Destined For You (The Ludovica Siblings #3)

Six | Not A Date

CHIARA

(Age Sixteen)

I shouldn't be this nervous. I am not doing anything wrong.

Or maybe I am.

"There will be no dating anyone. You are supposed to be loyal to each other." Dad's words echoed in my brain.

This isn't a date. I assured myself. This is just a friendly outing.

I glanced over to my classmate/friend Vance as we entered the restaurant. He had short auburn hair and a cute oval face complemented by a pair of blue eyes.

We are not really good friends, just started talking a week back and then yesterday, he asked me if we could go out for lunch. That's it. It's not a date.

But the fact that I told no one at home that I was going out scared me. Mom and Dad now live separately after Dad's retirement and the passing of leadership to Marcelo.

Silvio is in New York for college so it's only Marcelo, Cyrus (since he is the third in command) and I living at home. They both were out for work and I just left.

It's only a matter of time before my phone starts blaring with messages and calls. If I had told Marcelo or Dad, they would have been first of all sceptical about this 'outing' and might have forbidden me from going.

Secondly, they would have forced me to take bodyguards with me. And that would have scared Vance because I never told him that I am a mafia princess.

In that one week, I analysed him as a sweet, innocent boy and that's okay but if I tell him about my true identity, yeah, he would freak out.

"Something wrong?"

His voice brought me out of the trance and I realised that I had paused walking and was just staring at the door of the restaurant.

"Nope", I said in an over cheerful voice. "Let's go, I am hungry."

Just so Dad doesn't freak out when he gets to know about this and scold me about how unsafe it is for me to roam around without any protection, I chose a high-end restaurant.

I mean at least he won't lecture me about how that particular place was shady and whatnot.

"This place looks too expensive", he muttered under his breath as we entered inside.

"Don't worry. The lunch's on me."

"No, we can split the bill instead." He suggested.

"If you say so."

We were shown to a table against the floor-to-ceiling window.

We sat down and I immediately grabbed the menu card since I was so hungry already.

I scanned through the menu card and decided on a few dishes and placed it down and waited for Vance to decide too.

Meanwhile, I glanced around the restaurant in appreciation. It was beautiful and elegant with various indoor plants which gave it a cosy vibe.

But that cosy vibe vanished the moment it landed on the man sitting opposite me in the last booth.

Fuck.

What the fuck is Ezekiel doing here?

He was dressed up in an all-black suit, a brunette sitting beside him, and a bald man in a suit sat opposite him.

They were having lunch and were engrossed in a deep talk.

First of all, shit. Second of all, who is that lady sitting next to him?