The Mafia's Obsession

Chapter 4: The Romano Ball

Principessa Valeria Rossi

I was not really engaged but of course, I had convinced the D'Angelo prince that I was. And he believed me so I could not give him the satisfaction of knowing that I was not. I was just that petty so when I saw Giuseppe, I asked him to kiss me. It was nothing he hadn't done before.

"You want me to do what?" he asked, surprised by my request.

"I have to make Romeo think I'm with someone so will you please just -" I started off but I was cut off by Geo's lips crashing onto mine.

It lasted for about a second only because we both pulled away instantly. I only wanted to do it to make a point, and neither of us wanted to go there again.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Romeo and Amadeo staring at us but they were quick to turn their heads when they saw me staring back. In the other corner, Lady Romano, Geo's mother, was smiling at us like a teenager. She always had wanted us together.

I would have to explain what just happened to her whenever I could. I felt quite bad for doing that though.

"That probably made my mother very happy," he smiled, mumbling something after that was so quiet that I didn't quite catch it.

After about a minute of silence during which I kept on getting stared at by His Royal Highness Romeo, Geo spoke up again. "I have your first dance tonight, Val."

"Of course you do. How could I say no to you?" I smiled and tapped his shoulder, staring with intense hatred at the man that stood in the corner of the ballroom with his pet, Amadeo.

He looked back at me with an equal amount of disgust which I didn't care much for. All I wanted to do was stab him in the heart already.

"Hello, you two!" Becca jumped in out of nowhere, jumpscaring both of us. "You better not be trying to Valeria from me, Geo. I know where your lordship lives."

"I'll help you kill him if he even tries," I snickered followed by Becca and I ganging up on Giuseppe just for the fun of it.

"Also, by the way, that attractive man in the back keeps staring at you," Helga, our other friend, joined the conversation and commented a bit too loud and when we turned our backs to see who she was talking about, it was Romeo. "I wonder if he has a title high enough for Valeria."

"Helga, my dearly beloved friend, I apologize in advance for what I must do but," I smacked her upside the head, careful not to ruin her hair, "That is Principe Romeo. We don't like him, remember?"

"Yeah, heavens forbid Val even thinks of someone like him as attractive," Geo spat out with venom in his voice but a certain softness in his eyes.

I looked back around to see that he was still staring at us. I was quite disturbed by the events of the carriage but I was determined to have a good time at the Romano Ball and that was exactly what I was going to do. Romeo wasn't going to ruin this night for me. I'd deal with him and my task later. I had analyzed him a bit in the carriage and I knew that if I was going to carry his assassination out, I was going to have to put up with a lot more of those situations.

"Why does the prick keep staring at you? Did he do something to you?" That was the second time I got jumpscared in under ten minutes and when I jumped back to see who had just placed their hand on my shoulder, it was Niko.

Niko was glaring daggers at Romeo and if I could decipher anything from that, it was that Niko would accidentally end up killing Romeo before I even got the chance.

"I will kill him, Valeria, if I see that he's grown fond of you or if you get too close to him," he commented.

"I am trying to do the opposite," I whisper-yelled, annoyed that Niko would even entertain the idea of me not absolutely hating Romeo's guts. "I don't see you helicoptering every other female assassin as you are with me!"