Chapter 70: 70 ~ Mira
I nearly cussed under my breath as I saw them walk in like they owned the place.
After my last encounter with his family, I looked forward to the idea of not seeing them often.
Fixing my face, I immediately sported a smile as they got closer.
"Uncle Ricardo, welcome."
"Mira," he answered like he was forced to.
I paid him no mind as I turned to his dick of a son, Enzo.
"Hello Enzo. Welcome." I said.
He grinned widely as he said, "The one and only beautiful, Mira,"
My skin crawled as he too my hand and kissed my knuckles.
"Show them to the guestrooms," Jace said to the staff, thankfully stepping in and putting his arm protectively around my waist.
I kept the fake smile until they were out of sight. Then I turned to Jace.
"Why didn’t you tell me they were coming?" I questioned in a rushed whisper.
He shrugged. "Didn’t think it was necessary."
I half expected him to say something along the lines of them showing up unannounced. But the other half that was well aware of his nonchalance and this was totally expected of him though unfair.
"I hate you it when you do stuff like this. It throws me off balance." I muttered.
"You’re a don’s wife, Mira. You’re supposed to expect the unexpected." He said in a dismissive tone and walked off.
I fumed, glaring at him as he walked up the stairs.
Yup. Everyday this man gave me more reasons to hate him more and more.
I turned to the staff, wondering why they were staring at me.
"The chef wanted to know if-"
I didn’t let her finish.
"I’m not making anything. Tell him to make sure our guests are well fed." I said and stormed up the stairs.
~~~
I stayed in my room for the most part of the day. I was hell bent on avoiding Jace’s family for as long as I possibly could because as long as they were here, it meant more drama. Everything that happened in Rome was still fresh in my memory.
They were a bunch of messed up people and I wanted nothing to do with them. They did not like me very much either so it was a fair game. Me wanting to leave was absolutely justified.
Dinnertime came and I had no choice but to go down and join them.
I heaved deep breaths and continued practicing my polite smile.
"On the bright side, Giuletta isn’t here." I said to encourage myself. That woman hated my guts more than anything and I was more thankful that her and that bitchy daughter of hers were absent.
I applied my lip gloss slowly. Anything to buy myself time.
"You can’t hide forever."
I screamed so loud, it was almost enough to make the mirror in front of me break.
"How the hell did you get in here?!"
"The door wasn’t locked. You need to work on survival instincts." He said calmly.
"I do not belong your world."
"The world out there is still a dangerous place Mira and you’re an easy target."
"Because I’m a fragile woman?" I retorted. Even though he was right, I was offended by the insinuation.
He sighed. "It’s dinnertime. Let’s go."
"I’ll come down when I’m ready."
"I’m not going downstairs without you." He retorted.
"Scared to face your own family?" I mocked him.
"Don’t push it young lady."
"Okay old man." I said, fighting back a smile.
He looked away but not in time to hide his own smile. When he faced me again, he had his stern poker face own. The perfect actor! He was in the wrong career for real.
"Let’s go." He left no room for arguments so I walked ahead of him, refusing to take his hand.
He caught up with me in no time and placed his palm on the small of my back as we went downstairs and found our way to the dining area where unfortunately, they were all seated.
The tension in the room was palpable as we walked in.
Surprisingly, Jace pulled out my seat for me before sitting down on his.
I sat down after saying hello to my mother inlaw and everyone else seated at the table. I ignored the leering look Enzo gave me even though I wanted to pluck out his eye with a fork.
We ate in silence. No small talk. Nothing. It was awkward.
I missed when I would have dinner with my family and it would be loud and animated even though my mother would yell that we should not speak at the table. We never listened because our father was the number one culprit. Those were the good times.
"Earth to, Mira."
I jolted out of my reverie when Donna Carmela snapped a finger in my face.
"Yes?" I said, puzzled and lost on what they were saying because all eyes were on me.
"Ricardo was asking about your baking business." She said, gesturing at him as he stared at me with a plain look.
I fought back a frown. Why would he ask me about something like that? Was he finally taking an interest in me and accepting me as his nephew’s wife or something? was taken aback by the question but I was going to answer anyways.
"Um, what about it?"
"How long have you been a baker? And as the don’s wife, do you still do the business?"
I slowly dropped my cutlery. Why did this sound like a bunch of interview questions?
"Uh, I started my business back in college." I said. "And, I still take orders from time to time."
"A very domesticated wife I see." He hummed. I heard the mockery in his tone.
"And there’s nothing wrong with that." Jace cut in before I could form a response.
Ricardo chuckled dryly. "You want a liability so you can feel superior huh?"
"With all due respect Uncle Ricardo, you need to watch it. This is my house and I would not let you disrespect my wife."
It felt refreshing to see him defending me. I almost smiled. Almost. But I had to keep it together.
"Okay everyone. Let’s all calm down," Enzo said, sporting that annoying charming smile of his.
"We can all see why Jace chose her. She’s a sight for sore eyes." He even had the audacity to wink.
"Flirt with my wife one more time, and you’d be eating your balls for breakfast." Jace warned him in a lethal tone.
I let myself smile this time.
Yeah, Enzo. What my husband said!