Signed To The Mafia King - Chapter 83: Chapter 83

ALINA
I walked over to my seat and sat down.
Victoria didn’t look at me. Not once.
She laughed and flirted with the men around her, brushing her fingers over their sleeves, tipping her head back when someone said something mildly funny.
She leaned in close to Riot, whispered something in his ear that made him smirk, and I was sitting right beside her, like I didn’t exist.
Perfect.
I could work with that. I would ignore her too. It was her decision whether she apologized or not. Her apology didn't matter because I had no intention of forgiving her.
I kept my face neutral, but inside I was still burning. My skin ached slightly from the kiss Luca had given me, and my mouth…
God.
He kissed me like I was the last meal on earth. First soft and sweet, then suddenly feral and hungry.
My stomach flipped just remembering it. My thighs clenched. I shifted in my seat, crossing my legs quickly and praying no one noticed how flushed I looked.
I knew what that kiss meant. We’d be having sex later. There was no doubt in my mind.
And even though I had decided to give him time to change his mind about getting me pregnant, I hoped he would still plant his seed inside me.
I was ready for it. I was aching for it.
“Alina,” Analide’s voice broke into my thoughts, snapping me out of my fantasy before I spontaneously combusted. “Let me introduce you to someone.”
I blinked and turned. A man was now standing beside us.
He was at least thirty years old. He wore a sharp black suit, silky dark hair brushed back, and a confident smile like he didn’t know what it meant to be unsure of himself.
“This is Kwan,” Analide said. “He runs my father’s Taiwan office.”
My brows lifted. “That’s impressive. You look young for that level of responsibility.”
He laughed. “My family always runs the Taiwan branch. I just stepped in when I turned twenty- five.”
Of course.
Family.
Same as I had stepped in after my father died. I remembered Adriano's words at that moment and my mind wandered to him.
Was he really serious about not taking over the business when he turned eighteen?
I hoped he wasn't. I didn't see myself running the mafia for my entire life.
I nodded politely at Kwan, but my eyes wandered again, this time toward the stage where a small group of models were displaying gowns.
There was an auction going on. One of the announcers was pointing at a screen with a dress’s name and price scrawled across it.
“There’s an auction?” I asked, frowning. “No one told me there’d be an auction.”
Analide’s face fell instantly as she looked from Kwan to me. “There was supposed to be one more dress in it. The one you’re wearing.”
My mouth opened. “What?”
She looked at me sadly. “But now, with the wine stain, it’s ruined. I’ll just…”
“No.” I sat up straighter, horrified. “I’m so sorry, Analide. I’ll pay for it. I’ll pay the full price. Whatever it is.”
She shook her head, touched my arm. “You don’t have to do that.”
“No, I want to. I ruined your design.”
She paused. Then smiled. “Well… there is one way you could pay me back.”
I looked at her, confused. “Okay?”
“Come work with me.”
I blinked. “Come…wait, what?”
“Come work with me,” she said again, brighter now. “Not as a designer, no. But I’ve seen the things you wear, Alina. No one picks pieces like that without an eye for design.”
I tilted my head. “Where did you see them? I mean…I don’t post online.”
She hesitated. Then said, “Do you remember that day you went shopping with Sofia?”
I was confused but I nodded. I definitely remembered the day Sofia spent ten thousand dollars of Luca's money. “Yes.”
“One of the outfits you bought that day was mine.”
I stared. Then let out a shocked little laugh. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “I recognized it instantly when I saw the pictures.”
Right. Sofia. That made so much sense, but I didn't even know she had posted pictures of them online.
Still, I was impressed. “That was yours? I loved that one.”
“You have good taste,” Analide said softly. “Think about it, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Then someone called her name from the far side of the room and she smiled. “I’ll be back. One more thing, what if you still modeled the dress? We can auction it for half the price. A statement piece. A little drama.”
I flushed. “Analide, no one’s going to want a dress with a wine stain.”
“Let’s see, shall we?”
She took my hand before I could argue and whisked me through a backdoor that led to a corridor behind the stage.
She snapped her fingers and someone handed me heels, and a few stylists fluffed the dress and touched up my makeup before I could even ask what was happening.
Then the curtain opened, and I stepped into the lights.
Hundreds of eyes turned to me, whispers spreading through the room like waves through the sea.
My heart thudded so hard I thought it would burst from my chest. I walked slowly, deliberately, my hips swaying.
I kept my eyes forward but I could feel the stares. The whispers. The gasps. The heat of attention crawled up my back.
I made it to the end of the runway and looked into the faces staring up at me.
There she was. Victoria was watching me like she wanted to rip my face off.
I smiled just slightly, wishing Luca was here to watch me on the runway. I could have added a little shake of my hips just for him.
Where the hell was he? His meeting with Mr. Talciro was taking longer than I expected.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Analide’s voice rang out over the speakers, “this piece was originally meant to close out our auction. The final, most expensive design of the night. A one-of-a-kind, hand-stitched gown that took almost one thousand hours to make.”
The crowd murmured and the woman gasped. I was shocked that Analide had even allowed me to wear the dress.
If she had told me all that, I would never have agreed to wear it.
“However,” she said, her voice heavy with tragedy, “a minor accident has left the dress imperfect.”
Laughter rippled through the room.
“But,” she continued, “we believe in beauty even in imperfection. So, we offer it now for half the price. And of course, we’ll have it professionally treated and restored to its original luxury before delivering it to the buyer.”
I stood there, breath caught in my throat. Waiting, and even hoping that no one would bid so I could run off stage and buy it myself and save the embarrassment.
Then hands went up. Three women lifted their hands. Then six. Then twelve. All at once.
My mouth dropped open.
“Twenty-five thousand,” someone called out.
“Thirty!”
“Forty!”
Oh my God.
Fifty.
Sixty-five thousand.
Seventy.
My knees almost buckled as the numbers kept climbing. Were they really interested in paying that much for my dress? My throat felt tight with nerves.
By the time the bidding hit ninety thousand, it was down to two women.
And one of them…was Victoria.
I stared at her, frozen.
Why? What was her game now? Why the hell would she want the dress she ruined?
Unless…unless this was something else entirely.
I took a shaky breath.
And waited to see what happened next.