~Heart of Steel~

The Dinner

Chapter 8:

Isla's POV:

I had about an hour to get ready for dinner, and my body was already tense. I didn’t like crowds, even if this wasn’t exactly a huge one. Elias had said there would be around 20 people, all of them close to the mafia. Still, it felt overwhelming. Levi, Kai, and Jenny, who lived in the house, would be there. Elias’s mother and father, along with a couple of his father’s business associates, would be at the table too.

I pulled on the dress Elias had told me to wear earlier—a simple black one that felt too tight around my chest. As I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I took a deep breath. I could do this. I had to.

By the time I made my way downstairs, the dining room was already filling up. The table stretched long, with everyone finding their seats. I found myself next to Elias, which surprised me, but I was too anxious to ask why. Across from us sat Elias’s parents, and the others took their places as well.

The moment we all sat down, Elias’s father leaned back in his chair, grinning at his son. “So, Elias,” he began, his voice carrying across the room, “how’s business?”

I could see the way Elias’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t look at his father. “Fine,” he replied shortly, not giving him much to work with.

His father wasn’t one to be deterred. “Really? That’s all you’ve got to say? Fine?”

Elias turned to talk to someone else at the table, ignoring his father’s attempt to get under his skin. “Mother,” he said, his tone a bit softer, “how’s your day been?”

His mother didn’t even glance in his direction. She continued her conversation with one of the other men, as if he hadn’t spoken at all. The awkwardness sat heavy in the air, and I could feel Elias glancing at me every now and then, but I tried not to look back.

As dinner continued, the tension at the table was unbearable. I mostly kept to myself, pushing food around on my plate, avoiding eye contact with anyone. A part of me wanted to leave, to disappear back upstairs, but I knew that would only draw attention to me. So I stayed.

Elias’s father had been drinking steadily throughout the evening, and it didn’t take long for him to start talking again. “So, Isla,” he said, his voice slurring slightly, “how are you finding everything here?”

I glanced at Elias, but he was busy talking to Levi. I didn’t know how to respond. “It’s... fine,” I said quietly.

His father grinned wider, leaning forward across the table. “Fine? Just like Elias, huh? You two are a pair.”

The others at the table chuckled, but I could hear the drunken edge in his voice. He wasn’t really joking. I nodded, not sure what else to say. The conversation moved on, but the unease stayed with me.

An hour passed, and people began to leave. It gave me the perfect opportunity to excuse myself. “I think I’ll head upstairs,” I said, standing from the table.

No one really noticed, except for Elias’s father, who gave me a lazy wave. “Good night, Isla,” he slurred. I didn’t respond and quickly made my way to my room.

Once inside, I sat on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The silence in the room was deafening, a stark contrast to the noise downstairs. I felt drained, like the life had been sucked out of me during dinner.

I sighed and rolled onto my side, wishing for something to distract me. A phone, a computer—anything to keep me busy while Elias was at work during the day. I hadn’t asked for one yet, and part of me wondered if he’d even let me have one.

As I lay there, I remembered something Elias had mentioned offhand earlier. In two months, his father would be throwing some kind of event at a ball. I was relieved when he told me I didn’t have to go. The last thing I wanted was to be around more of these people.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something else, anything else, but the weight of everything pressed down on me. The silence in this house was almost as suffocating as the noise.

Tomorrow would be another long day.