amore [ #1 ]

viii | now that we don't talk

amore
[ chapter eight ]

♥

DETACHED.

That's how I feel—detached from reality. Another day, another party, and I think I'm starting to lose my mind at these things. It's the same cycle every week, the same faces, the same forced smiles, and the same questions at every event.

It was all a show, and I knew it. We were here to put up appearances, to convince everyone we are a happy family and I'm not saying we're not happy because we are. My father tries his best to make the things he does seem a little less bad, but he is who he is, and this life is all I've ever known. It's a balancing act, smoothing over the cracks just enough to keep up the image. Sometimes I think he even believes it, that he's convinced himself this is enough. But deep down, he knows better.

It's all about power and control. That's what my family's world revolves around, even if we dress it up to look like legitimate success. My family spent years building this empire, covering the dirt and blood with layers of respectability, so when people see us, they don't think of what we've really done.

I've watched it all my life. Learned how to play the game, how to navigate this world without letting it swallow me whole. But sometimes, when I'm standing here in rooms like this, I wonder what it would feel like to let the mask slip.

I stared up at the sky, watching the white clouds drift by on the horizon. The chatter from the party buzzed in the background, but it felt distant, like I wasn't really there. Just another face blending into the backdrop, nodding along to whatever conversation I wasn't really listening to.

What was I even doing here?

"Athena."

I pressed my lips together, turning around after a beat of silence. There he was, standing just a few feet away, dressed to the nines in a sleek black suit. The top button of his shirt was undone, just enough to reveal a glimpse of ink on his chest. I smiled, nodding my head in acknowledgment. "Mr. Parisi."

Alexander's eyes flicked over me, face, chest, hips. There was something unreadable in his expression. He looked to the side, avoiding my eyes for a moment. "Still with that, huh?"

I raised an eyebrow, "I figured it was only fair since we're maintaining a strictly professional relationship from now on."

He nodded once, his jaw tightening. "Right. Yeah."

It was just sex. I knew what type of man Alexander was, so I didn't expect anything less coming from a man like him. I think I'm disappointed. Maybe more than I should be, but that's beside the point.