SWEETEST OBLIVION

WHAT THE F*** HAPPENED

Dec – 6- 2018

"Good evening, Mr Mancini. I’m very honoured to have you attend this year's Christmas party." Gareth, who was the manager of the hotel where I was staying, said as I walked into the crowded club.

I nodded, following him as I made my way to the VIP section, a part purposely excluded just for me. which wasn’t a surprise since my family were the highest shareholders of the hotel.

"Would you like me to get you a bottle of your favourite drink?" He asked with a nervous smile.

" Sure." I said, and he nodded, making his way downstairs and out of the VIP section.

"Hey Leonardo," Federico, an old friend of mine, says. His father had been one of my father’s trusted men before his death. "I didn’t think you were going to make it."

"I thought I might take a break." I replied, Taking a sit on the vintage couch."

"Well, it’s good to see you again, man. It's good to have you back in Italy." He says

" Leonardo, I'm glad you made it." Anastasia, his sister, said, getting to her feet as she made her way to where I sat. Her hand latches onto my arm, and I slowly pull it away from mine, not wanting to give her any wrong ideas.

I had been surprised earlier in the hotel hallway when she jumped at me. I was taken by surprise at first before realizing who she was.

Federico, Anastasia, and I had both grown up together, so it's safe to say they were like family to me. though I doubt Anastasia felt the same. I wasn’t blind not to see that she had a crush on me, but I knew better than to lead her on, knowing I couldn’t give her what she wanted.

Not now, when I longed for someone else.

My gaze wanders down to the dance floor, watching as the people there enjoy themselves, laughing and dancing with no care of the world.

I paid little heed to them as my eyes wandered round the crowded clubs in the hopes of landing on a certain red hair, though the thought of that being possible was slim.

I could tell from our little interaction that this wasn’t the scene, yet all I could do was hope she would show up so we could continue from where we left off.

My mind goes back to a few hours ago when we met and, well, we were hitting it off. My jaw clenched, and I regretted the fact that I chose to take the phone call at that time.

I was snapped back to reality when a waiter walked up to me with a bottle of whisky and a glass cup. He pours out a reasonable amount into the cup before bowing and making his way back out of the VIP section.

Taking a long breath, I took a long swallow, feeling the whiskey burn down my throat, ignoring whatever activities were going on beside me. I poured another whiskey into the glass cup when the feeling of dizziness began to take control.

My eyes became blurry, and I stared down at the glass of whiskey in my hand, putting twos and twos together.

"Hey, are you okay, Leo? You look pale " Federico asked, his voice laced with concern.

"You don’t look too well." Anastasia mutters, her brow furrowed with confusion.

"I’m fine." I replied, trying to shake off the dizziness, but instead it became worse. "I think... I’m going to call it a night." I stuttered out, raising my feet just to stumble back.

"Are you sure you are okay? Do you need me to help you to your room?" He asks, and I shake my head, stumbling my way out of the VIP section.

I was able to make it out of the club and into an elevator; once the door pulled open, I stumbled out, trying not to land on the floor, as I slowly walked over to the hotel room, inserting the key card.

As I walked into the room, I blacked out.

••

When I came through, it was bright, indicating that it was the next morning. I groaned, trying to run my hands through my face to get rid of the haziness, when I realized I couldn’t lift my left hand.

My brows creased In confusion, I turned to my side to see what was wrong, only to be met by the red hair of a girl, which sprouted on my hand and on the pillow.

The hair covered her face, making it hard for me to see who it was. But a deeper part of me hoped for it to be the woman I met yesterday.

Slowly moving my hand over to her face, I pulled her hair away from her face, getting a proper glimpse, and a smile instantly made its way to my face but was instantly wiped off my face when I began to ponder why we were in such a compromising situation.

My eyes wandered around the room, taking in our discarded clothes.

How the hell did this happen?

I did remember getting drugged, but I had no memory of what happened next. Puffing out a breath, I turned back to her, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed, my eyes trailing along her peaceful face. Making sure that she wasn't disturbed from her slumber, I extended a hand and lightly brushed my fingers on her plump lips, which were dry and open as she drew her breaths, her soft pale skin looking clammy and nothing like the delicious, creamy texture that I adored so much.

"And as much as I regret not remembering the time we spent together, I can’t help but be glad that it happened." I have never felt this way before until I met you, and now the thought of letting you go is anything but pleasant. "When it comes to you, I want to be selfish beyond compare." I murmured lightly, continuing to caress his hand on her cheek carefully.

"You're like a breath of fresh air in my dark and desolated world. "I find peace with you around me." I leaned in, planting a feathery kiss on her forehead, and she moaned, snuggling close to me.

Unfortunately, I needed to leave. I had to get to the bottom of what happened last night. There was no way I would get knocked out with just a single drink.

It was obvious that I had been drugged, and I needed to find out who was foolish enough to have messed with me and what they had hoped to accomplish by drugging me.

More importantly, I needed to know why she was here in my room and be certain she had no hand in what happened.

I gently placed her head on the pillow, picking up my phone from the table stand before sending a message to Federico, giving him the order to bring the waiter from last night to one of our warehouses in Italy.

♤♤♤♤♤

"I don’t know anything, I swear!"

I looked down at the man in front of me, knowing for a fact that he was hiding something. I gazed at him lying there on the ground; his legs and hands were fastened to his back with a rope.

His body was bare, with only a boxer on. His face was bloodied, and the left side of his eyes was swollen as he struggled to keep them open.

"I swear, Mr. Mancini, I don’t know anything." I only did as I was asked. The waiter who had served me last night cried, begging to be spared.

"Someone ordered you to drug my drink. Who was it?" I questioned

I watched him struggle on the ground, tears streaming from his eyes, as I took a seat back on the couch and crossed my legs.

"I'm sorry; please have mercy." He continues pleading. "I don’t know who they are, we...only. got in touch with each other through text messages." He stuttered out. "Please, Mr. Mancini. Please don’t kill me.

"I think he is telling the truth, Leo," Federico says, walking into the basement. "I had Xander run through his phone, and they had only sent texts to each other." Whoever got you drunk was smart enough to use a burner phone. It's hard to trace them.

" f**k! ", I yelled out, pissed.

"The Mancini has a lot of enemies; it's hard to pinpoint who would have done this to you."