has changed about her since college. She still wears those professional-looking pantsuits and high-heel pumps, and her makeup is done subtly, highlighting her natural beauty. She's always managed to look like a boss, and not just a boss's daughter. Driven, focused, beautiful. These are the qualities I admire most in a woman, and Eliza is no exception. Not to mention those fiery eyes of hers, shooting flames straight at me, daring me to react.

I struggle to keep my composure as she berates me about where we stand. Her scolding voice has a way of making my heart race, and it doesn't help that her sheer white blouse is unbuttoned just enough to tease some cleavage. I force myself to meet her gaze, trying to distract myself from the other parts of her that demand my attention. "Understood," I finally manage, my voice more strained than I intend.

Her dark amber eyes pierce through me, questioning what's going on behind my own façade. It may have been a decade, but I can still see when she's not entirely herself. There's some inner struggle beneath that fiery exterior. But that's all I've ever known from her, the wall she's always held up, even when we dated. Asking her outright if she's okay won't reveal anything. She'll just keep pretending like there's nothing wrong. But beneath that rigid exterior, I vaguely sense a hint of vulnerability.

I remind myself that she has someone else to lower those defenses for her now. A fiancé. This "Dr. Taeho Kim" I've heard so much about from my sister. For some reason, his name always hits a nerve. I've never felt comfortable keeping up with news about Eliza, but Nicole has a tendency to bring it up. Even in passing, the news of Eliza's engagement to a strait-laced doctor from South Korea got under my skin. At the time, my relationship with Ava was on the rocks, and Eliza's life seemed to be going perfectly. I hated knowing she had moved on like that, but there was nothing I could do about it. Her life was hers, and I couldn't interfere even if I wanted to.

Still, knowing she was able to move on so quickly after our fallout left me questioning everything about our time together. Was it all for nothing?

As she storms off toward the car, agitated and full of fire, I can't help but wonder if she ever thought of me as much as I thought of her after I left. I didn't exactly make it easy for her to forget me. But the way she just spoke to me, it seems unlikely she ever cared.

I close the house door behind her after James escorts her safely into her father's black Escalade.

"I'm sorry," Geraldo's baritone voice rumbles from behind me, breaking the silence. "This must have been a lot for her to take in. I wasn't expecting this meeting to happen until tomorrow."

"It's fine," I reply halfheartedly, still processing everything.

"She'll come around."

I give him a slight nod, trying to comprehend this entire situation. The way he speaks, so assured, makes me question the underlying dynamics at play.

"Come, we have much to discuss," Geraldo says, gesturing for me to follow him.

We make our way through the grand entrance, the marble columns towering over me, even at my 6'3" stature. It's been years since I've set foot in this house, and some things haven't changed. The vast emptiness looms over me, each step echoing in the cavernous space. I find myself wondering when this place ever felt alive.

As we walk through the open-concept living room and out towards the garden, my mind drifts back to Eliza. Thoughts of the beautiful blonde woman I once knew swirl in my mind, and I find myself struggling to focus on the task at hand.