Chapter 3: Introductions & Explosions

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Chapter 3: Introductions & Explosions

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Natalia's P.O.V

I let out a breath of relief when the music came to a stop.

My brother and David came back to the table taking a seat while my eyes went to my parents as they made their way to the man who made my wine spill.

I was surprised when they started a conversation which made my interest grow about the mysterious man, what could my parents possible be talking about with him?

Whatever the topic was, it certainly didn't catch his attention like I did as he would look at me every few seconds.

Something he said seemed to have my parents looking at me, I knew it was probably nothing good as it didn't take much time for them to make their way over to the table.

I took the wine my brother was about to drink and downed it, silently pretending it was tequila.

"It would not take much for you to get one from the waiter." He complained with a deep frown as I handed it back to him.

"Don't they serve anything stronger?" I asked deciding to ignore his statement, he continued to frown making his own decision to ignore me.

My eyes went back to the mystery man who soon arrived at my table with my parents.

"Alessandro this is our son, Andrey." My father introduced Andrey.

My brother stood and greeted the man I now knew as Alessandro with a handshake.

"This is Diana, David, and Abigail, old friends." They shook his hand before he turned his attention to me.

"And this is our daughter, Natalia." I sat there for a second since I didn't want to get up, but feeling my parents' stern gaze, I stood, stepping towards him.

When he held out his hand, I stared at it keeping in a sigh as I shook it.

I didn't expect his hand to feel so warm against my firm grip that he matched, I could feel movements in my stomach that I pushed down knowing better than to acknowledge them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I lied with a straight face as I forced a smile, not breaking the intense eye contact he consistently kept whenever I was around.

"The pleasure is all mine." He replied.

His answer seemed far more sincere than mine and that fact alone made my forced smile become all too real.

I knew I should have pulled away the second we shook hands, but I couldn't.

I didn't know why, maybe it was the way he looked at me, or maybe it was the way he smiled or the way he held my hand like it was glass he could not afford to break.

"Alessandro, I was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner tomorrow evening?" My father asked, causing our temporary trance to break as I was now aware of the eyes on us and how long we had been staring and holding each other's hand.

I immediately took my hand from him, avoiding his piercing gaze as I went back to my chair, slipping onto my seat.

"I'll be there." He responded as our eyes momentarily met again.

I looked away trying to find something that could catch my attention as his eyes did.

"He has taken quite the interest in you and by the looks of it, you're just as interested." Andrey teased, I rolled my eyes trying to show him that his observations were inaccurate.

"I don't like him, he made my wine spill." He chuckled at my reply.

"And you didn't kill him, that says a lot." I knew my brother was trying to get into my head and for the first time in years, it was working.

My parents chatted with him until the woman he was dancing with earlier came over, interrupting their conversation.

"Alessandro. Sorry to interrupt." My parents shook their heads, letting her know it was fine.

"Can we go home? My feet are killing me." She asked, her eyes meeting mine for a second.

Seeing her so close made me realize how deep her blue eyes were, it felt like I could drown in them if I stared too long.

"Sorry, it seems I have to go. We can further discuss this tomorrow at your house?" My father nodded.

"Come by at 6." Alessandro shook his hand before my father gave him the address he needed.

"It was nice to meet you all." He said, but his eyes betrayed him as his gaze was set on me and only me.

I bit my lip trying to hide the smile that wanted to grace my lips, but I failed.

"It was nice to meet you too," My mother said he sent my parents a nod in acknowledgement before leaving with his...Friend? Girlfriend?

"Well I think it's time I go as well, this party was a waste of my time," I stated while standing.

"Remember you have training tomorrow." I nodded, brushing off my mother's reminder before I walked out of the party, where I told the valet to get my car and he did.

Third Person P.O.V

A few minutes passed before her car came into view. Natalia never thought she could miss an object so much.

When the valet stepped out, he held the door open for her, allowing Natalia to enter before he closed the door.

She didn't bother to wait for another second as she drove off.

Unfortunately, a very familiar beeping sound was heard. Cursing softly, she quickly opened her car door, jumping out.

Natalia made sure to roll as far as she could from the car before it exploded.

Despite the cuts and obvious pain that developed in her body, she stood groaning at the injuries felt in places her eyes could not see due to the dress she wore.

"Are you hurt?" Her father, Anton, asked.

She turned to him shaking her head while ignoring the crowd that had formed after hearing the explosion.

"Yes, that was my favourite car." Her father rolled his eyes.

"I'll buy you a new one." That had her smiling as he placed a hand on her back, moving her towards the limo her family came in.

"Since you're buying, do I have to pick the same one?" He chuckled softly.

"Natalia, you were almost killed. We'll talk about cars later." She frowned at his response as if replacing her car wasn't just as important to her.

He opened the limo door for her and she entered with him following behind.

Natalia's P.O.V

I realized my mother and brother were already inside, waiting for us.

"Are you ok, Natalia?" Andrey asked worriedly as he checked my cuts and bruises while the limo began to move.

"I'm fine, I got away in time."

"Who would do that?" He asked, I shrugged.

"Almost everyone in that room would want to kill me. So narrowing the search won't be easy." They all knew I was right, we would never be able to figure out who did it.

"I'll send someone to check the area and maybe examine the bomb." My mother informed us while dialling a number.

"Папа, I forgot to ask. Who is Alessandro Anderson?"

"He's the leader of the Italian Mafia." My brows furrowed.

"I thought Lorenzo was still in charge." He shook his head. "He passed that title to Alessandro sometime last year." He explained clearing up my confusion.

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We arrived home about 20 minutes later.

When we went inside, I immediately made my way to my bathroom since I wanted to clean up my wounds before taking a shower because I knew anything I used in there could delay the healing.

It didn't take me more than 50 minutes to clean my wounds, shower and get dressed.

I left the bathroom going to my room, slipping into my bed which allowed my tense muscles to relax as I closed my eyes trying to fall into a restful sleep, but my injuries were making it very difficult.

I let out a frustrated sigh, staring at the ceiling until I was drawn into a deep sleep.

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End Of Chapter 3: Introductions & Explosions

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