5. Valerie

Chapter five

Valerie

" I brought these for you, Gianna. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss." I hand her a small bouquet of pink tulips.

"They're so beautiful, Valerie, tulips are one of my favourite flowers," she says as she walks away to put them into a vase.

"Mine, too. I thought their symbolism of deep, true love was so fitting for today," I say as she guides us out to the terrace again.

"Thank you, honey. Please enjoy the rest of the afternoon." She squeezes my arm before heading back inside.

"Little Val, back in town," Adriano says, sliding his arm around my shoulder, and walking me further into the backyard. I smile at the name, having not heard it in years.

"You're looking good, Adriano." I turn to look up at him and he smirks. Antonio left me alone, yet again, to deal with a small family emergency his mamá called him about.

Adriano's pink buzzcut is a stark contrast to the well-tailored dress pants and crisp white shirt he has on. That, and the lone cigarette balancing on his ear. It all seems too casual for a billionaire like himself, but then again that's probably exactly what he wants. Adriano is nothing like he seems so it's only fair his appearance is the same.

"Still the same ass-kisser, I see," Augustus speaks up as he joins us on my other side.

He looks rougher than Adriano, which is unusual for the younger twin. He seems like he's been partying long before this funeral reception even started. His bow tie is undone, as well as the top few buttons of his shirt. Not to mention his hair that looks as if he has been running his fingers through it.

Or someone else has .

"I didn't think Nino was telling the truth when he said you were coming," Augustus continues.

"You should give him the benefit of the doubt sometimes. I'm here aren't I?"

"If you knew all the things we did, you wouldn't trust a word he says either," Adriano says.

The statement makes me more uncomfortable than I would've liked. "How is Selena?" I change the subject.

Selena is, the last time I checked, Augustus' long-term girlfriend.

Augustus' dark brown eyes scan my arms, lingering on the tiny tattoos that cover the skin before he looks up at Adriano. "She's good, moved to Milan a year ago.." he says, staring blankly ahead at the mention of her.

"She's better off there than here," Adriano adds as he takes a sip of whatever is in his glass. He offers me a sip and after smelling it to confirm it is tequila, I take a sip, savouring how this is more expensive than the stuff I grew up drinking.

"Valerie?" A girl's voice screeches as she runs over to me.

The three of us turn in unison and the boy's cousin, Zita, comes running over to me, shoes in one hand and a vape in the other.

"That' s our cue to leave, we'll catch up with you again later Val," Adriano says as he shifts away, taking Gus with him.

"Valerie… Oh, my word, it's so good to see you," she says, as she gets close enough for me to hear her without her shouting.

"Zita, how are you?" I embrace her in a hug.

"So good now that you're here, I cannot believe my cugino was telling the truth about bringing you to this dinner."

"No one did." I laugh, and then she guides me towards the bar.

"James, two martinis please." She smiles politely at the barman, who looks like he'd rather be anywhere else but here right now.

"So, what brings you back to Tevici?" Zita asks as soon as she's done placing our orders. She's not from Tevici herself, but I know she does quite a bit of work for Vitale Holdings and stays in the city for a few months out of the year.

"I came back to be with my dad, he's scheduled for multiple surgeries and I want to make sure he's okay in between them," I say, and look around past her at the guests.

Ambrose is busy playing poker with a few of his cousins, but his eyes are focused on me. I match his stare with a questioning one, but of course, he just continues to stare blankly.

"Valerie," Zita calls me and forces me to end the glaring match. I look at the martini and thank the bartender with a clipped smile. God, I hate gin. When I glance up again, Ambrose has a smirk on his face as he speaks to one of the men next to him.

"So, how long are you going to be in Tevici for?" She asks as we sit on a couch, near where Adriano is talking to a girl.

"Just a few months," I say awkwardly, not too sure of the answer myself.

"Antonio seemed quite excited saying that you'll be around for the rest of the year," Adriano says from behind Zita.

"Eavesdropping isn't polite, cugino," Zita says.

"Good thing I've never claimed to be polite," he says. "Besides, you're one to talk. "

Zita sighs. "Get over it Adriano, it was just tequila."

"Tell that to the man who begged for his life with it." Adriano snaps and both the girl in front of him and myself gasp at his harsh tone, but Zita barely flinches.

It's quite well known that the Vitale's deal with their enemies with a few... harsh methods, but that is news to me.

"I'll tell him when I get to hell, or you can after I strangle the shit out of you," she says standing up and facing her cousin.

Glass shattering across the yard draws everyone's attention to the bar, where Augustus is currently leaning haphazardly.

Ambrose's metal chair scraping against the cobblestone floor sends goosebumps down my spine as he stands up and stumbles towards his brother.

" Chi cazzo ti credi di essere?" Who the fuck do you think you are? Ambrose asks loudly as he stands in front of Augustus. Grabbing the front of Augustus' shirt, he sneers, "First, you show up to papá's funeral drunk and now you're making a fucking mess."

Antonio is next to me seconds later. I barely spare him a look before my eyes return to the soap opera unfolding in front of me.

"Ambrose, you're making a scene," his mamá pleads. Adriano steps up behind Augustus, now watching Ambrose with caution.

