CHAPTER 8. THE DINNER
832 Words
The venue was too expensive to feel real.
Crystal lights. Silent luxury. People who smiled like everything was already decided for them.
Elena hated it instantly.
And Alessandro?
He looked like he owned the place—and everyone in it.
Which, in a way, he did.
“You clean up well,” he said as she stepped out of the car.
Elena didn’t look at him. “I didn’t come here for compliments.”
“Good,” he muttered. “Because I wasn’t giving one.”
Of course.
Inside, the room shifted the moment they entered.
People noticed him first.
Then her.
Whispers followed immediately.
“Who’s that with him?”
“New assistant?”
“She’s not his usual type…”
Elena heard all of it.
So did he.
A man approached her within minutes.
Too confident. Too close.
“Care for a drink?” he asked, smiling.
Before she could answer—
Alessandro’s voice cut through.
“No.”
The man blinked. “Excuse me?”
“She’s with me,” Alessandro said flatly.
Elena turned sharply. “I’m not—”
But he didn’t let her finish.
His hand came to her waist.
Firm.
Claiming.
Not gentle.
Not asking.
Just there.
The room went quieter.
Elena stiffened immediately.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Protecting you,” he said under his breath.
“I don’t need—”
“Clearly you do,” he snapped quietly. “Because these idiots don’t know when to back off.”
Across the room, another man watched her longer than he should’ve.
Alessandro saw it.
Instantly.
His jaw tightened.
And just like that—something in him shifted.
The man approached again later.
Bold this time.
“I didn’t catch your name earlier,” he said to Elena.
Alessandro stepped in front of her.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
“Back off,” he said.
The man frowned. “Relax. I’m just talking.”
Alessandro’s voice dropped.
“No. You’re not.”
Silence.
Tension snapped.
Elena pulled slightly away from Alessandro.
“Stop it,” she whispered.
“Stop what?”
“This,” she said, gesturing between them. “Whatever you’re doing.”
His eyes darkened. “You think I like this?”
“You’re acting like I belong to you.”
That word again.
Belong.
It hit something deeper than either of them expected.
Before he could answer—
An older woman approached Elena.
She stared at her for a long moment.
Too long.
Then—
“Elena… Bianchi?”
Silence.
The entire energy of the room shifted.
Alessandro turned slightly.
“What did she say?” he asked slowly.
The woman’s eyes widened. “You’re from the Bianchi family?”
Whispers erupted instantly.
That name meant something.
Power.
Real power.
Elena’s face didn’t change.
But her silence said everything.
Alessandro looked at her.
Really looked.
For the first time, something flickered in his expression.
Confusion.
Then realization.
“You’re… not just an assistant,” he said quietly.
Elena didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
The room felt colder now.
Different.
People stepped back slightly.
Like they had finally realized she wasn’t beneath them.
She was one of them.
Maybe above them.
Alessandro’s jaw tightened.
“You lied to me,” he said low.
Elena finally looked at him.
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you.”
That made something in him snap tighter.
Before anything else could happen—
The man from earlier tried again.
“Bianchi family or not,” he said smugly, “she’s still—”
Alessandro turned instantly.
Grabbed him by the collar.
Shoved him back hard.
“Say one more word,” he said, voice deadly calm, “and I’ll make sure you don’t say another thing in your life.”
The room froze.
No one moved.
Elena stepped forward.
“Alessandro,” she said quietly.
He didn’t look at her.
Didn’t let go immediately.
His breathing was tight.
Controlled.
Barely.
Then finally—
He released the man.
Silence again.
But heavier now.
Outside, minutes later.
Elena followed him out.
“You embarrassed me in there,” she said.
He turned sharply.
“No,” he said. “You embarrassed me.”
Her brows furrowed. “What?”
“You didn’t think it mattered to tell me who you were?”
“I wanted to be treated normally.”
He laughed once—cold.
“With me? That was never going to happen.”
Silence.
Wind between them.
Heavy tension.
He stepped closer.
Voice lower now.
“You think this changes anything?”
“It changes how you see me,” she said.
A pause.
Then softer—
“Doesn’t it?”
That hit.
Hard.
For a second, neither spoke.
Then Alessandro said quietly—
“I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do with you.”
Elena didn’t answer.
Because neither of them did.
And for the first time—
Control didn’t belong to either of them anymore.
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