Chapter 3
2039 Words
Pluviana’s POV
The air buzzed with the quiet hum of conversations, the occasional clink of glasses, and the smooth undertones of live jazz playing in the background.
I wasn’t in the mood for this.
Yet, here I was.
Aura and Ele had a way of dragging me out when I least wanted to go, and tonight was no exception. Aurora had texted me twenty-three times, each message more demanding than the last.
So here I sat, sipping a whiskey neat, watching my two best friends bicker like an old married couple.
Aurora Steele, criminal defense lawyer, absolute menace, and the most dramatic person I knew, was lounging across from me. Her auburn hair cascaded over one shoulder, and her light green eyes practically sparkled with mischief. She was grinning as she waved her glass of red wine, completely unimpressed by Elena’s glare.
Elena Castellano, one of the most sought-after fashion designers in the industry, sat beside me, exuding elegance in a structured navy dress that screamed power. Her blue eyes—always sharp, always assessing—narrowed in irritation as she tapped her manicured nails against the table.
“Aura,” Elesaid, voice edged with warning, “if you spill that wine on me, I will strangle you.”
Aura smirked, unfazed. “Relax, mamma orsa.”
Ele pinched the bridge of her nose. “Do not call me that.”
Aura grinned. “But you behave like a mother to us. And it’s cute when you’re angry.”
Ele's eye twitched. “I am not cute.”
“You are to me,” Aura purred, winking.
I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Aura, stop flirting with Ele before she actually kills you.”
Aura gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her heart. “Betrayal! My own Ana, siding against me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m siding with survival instincts. Ele looks like she’s one second away from turning you into a fashion crime scene.”
Ele smirked. “Finally, some recognition.”
Aura pouted, twirling the stem of her glass. “You’re both so cruel. I work so hard defending criminals, yet my best friends treat me like this.”
I arched a brow. “Your last case involved getting a literal billionaire off scot-free when he was definitely guilty.”
Aura grinned. “Guilty of being too rich and too handsome? Maybe.”
Ele scoffed. “You’re insufferable.”
Aurora winked. “And yet, you love me.”
I exhaled, sipping my whiskey. “She’s not wrong.”
Ele shook her head, muttering something in Italian under her breath.
Aura leaned in, grinning. “Say that again, cara mia, I love when you curse at me in Italian.”
Ele picked up a fork. “I swear to God—”
I placed a hand over hers before she could actually stab Aura.
“Focus,” I sighed. “You both dragged me here. What do you want?”
Aura beamed. “To socialize! To make sure our dear Pluviana doesn’t become a corporate cryptid who only exists in glass buildings and headlines.”
Ele nodded. “You’ve been isolating again.”
I frowned. “I’ve been working.”
Aura waved a dismissive hand. “Same thing in your case.”
I sighed. “I’m fine.”
Ele gave me a knowing look. “That’s what you always say.”
I exhaled slowly, letting their words settle.
They weren’t wrong.
Even when I wanted to argue.
I glanced at them, my lips twitching into a small smirk. “Fine. You win.”
Aurora gasped. “You admit it?”
Elena arched a brow. “We always win.”
I shook my head, but a quiet warmth settled in my chest.
Even in a world where trust was currency and alliances were fragile, I had them.
And that, at least, was something I could hold on to.
The conversation had long since drifted from serious topics to nonsense, as it always did when we were together. Aura was currently sprawled dramatically across the couch, ranting about a particularly guilty client who had the audacity to be both guilty and charming.
“And then—then, Ana—he looked me dead in the eyes and said, ‘Miss Steele, I swear I’m innocent,’ while smiling like a goddamn Casanova.” Aurora tossed a peanut into her mouth and sighed. “I mean, I still defended him, obviously. But I also wanted to punch him in his smug face.”
Ele rolled her eyes. “Did you win?”
Aura smirked. “Of course I did. But I made sure he suffered for it. Every billable hour.”
I chuckled. “You’re a menace.”
Aura grinned at me
Ele, who had been sipping her wine with the grace of a queen, arched a brow at me. “Speaking of menaces—”
I tensed. “No.”
She smirked. “I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“You’re thinking something. I don’t like it.”
Aura’s eyes lit up with mischief. “Oh, this is gonna be good. Spill, Elena.”
Ele set her glass down carefully. “Celeste called me today.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Cause I asked her tha-” Ele cut off by Aura
Aura cackled. “Oh, hell yes. Is there a man involved?”
“No.”
Ele tilted her head. “Victor Russo.”
The name landed between us like a bomb.
Aurora blinked. “Wait. The Victor Russo?”
I exhaled sharply. “Yes.”
Aura gasped dramatically, clutching her chest. “Ana, darling, you attract only the most cold and terrifying rude men. It’s a talent at this point.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s a business meeting.”
Elena hummed. “So you say.”
Aurora leaned in. “And let me guess—you told him to go to hell?”
I sighed. “No. I told him I was unavailable this week. If he wants to meet, it’ll be next week. On my terms. With my team.”
Ele’s lips curled slightly. “And he agreed?”
I hesitated. “Immediately.”
Aurora’s eyes widened. “Immediately?”
Ele exchanged a look with her.
Aura smirked. “Ana, darling, men like Victor Russo don’t wait for just anyone.”
