The Trophy Wife

SIXTEEN: Italy

I'm finally back :)

Idek know if it really matters but I was too tired to censor it... sorry.

Lucas and I were lead through a long maze of thorny rose bushes and a cluster of leafless trees before we finally reached the vine infested mansion.

Silvio Di Stefano and I had never formally met. Enzo spoke about him quite often, I had seen pictures, I even saw him in person once at the Five Star Hotel at around the same time that a man named Nicola Grisanti tried to destroy him. I didn't introduce myself though. I saw him pacing in the lobby and like a coward, I ran in the opposite direction.

Enzo loved drama, but he followed that story extra closely. He came home with a huge smile on his face after he found out about the trouble that his former mentor had gotten himself into. He took credit for how close Nicola came to wiping out the Di Stefano Family. Enzo believed that Silvio had lost his touch after he left.

But nervous wasn't the right word to describe what I was feeling as we walked up to the front doors of his estate. I was far from excited, but unlike Lucas, I was not afraid.

The blue-eyed man stood beside me practically trembling in his shoes. When I asked him about it he blamed it on the weather.

"It's really not that cold." I replied.

"Sorry that I'm not some cold blooded psychopath like you are." Asshole!

"Don't be a pussy." In my defense, I hadn't slept in over twenty four hours.

Lucas could dish it out but couldn't take it. Instead of calling me another name, he remained silent.

"These men live off of fear, Lucas. Hide it." Dread. That was the word. I was dreading what awaited me.

The guard who pretended like he didn't know any English lead us through the massive front doors and into the foyer, he then handed us over to a maid. I expected to see Silvio waiting for us but he was nowhere to be seen.

Once we made it up the grand staircase and into the guest wing, I asked her where Silvio was. Rather than answering me, she looked down at the ground and then ran the other way.

"This place is amazing. Is this what your house looks like?" Lucas asked once we were alone.

"Huh? Yeah, kind of." I didn't find Silvio's home to be too magnificent because mine was weirdly similar to his. It wasn't my first time in Italy either. Enzo and I would fly over multiple times a year. But what really distracted me was the fact that Silvio hadn't introduced himself yet. It was suspicious and it made me even more desperate to tell him my version of the story. Alberto promised to help me, but that didn't mean I trusted him. Who knew what kind of bullshit would spew out of his mouth while he was talking to Silvio alone.

"Are you okay? What did that woman say?" Lucas asked.

"I'm fine. She was just showing us to our rooms. This one is yours and that one is mine." I pointed to the next door over.

Lucas peeked his head inside of the bedroom and then said something about how big it was... I wasn't really listening.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again.

"I'm just tired."

"So go to sleep. Unless you're scared..." He teased. "Don't be a pussy, Evelyn." I had no idea why he suddenly felt the need to irritate me every chance he got.

"Oh, shut up. You were quaking with fear the moment our plane landed. If anyone is going to have trouble sleeping tonight, it's gonna be you."

"Psycho."