Lost Lombardi

Chapter 7

Dino had no idea what type of party this was, but they said it was a family party. When Dino stayed at the Johnsons' house, they hosted family parties. During these parties, Dino had to stay in his room until the party was over. After the party ended, he was allowed to eat whatever Emily had put on his plate. She always made sure not to give Dino fancy food. After eating, Dino had to clean all the plates. He was not allowed to sleep until he cleaned everything.

Dino felt nervous about how he should behave at a family party. What was he supposed to say if those strangers asked questions? Maybe they would ignore him or pretend he didn't exist, Dino thought. He kept convincing himself that no one would pay attention to him and everything would be fine.

Dino chose to wear a comfortable T-shirt that he had bought that day and black denim jeans. He also put on some fancy-looking expensive shoes. He remembered to buy some costly body sprays with a delightful aroma. Dino was more excited about his new clothes than the party.

While Dino was downstairs, he saw the servants busy welcoming the guests. All the guests wore expensive-looking clothes, and most didn't smile. They all came in luxury vehicles, and Dino felt it was too much for one day. He stayed in a corner, hoping not to get attention from the guests.

"Dino, come here. I'll introduce you to my wife and your cousins," Nico said, catching Dino hiding behind a tall stool with a huge flower vase. Nico grabbed Dino's upper arm and dragged him to the other side of the hall.

Nico stopped near a woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She wore luxurious-looking clothes and had a diamond necklace around her neck. She also wore a perfume with a pleasant aroma.

"Aida, this is Dino, Pietro's secret creation," Nico said, smirking, and Aida smirked back. Dino felt uncomfortable with the smirking, so he smirked back at them.

"Look at him, just like his father," Aida said as she looked at Dino from different angles, bending her neck slightly to both sides. "And his mother, too," she added.

"You better not talk about his mother ever again. You know Papa doesn't want to hear about that," Nico snapped, and the woman's face changed.

"Is he?" she asked.

"Yes. Don't make Papa upset," Nico said. Dino just stood there like an idiot, not knowing what to do. He didn't even understand the conversation. He slowly tried to slip away, but Nico grabbed his hand again and dragged him to another place.

"Naldo and Abel, here's your cousin, Dino," Nico said.

"Hey, Dino, I'm Naldo. Nice to meet you," Naldo said, but he didn't look like it was nice to meet Dino. Naldo also looked like his father, handsome and tall. Dino guessed he might be in his mid-twenties based on his appearance.

"Hey, I'm Abel," the other one said. Abel seemed like a buzzkill. He looked younger than Naldo.

"I'm Dino," Dino said.

"Yeah, Papa just said you are Dino," Abel said with a stony face, staring at Dino. Dino felt embarrassed.

"So, now you guys know each other. Have fun," Nico said and left Dino with Naldo and Abel. Dino felt nervous to be around the unfriendly-looking two dudes.

"It was a shame that Uncle Pietro had a son before he married," Abel said, looking at Dino.

"Is he?" Dino asked.

"Yeah, it's you. That's why you are here," Abel said, and his tone sounded like it was Dino's fault that he was born.

"I didn't ask him to f**k before marriage. So it's not my fault," Dino said a bit angrily, and Naldo burst into laughter because of what Dino said. Abel looked at Naldo with a sour look for laughing at Dino's joke.

"Did you meet Uncle Rocco's family?" Naldo asked.

"No," Dino said, feeling a little comforted by Naldo's friendly manner of talking to him. He noticed that Abel was displeased with their interaction, so Dino continued speaking with Naldo to upset Abel further.