Ele nodded. “And yet, he’s waiting for you.”
I scoffed. “Oh, please. He’s a businessman. He’s just being strategic.”
Aura tapped her chin. “Mmhmm. Strategic obsession, maybe.”
Elena sipped her wine, looking thoughtful. “You know, if he kills someone for you, I might start liking him.”
I choked on my drink. “What?!”
Aura cackled. “Don’t act so shocked. You do have a type.”
“I do not.”
Ele tilted her head. “Cold. Powerful. Intimidating. Has a face that could end empires. Rich enough to buy a country.”
Aura counted on her fingers. “Add in ‘potentially dangerous’ and ‘definitely obsessed with you’ and, yep, that’s your type.”
I groaned. “I hate both of you.”
Ele patted my head. “No, you don’t, sweetheart.”
Aurora wiggled her brows. “I’m just saying… if he’s got that ‘I will burn the world for you’ energy, you have to consider it.”
I gave them both a flat look. “I am not dating Victor Russo.”
Aurora smirked. “Yet.”
I threw a pillow at her.
Aura just laughed, dodging it effortlessly. “Oh, Ana. You’re in so much trouble.”
I groaned, covering my face.
What had I gotten myself into?
Some time later
Aurora was currently draped across my couch like a very expensive rug, twirling a lock of her hair and staring at me with an exaggerated pout.
“Ana,” she whined. “You never tell us anything interesting. Meanwhile, Ele and I are out here fighting for our lives every day.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Fighting for your lives?”
Elena, who was calmly adjusting the hem of my blazer, nodded. “She’s not exaggerating. Just last week, I had to physically remove a woman from my boutique.”
Aurora cackled. “Oh, tell her about that one.”
Ele sighed, pressing two fingers to her temple like she was developing a headache just from remembering. “She walked in and demanded a custom gown for her engagement party.”
I frowned. “Isn’t that normal?”
Aura covered her mouth, barely holding in a laugh.
Elena’s expression turned murderous. “It was for this Saturday.”
I blinked. “.”
Ele’s eye twitched.
Aurora threw a peanut into her mouth and smirked. “Tell her the best part.”
Ele exhaled sharply, clearly still not over it. “When I told her that designing a custom couture gown in three days was impossible, she gasped—gasped, Ana—and said, ‘But I have followers.’”
I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh.
Aura clutched her stomach. “And then Elena—our graceful, poised designer—leaned in and said, ‘I design for legends, not influencers. Kindly remove yourself before I set this store on fire.’”
I lost it.
Ele merely sipped her wine. “I was being generous.”
Aura wiped fake tears from her eyes. “Ana, you have no idea what I suffered that day. I was in the middle of a trial when my phone buzzed, and it was just Elena texting me in all caps—‘I MIGHT GO TO JAIL. DELETE OUR CHATS.’”
I wheezed. “You two are unhinged.”
Aura grinned. “You love us.”
I rolled my eyes. “Debatable.”
Aura turned to Ele, eyes sparkling mischievously. “Didn’t you get proposed to last week?”
I blinked. “What?”
Ele rolled her eyes. “That was not a proposal. That was an insult.”
Aura cackled. “Ana, picture this. Some man walks into her boutique, watches her work for a total of four minutes, and then says—‘A woman like you shouldn’t waste her time with business. You should marry someone rich. Like me.’”
I deadpanned. “Did you kill him?”
Elena took a slow sip of wine. “Not yet.”
Aura wiped fake tears. “She’s so strong.”
Ele smirked. “I just smiled and told him, ‘Sweetheart, I don’t marry rich. I become rich.’”
I lost it.
Aura wheezed. “AND THEN—” she could barely breathe through laughter, “he had the audacity to ask if she was serious.”
Ele sighed. “As if I joke.”
Aura wiped her eyes. “We live for your villain origin story.”
Elena smirked. “I already am the villain.”
I rubbed my temples. “Why am I friends with you?”
Aura winked. “Because you’d die without us.”
Ele smirked. “Literally.”
Aura tilted her head. “Speaking of dying—Victor Russo?”
I groaned loudly. “We’re not talking about him again.”
Aura grinned. “Oh, but we are.”
Elena sipped her wine. “The real question is—do we approve of him or do we need to make him disappear?”
I gave them both a flat look. “You’re not killing Victor Russo.”
Aura pouted. “Not even a little?”
I sighed. “I’m ending this conversation now.”
I groaned, sinking back into the couch.
These two were going to be the death of me.
Elena crossed her arms. “We’ll allow him one meeting. If he try to harm you, we erase him.”
Aura wiggled her eyebrows. “Do you want him erased? Or do you want him obsessed?”
I threw another pillow at her.
Aura caught it. “So obsessed. Got it "
𝓦𝓱𝓲𝓼𝓴𝓮𝔂 𝓷𝓮𝓪𝓽 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓵𝓪𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓵𝓸𝓾𝓭,
𝓐 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓵, 𝓪 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓾𝓷𝓫𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭.
𝓢𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓺𝓾𝓮𝓮𝓷𝓼, 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓬𝓲𝓻𝓬𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽,
𝓐 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝔀𝓪𝓻 𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓾𝓹 𝓲𝓷 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy reading the chapter 🖤
- Writer
