Submerged

Chapter 9

Dante

My wife is stunning. I can't take my eyes off her, not since she came down the aisle and spoke her vows to me. She's my wife, mine and mine alone. The thought nearly evaporates my anger with her.

Almost.

But I'm also mindful that coincidences in our world don't happen. My father being killed the day before our wedding was most likely a last minute way to keep us apart. My father wouldn't have let anything stop this wedding from happening, killing him would be the only way to get him out of the picture. Unfortunately for the DeLuca's my obsession with Alessia wouldn't stop our union over the death of a man I didn't always like.

My knuckles brush the beads on Alessia's dress as we walk down the hallway with my hand in hers. The dress she chose was my favorite out of the four I'd had Margo pull for our appointment. Alessia loves beaded fabric, sequins and patterns. She's always been lured to clothing with lots of detail in any store I've ever watched her browse in. She looks even better in it than I'd imagined.

We pause at the double doors to the reception hall while Janiya types on her phone to let the DJ know of our arrival.

I look down at my wife, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. She opens her mouth to say something but Janiya interrupts.

"Ready?" She asks us but doesn't wait for a response before pushing the double doors open.

The DJ announces our entrance as we step inside the large room. Tables decorated with cream tablecloths and vases of lavender flowers fill one side of the room while the other side has an open bar, the DJ and a dance floor.

Everyone claps and whistles as we enter hand in hand. Alessia is smiling at our guests but my gaze is solely on her. The beads on her dress sparkle under the low lights in the room, almost like diamonds, the material molded to her body as if the garment was handmade for her. I make a mental note to send Margo an extra tip for her seamstress skills. And add a second mental note to have the dress preserved in a shadow box to be hung in our house so I can stare at it and reminisce about this night whenever I want.

Janiya shows us to our table at the front of the room. Our initials hang on the wall above the table in large cursive letters and there's only a seat for Alessia and I.

I pull her chair out and she thanks me in a quiet voice as she sits and I take my chair. She blinks up at me, amber eyes surrounded with makeup only making them stand out even more than usual. I dampen my lips and take a sharp inhale when I notice I can still taste her there. I took full advantage of our kiss during the ceremony and she didn't fight me. In fact she melted into me instead, even after I barged into her bridal suite throwing accusations around and shouting. I'm tempted to lean in and taste her again.

My fathers death is the last thing I wanted to deal with on my wedding day. My mother is taking it harder than I wished she would, I wanted her here but not in the state she was in. People already look at her as if she's weak anyway and she's not. She's one of the strongest women I know. I know this will be hard on her at first due to her being married off to my father at a young age but I know she will move on and finally be able to live a happy life. One where she doesn't have to constantly pay close attention to what her significant other is drinking. The life she deserves.

Servers bring out our first course and fill our glasses with Prosecco. Alessia downs her glass quickly, avoiding my gaze and digs into the food.

"Would you tell me if Riot had something to do with my fathers death?" I ask her quietly, hiding my mouth with my glass in case anyone tries to read my lips.

"As far as I know he didn't but I'm not privy to business talk. You know this." She sighs, sitting her fork down and finally meets my eyes. "I doubt he had him killed. Lorenzo was pushing for this marriage to happen, he wouldn't have done anything to mess that up."