𝑴𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒄𝒆 | 𝒈𝒙𝒈

𝑭𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔

I spent the entire day actively avoiding Gillian and James Carmichael. I made sure that we were at the beach with Wy, H and Gus when they arrived at the mansion. Then, when we had no choice but to head back, I ran through the corridors like a secret agent on a mission, making everyone think I was insane.

Turns out there were more women, at least ten that I know of, thanks to my very talented PI. The youngest was 19, an intern at CI and a massive potential lawsuit. The oldest was 35, Pilates instructor, so very cliche of my father.

"Lex is everything okay?" Em's soft voice pulled me back to reality as her delicate fingers wrapped around my hand, taking it in hers.

"Yeah I just zoned out, sorry" I said apologetically before carrying on with applying my mascara. I was already dressed in a white dress that clung to my body, paired with gold jewelry that—according to Em—made my eyes pop.

"Can I help you with anything?" She offered but I shook my head no, it was still sweet even if we both knew she couldn't help me. I was the one in charge of making us both look all dolled up, Em just sat there and waited for me to finish.

"I'll be done in a minute" It wasn't a lie, per se, just not very accurate.

It took me about five minutes to finish my makeup, which wasn't too bad in Alex time. On our way to the dining room we stopped by Heather and Wyatt's rooms, then we all went together.

The table was beautifully set, as usual. White napkins, our finest china, and silverware that shined all the way to Mars. The table wasn't too large this time, as both Heather and Wyatt's parents weren't able to make it. Wy's parents were busy with running their production company, and H's parents were stuck in Thailand due to the weather.

"Tesoro, puoi aiutarmi?" (Honey, can you help me?) Nonna asked and I immediately walked over to the kitchen, Em and Gus followed behind me, coming to help as well.

We carried the large dishes to the table before taking our seat, I placed the lasagna close to me on purpose. If I was going to keep my mouth shut, I had to stuff it with food. And wine, lots and lots of wine.

"This is amazing" Em whispered in my ear after trying the seafood risotto, my lips involuntarily curled into a smile. So far everything has been delicious as usual, but seeing Emily devour the food made me happy. Maybe I was destined to be an Italian grandmother.

The adults had their own conversations, probably about business and the election and how to get even richer than we already were.

Us "kids" talked mostly about school, and Gus was telling us about life in England, and how life in boring Oxford was different than living in London.

Ben seemed bored out of his mind at first, but Em seemed to notice and she's been talking to him ever since. Now, he was grinning from ear to ear and telling Em about a girl in his class that he thinks likes him.

Needless to say that the only attention I got from Em after she started talking to Ben was when she accidentally stepped on my toe under the table.

"I'd like to say a few words" I heard my father's voice and my eyes darted in his direction. He had his best fake smile on, and the way he looked at my mom probably made everyone think he thinks he won the jackpot by marrying her. Too bad I'm the only one who knows the truth.

"I could stand here and talk your ear off, but I'll make it short this time" He flashed another playful smile, I downed my wine in response.

"I just wanted to say that I am very grateful that we're all here tonight, celebrating together" He carried on with his speech, complimenting Nonna for the food, talking about grandpa and Richard, mentioning how well business has been.