Altered (An Italian Mafia Story)

Chapter Eleven

I stared distastefully at the dress hanging on the back of my door. It wasn't because I hated it. On the contrary, the dress was gorgeous and breathtaking. It was everything that I wasn't and it was probably worth more than anything I could ever afford. The only thing keeping me from stripping out of my sweats and throwing it on was the fact that Stefano had bought it for me to wear to the stupid dinner.

Hell, I didn't even know if it was a dinner. He'd completely ignored me since I volunteered myself to, as he put it, get killed. He didn't tell me when it was and I hadn't seen him in a few days either. I guess it was safe to assume it was tonight because the dress hadn't been hanging from the back of the door earlier when I went downstairs for breakfast.

I ran my hand down the silky smooth material of the dress. It was made out of an emerald green fabric that flowed all the way to the floor. A slit followed the length of the dress and the neckline was low cut. Too tempted to resist, I decided to try it on. It wouldn't hurt to try it on and I knew I'd have to put it on sooner or later.

A few minutes later, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The dress hugged my curves before flowing loosely to the floor. The slit crept up dangerously high and the cut of the dress showed my cleavage off generously. This dress fit like it had been made for me. Again, I wondered how expensive it must have been.

I jumped when someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" I called out.

"Alaya, it's me."

I let out a relived sigh and smiled as I opened the door for Diana. "Thank god, come in."

"Holy, you look sexy!" She exclaimed as soon as her eyes laid on me. "What are you getting all dressed up for?"

"This dress was just hanging on the back of my door when I came up. I'm pretty sure it's for that event. I think it's tonight, but I'm not sure. He doesn't tell me anything."

"Girl, if you're getting dresses like that, keep doing whatever you're doing." Diana said with a laugh. "Don't stress too much over Stefano. You're too good for him anyway."

I snorted. "It's hard not to stress over someone who keeps threatening to kill me."

"Hey, he threatens you more than anyone else at the estate, but you're still alive. That's got to mean something, right?"

"Yeah, it means he wants to fuck me before he kills me." I muttered.

Diana laughed, making me smile. "Let's talk about something other than the very obvious chemistry between you and Stefano." She suggested, making me laugh harder. "How about we go out by the pool?"

"That sounds like exactly what I need right now."

Diana left to change into her bathing suit and I met her downstairs a few minutes later with a bathing suit under a sun dress I'd thrown on. I didn't wear a bikini because I didn't want anyone to see the scar on my stomach I'd gotten when I first got here.. "You brought a book?" She asked me with a look of disgust.

"Yes, there's nothing wrong with that." I would never understand what Diana had against books.

"Geez, it's hot outside." Diana huffed as we stepped out of the air conditioning.

"It's summer, what did you expect." I teased her. I covered one of the lounge chairs with my towel and stripped out of my sun dress. I piled my hair up on top of my head and laid down. "I love the sun."

Diana hummed in agreement next to me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd laid out by a pool just for fun. It had probably been since the summer before my senior year. I'd gone boating with a group of friends from high school. I smiled at the memory.