THE INTRODUCTION DINNER
642 Words
Fiona barely slept, even with Zara curled beside her like a protective cat. Dawn crept in pale and cold through the blinds. She sat at the kitchen counter sipping weak tea, palms clammy, stomach twisting.vince word echoing in her memory "whatever you think you know about Alistair Valerio"You don't.
Today she would see him again.
Alistair Valerio
Her mother’s soon-to-be stepson.
The man who had ruined her sleep for months… and unknowingly given her a child.
Zara eyed her carefully. “You don’t have to go back today.”
“I do,” Fiona whispered. “I can’t hide forever.”
Zara sighed, then pulled her into a hug. “Call me. Every hour. I don’t trust that Valerio family. They’re too… mafia-coded.”
“Zara!”
“What? They radiate mafia energy. Especially that son.”
Fiona’s stomach dropped.
Zara grabbed her shoulders, smoothing her hair. “You’ve got this. Remember—he doesn’t know anything. You owe him nothing.”
Fiona nodded, even though fear flooded her veins like ice.
**THE VALERIO ESTATE – ALISTAIR POV**
Alistair Valerio stood at the top of the staircase, dressed in a black suit, tie discarded, shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows. The morning light cut sharp lines across his jaw, his expression unreadable.
He had arrived late in the night, and the moment he stepped into the house, he had known something changed. The air felt… different. Warmer. Softer.
Wrong.
His father’s fiancée and her daughter were supposed to arrive any morning now.
He wasn’t prepared to face the girl who’d been living like a ghost in his head.
A guard approached quietly.
“Sir, the new family is arriving soon.”
Alistair’s fingers flexed behind his back.
“Good.”
But his heart wasn’t calm.
He didn’t like surprises.
He didn’t like losing control.
And Fiona Lewis was both.
The car barely rolled to a stop before Fiona felt her pulse explode in her ears. She stepped out slowly, clutching her bag like a shield. Her mother kept talking—something about first impressions, about blending families—but Fiona heard none of it.
She could feel him.
Like a storm gathering behind the clouds.
The front door opened.
And there he was.
Alistair Valerio.
Tall. Commanding. Shadows clinging to his presence like they worshipped him. His dark eyes locked onto her instantly—sharp, intense, and too familiar.
For a split second, he froze.
Recognition hit him like a fist.
She saw it.
His jaw tightened.
His stance stiffened.
His pupils dilated.
Fiona’s breath caught, her knees threatening to buckle.
He descended the stairs slowly, like a man approaching a threat… or a memory he wasn’t ready to face.
“Alistair,” his father greeted proudly. “This is Evelyn… and her daughter, Fiona.”
Alistair didn’t look at Evelyn.
His eyes stayed glued to Fiona.
Fiona felt exposed—like he could see through her, through her clothes, her skin—straight to the truth curled inside her womb.
She swallowed hard and forced a small smile. “Nice to meet you.”
A lie.
His voice was low, smooth, and dangerously calm.
“We’ve… met before.”
Her mother turned sharply. “You have?”
Fiona’s heart plummeted.
Silence stretched, tight and suffocating.
Alistair studied her like she was a puzzle he intended to dismantle.
But then—
he saved her.
“In passing,” he said coolly, not breaking eye contact. “A long time ago.”
Her mother relaxed.
Her heart did not.
Fiona dropped her gaze, terrified he could somehow sense the child growing inside her.
But Alistair’s next words made her blood run cold.
“Welcome to the Valerio estate,” he murmured softly, voice threaded with something unreadable. “We have… unfinished business.”
Fiona’s lungs stopped moving.
This wasn’t over.
Not even close
- Writer
