Everything We Would've Been

Chapter Eight: Emilia

I woke up later than I should have. And by then everyone was running around the house, getting ready for the ball. I guess my mom didn't want to wake me up, making my already horrible anxiety even worse.

Every year my father's company alongside Leonardo's host a ball together in Milan. They tried to do it in Los Angeles and New York a couple of years ago but it didn't go as well as they wanted. The whole purpose of this ball was to kick off an excruciating month of meetings, business negotiations, deals, more parties, fundraisers, and every kind of nightmare you could think of.

Why is it so important I'd be here other than I should learn everything and meet everyone so one day I can control and lead the company? Well, for some reason these people love the idea of a family-run company. And my parents are just a power couple. I'm the element that makes them a family. They usually find and force Ember to come but I don't think they could even get a hold of her. Sometimes I think if it wasn't for Ember's constant posting on her social media, my dad would hire someone to find her, just to make sure she's alive.

The same goes for why Andre is here. Alonzo, Andre's oldest brother, and Aldo, his older brother work for the company so they'd be here anyway. Andre still respects his father enough to come to this month-long hell show. But I think he does it to rub it in his face too. I've seen Andre make deals for his own companies at these parties and meetings while his father left empty-handed.

The breakfast table was cleaned out so I headed to the kitchen to find something to eat. I was already feeling anxious so even though I desperately needed a cup of coffee I decided to have some tea with my breakfast. I was halfway through my breakfast when Andre walked into the kitchen with nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants on, yawning and rubbing his eyes, heading straight to the fridge.

Andre's a morning person and no matter what he won't sleep past eight-thirty. It was almost eleven now.

"Morning."

"Morning," I said with a smirk.

One of the things I love about this ridiculously huge mansion is that it has three different kitchens. This one is the one the family uses. There's another one equipped with professional kitchenware for caterers and big events. The last one is the kitchen their cooks use on a daily basis to prepare the meals.

"You slept in late," I said, taking a sip of my tea.

"I was exhausted," he said with a wink. "Are you drinking tea?" he asked in shock as I put my cup down.

"I'm not in the mood to have an anxiety attack before the ball."

"Shit, you're not okay, are you?" he asked carefully.

"I'll be fine. Just distract me."

Distracting me while the whole staff and our families were in full ball-mode was harder than most would assume. I kept out of the way and tried to keep myself busy. I grabbed my book and found somewhere on the grounds to sit and read for a while.

It calmed me down long enough to get ready with no problem. I showered before my hair and makeup artist showed up. I still had no idea what I was going to wear and decided I didn't care. My mom had definitely picked something elegant for me, so why worry? I knew I probably wouldn't like it.

It took them about a solid hour to do my hair and makeup while I listened to an audiobook. It was way better to listen to a heroine struggle than overthink the night ahead.

Just a few minutes after they left, there was a knock on my door and my mom and Beatrice, Andre's mother walked in. They were already dressed up and ready to make the whole ballroom swoon over them.