"Shouldn't you do something?" I whisper to Antonio who seems annoyed with his brother's antics.

"They have to hash this out," he says plainly, not letting his eyes leave the scene.

"Vaffanculo." Go fuck yourself. Augustus slurs, before he bursts out laughing.

It's the last thing I hear before my head is hidden in Antonio's chest. I can hear stumbling and shouting before Antonio lets go of me and allows me to face it all again .

Ambrose is standing over Augustus' practically limp body. I can't see too much from where I am, but I do notice Ambrose's bloody knuckles and how he spits in his brother's direction.

"You were too much of a pussy to do anything then, and you're still too much of one to do anything now," he says.

Augustus smiles at his brother, as blood runs down from his nose, coating the entire front of his face and most of his white shirt. "You don't know shit."

Gianna crouches next to Augustus checking his injuries, before she turns to Ambrose and glares.

I can feel Antonio tense up and shift towards them slightly as if he's worried for his mother.

"What is wrong with you?" Her voice cracks as she looks at her eldest son. "You're a monster, no better than your father." The words carry a weight that everyone surrounding them can feel. The tension in the air skyrockets, and becomes damn near suffocating.

I sip my martini, grimace, and think about how I'd much rather be at home sketching than witnessing Tevici's elite fight like cat and dog.

"This family needs people like me, you all need me." Ambrose gestures wildly at everyone surrounding him. "So you can point your fucking fingers at someone and blame them for the shit you do."

Ambrose struggles past all of them towards the main house. As he slips past me, I notice something off about his face; traces of tears stain his cheeks. He's wiping it away as he rushes inside, and for some reason, my heart cracks into a thousand pieces at the sight.

When I turn around again, it's clear the mood of the evening has died. Guests are whispering to themselves as Antonio and Adriano help Gus to his feet, and towards the house.

"I'll be right back," Antonio says apologetically as he heads in, their mother following behind them.

"Valerie, dear, I'm so sorry about tonight." She looks embarrassed, and I don't even know how to string words together to possibly reassure her that what happened here was okay, because, in reality, it isn't. Nothing that happened here was normal or okay.

I say my goodbyes and head towards the foyer of the villa. Giggles and mumbles from nearby have my head snapping in the direction of the sound.

I peek my head around a wall to look down an empty corridor, except it isn't empty.

Ambrose has a blonde pressed up against a table in the centre of it. They're making out as if their lives depended on it. It seems quite intense from the way her fingers are gripping onto his hair and the way his hands are firmly holding her ass in place as he grinds into her.

I feel guilty for watching such an intimate moment, but for some reason, I can't turn away. As if he can feel eyes on him, he looks up, and his deep green eyes lock with mine. They flash from worry to intrigue so quickly, that the first emotion might not have been there at all.

He raises an eyebrow.

Are you enjoying this?

It's an unspoken question, but from the way his lip curves up into a smirk, I know he knows my answer before I even do.

His lips trail along her neck, and I swear for a split second, it feels like his lips are on my skin.

"Valerie?" My head snaps to see Antonio walking towards me. I take one final look at Ambrose, who simply winks at me before returning to his attempts of trying to suck the blonde's face off.

"Hey, I'm sorry. You don't have to leave if you don't want to," he says, resting both hands on my shoulders.

"It's okay, my papá's surgery is tomorrow. I should get home to make sure he's getting ready," I say.

That, and I 'm imagining the way your brother's lips might feel on my neck and I need to leave before I do something stupid like try and find out.

"Of course, let me give you a ride home," he says, taking my hand in his. "What surgery is he having?" he asks as he opens my door, then jogs around to his own.

"A double hip replacement, with a few weeks between them," I say and check my phone absentmindedly.

"Shit, that's a huge surgery, Val. Are you sure you're going to be okay with dealing with all that?" he asks, eyes shifting between me and the road.

"Yeah, it's all good. His work has a medical compensation that covers the cost of most of the medical procedure and between the nurse and myself, we should be good to get him moving around." I shrug it off as if it's nothing when in reality, I'm incredibly worried about how things are going to go.

All I know is I need to start looking at art curator jobs over the next few days to help cover rent and utilities while my father is unable to work.

We pull up into my driveway and Antonio sighs. "I want to apologise again for today. Things like that never happen, but I think with all the emotions of today, and some brewing tension, everyone exploded," he says.

I offer him a small smile, "You shouldn't be apologising for something you didn't do. All families have their shit, yours just happened to result in a very public, very physical, fight." I shrug and he nods.

"I guess you're right. Thank you for coming, though. It meant a lot to have you there today."

"My pleasure, I may have been gone for quite a while, but if you ever need anything, I'm still your best friend and I'm still here for you."

"Likewise, Val. Send your papá my regards."

"Will do, get home safe," I say as I close the door to his car and head inside.

The car drive did absolutely nothing to ice my skin which feels as if it's been set on fire since Ambrose looked at me. And the more Antonio apologised for his brother's doings, the more the image of him kissing that woman's neck plagued my mind.

Something is seriously wrong with my mind. I do not find Ambrose Vitale attractive. More importantly, I do not find my best friend's brother attractive.