The Mafia's Heir

Chapter 40

"Hi, you must be Cynthia Russo." The woman held out a hand for me to shake. I looked at it and slowly took it. This must be the model.

"And you must be...Jung Ren." I lit up with a fake smile. "It's very nice to finally meet you."

"The feeling's mutual. I want you to meet my boyfriend, Zacharias Mathews."

"Fiancé..."The guy to her left grabbed her hand.

"Is this you indirectly proposing to me?"

"Of course."

"...Well, I guess he's my fiancé now." They laughed together. "This is our friend, Dominick King." She nodded her head to her right.

I froze upon hearing his last name. King. I swear I've heard it somewhere before. There had to be a reason why he was allowed into a mafia party. Who was he? Who was his father? Was his family even part of any mafia? That could explain why I only know the name and not any faces to associate it with.

"My brother was going to be here today, but he's taking care of the kids." Ren smiled.

I forced out a tortured chuckle. How could I compete with someone like her? She was perfect. She and her little fiancé were a prime example of relationship goals. They both had dreads and seemed to be rocking them with pride. She even seemed close with his best friend. Did they have their own little relationship?

Nothing was going in my favor right now. Youngmin wasn't at my side. Zachary was off doing God knows what. I swear this night couldn't get any worse. Lucio was gone and if she dared to ask about him, I'd for sure cry. I could hear my family and other guests mummering about Ren's arrival. She was already stealing the spotlight.

"I would like to introduce you to my husband, but he's not here at the moment," I said. "Maybe we could fi--"

"Ren?" Youngmin came from around me.

"Youngmin?" Ren laughed. "It's nice to see you again. How long has it been?"

"Some years, I'm guessing." He went in for a hug. I thought maybe the best friend or fiancé was going to stop him, but they didn't seem to care. What was going on here? Did they all know each other? Was that why Youngmin wasn't rushing after finding out about his son? "Gosh, how's Byung-chul? How's school going for him?"

"He's doing fine. Just looking after the kids."

"Kids?"

"Adopted. Zach thought it was going to be a good idea. Oh, you haven't met him personally, have you?"

Before I could have a say in the conversation, Ren, Youngmin, and Zach walked off with each other. It was just me and their friend at the door. More guests were coming in, but I don't think they wanted to talk to me tonight. When word got out that Ren was going to show up, it's like the news of Lucio flew out the window. I didn't have a heir anymore and my relationship with Youngmin was dying. Ren had everything.

"Nice...party, huh?" He shoved his hands in his pockets. I shrugged. "You and I both don't want to be here. I guess I'll go."

"I guess you will." I looked after him as he strolled away. I seriously wanted to marry him now. How could Ren know a guy who looks like that? This really had me wondering if they were in a relationship. I had to find out. It's driving me crazy.

What really surprised me was Nonno. Not only was he finally about to acknowledge me, but he looked deathly pale. Worse than he was when I'd last seen him. What was going on? Is he sick?

"Tia, how are you holding up?" he asked.

"I can't do this anymore," I whined. "How can she be so happy right now? I have nothing. I just lost my son and she's bragging about how she has kids."