Page 8 of Heir of Fire
A party was exactlywhat Gianna needed. A chance to get dressed up, lose her inhibitions, and pretend she didn’t remember any of it the next day would cure her from her long dance days and her nightmare house guest.
It also gave her a chance to see Raphael, a boy she had run into at a couple of different parties who also went to Grand Willow University. She refused to bring him home or around anyone she knew, save for her best friends, mainly because Allister, Dante, and Valerio always enacted the third degree on any boy they saw her with. That usually came with an extreme line of questioning and what they called ‘roughhousing,’ which no boy could ever truly handle. If she brought him home with her, it was serious, but at this point, she was ready enough to take that step with him.
Blair, Cecilia, and Luna were somewhere with the three boys, hopefully keeping them occupied so Gianna could muster up the courage to finally introduce Raphael to them. He seemed keen on making out against the wall, letting his hands wander over her legs, her hips, anywhere he could get them.
She pushed him away slightly, captivated by the daze in his eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked, confused as to why she stopped.
“This is the fifth party we’ve been to together,” she said, running her hands through his dark hair.
“That’s awesome.” He tried to lean in again for another kiss, but she dodged it.
“My brother is here tonight, and I think you should meet him. I want to be able to go out to places other than just parties and the only way we can do that is if he likes you, so?—”
“Whoa, what the fuck? Meet your brother?” He pulled away completely, leaving her cold and empty. “What do you think this is?”
Gianna swallowed harshly, feeling her defenses rising immediately. “Your tongue was down my throat a second ago and we’ve been seeing each other. What else would I think it is?”
“Yeah, and we’ve been having fun,” Raphael said, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the music. “I thought you knew that’s all this was.”
“Why would I have thought that?” she asked, bitterness swirling through her.
“Come on, Gianna, you like to have fun.”
She narrowed her eyes dangerously. “And you like to dodge questions.”
He sighed. “You’re not the settle-down-with type of girl. That’s not a bad thing either, but I mean, come on, you love to party. Most weekends you’re seen with a new guy. I still have a ton of fun with you, don’t get me wrong, and you’re smoking hot?—”
“If you enjoy your life, I recommend you stop talking.”
Never in her life had she felt so disrespected. The audacity he had to talk to her that way, as if she wasn’t Gianna Moretti. As if she didn’t have ties to the most powerful mafia families in the world. And that seemed to snap him out of it because in no time his face was paling, as if he was ready to correct what he’d said.
She walked away without another word, shame and humiliation rocking through every fiber of her being. Was that how people viewed her? Someone to have fun with, but not someone to settle down with?
Not someone to love?
The tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she held them back. She needed to leave before anyone here saw her break down. Nothing would be worse than letting anyone know that boy’s words actually got to her.
They didn’t. No, his words didn’t remind her that maybe that was why her mother had left. Because she was unlovable. She wasn’t someone to stay for. She was temporary, not someone’s forever.
Cecilia was the first person to spot her. A bright smile on her face that changed immediately when she realized something was wrong. “Are you okay?”
“My stomach is killing me, I think I’m gonna go home,” Gianna said. The lie slipped out of her mouth effortlessly.
That seemed to bring everyone else’s attention to her. “Do you want us to come with you?” Luna asked, her brows furrowed as she made her way over quickly.
She shook her head quickly. “No, I’ll be fine. It was probably the pizza I had for lunch. You know what cheese does to me.” Gianna even threw in a small smile to convince them she was fine.
“The car should be outside. If you feel worse, text me and I’ll come home immediately,” Allister told her, kissing her forehead. He almost managed to break her with that small gesture, but she held out, nodding her head.
“I’ll be fine. Seriously, enjoy your night.”
With that, she managed to break away, taking deep breaths every step she took through the refreshing spring air. She got into the car and told the driver to head straight home, and assoon as the partition was raised, she let the tears roll down her cheeks.
Not a single sound escaped her lips, though. She had to wait until she was back in her room, in the empty house where no one would be able to hear or see her break down. Only when she was alone could she finally stop being the Gianna that everyone knew her to be.
They didn’t know that she’d slowly crumbled away from her own pressures and that her own demons were constantly trying to take over.
And they would never find out.
