Free Web NovelChapter 44: The deal (1)
Slowly but surely, everyone settled down at the table even as Isadora kept on trying to hold on to Dante’s hand until she could no longer continue to keep quiet.
Leaning into him as she hurriedly whispered into his ears, "What are you doing?" she asked him with wide eyes, even as she maintained a smile on her face, doing her best to ensure that their conversation was not eavesdropped on.
"What does it look like?" he responded, which didn’t at all help Isadora feel relieved as she went back to sitting upright on her chair. Looking around the table, even at the others who seemed to be completely focused on their food as they began to dish the already prepared and covered food on the table.
Conversation was scanter than Isadora expected, even as most people simply did nothing but eat, with a few bits of conversation but nothing too extreme. Even Dante, who sat down right beside her, seemed to be completely focused on his food, having taken his hand away from Isadora’s thigh, which brought her immense relief.
No longer as nervous as she had previously been, Isadora also looked down and silently ate her food.
’It seems like this might not be as bad as I expected it to be!’ she told herself even as she continued to eat with a bit of a smile on her lips.
One that disappeared the moment the memory of her sister flashed in her head, realizing that this was just one hurdle she seemed to have crossed and nothing more.
Soon everyone finished eating one after the other, but they didn’t leave the table until Elder Bellini got up and headed into the house, saying his goodbye to everyone, including Isadora, who couldn’t help but smile back at him.
Realizing that if she was indeed Dante’s fiancée, she would have really loved to spend more time with him. Dante barely touched his food even as he headed towards Elder Bellini, after whispering into Isadora’s ears that he would be back and two words that slightly confused her before she watched him leave.
’Eat more!’ he had told her before he headed up with the elder man that could still walk properly, albeit with a gold-inlaid walking cane that could probably buy a house simply from how it looked.
Dante had barely left for a few minutes when Isadora seemed to feel the air she had been breathing in suddenly change as she turned to look around the table she stood beside, only to feel lots of people’s gazes fixed on her.
For a second, she almost felt like prey on the verge of being eaten as she moved back closer to the table and sat down, piling some more food into her plate under the impression that she wanted to eat. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
But barely was she done when she saw Namira head towards her instantly out of the corner of her eyes, even as Isadora refused to look up.
"Didn’t Dante feed you? You seem hungrier than normal?" she asked, her voice filled with curiosity and no hint of the malice that Isadora was convinced the woman felt towards her.
But Namira was barely done speaking when Alessia headed straight for her, with Anna right behind her with an excited look on her face as she spoke to Isadora, who sat straighter than she usually would.
"We can head upstairs! There’s a couple of things we can all do!" she told Isadora even as she continued with an innocent look on her face and a purely teasing tone. "...Moreover, the last thing you want is to be unable to fit into your wedding dress, right?" she asked, and Isadora simply nodded.
As long as they were in the house, there was nothing they would do to hurt her. Elder Bellini wouldn’t stand for it, and as far as she could tell, Namira was being indirect in her show of dislike against her, along with Furie and Warren, who had simply glanced at her almost like they were taking in the way her face looked before they turned around and left.
’If push comes to shove, I can just pretend to fall asleep!’ she decided, aware that refusing her offer would only make her seem like the bad person who doesn’t want to mingle with her fiancée’s family.
The food portions were extremely small even for the first plate she was given, which meant that if she wanted to, eating three other plates wouldn’t have been a problem as she got on her feet and made it clear that she would follow them.
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Back in Elder Bellini’s office, he had just settled on his huge seat behind the table, watching Dante settle into the one opposite him when he pulled out his drawer and brought out an arrangement of cigars, even as Dante folded his fingers in his lap and crossed his legs, looking every bit like an elegant gentleman.
Elder Bellini, on the other hand, no longer seemed like the gentle and harmless grandfather façade he put on as he slowly picked up a cigar and lit one up, without speaking to Dante or even looking at him. He seemed to take extra care in ensuring that the cigar was exactly to his taste.
His gaze was darker than before, and more wrinkles seemed to fill his face as he lit the cigar and took in a deep inhale. Dante watched, but unlike before, when one would think that it would be a battle of silence to figure out who would speak first, Dante seemed to have no compulsion to play such a game.
"You do know that it will kill you, right?" Dante asked, clearly talking about the cigar that Elder Bellini seemed to be clearly enjoying even as his gaze flickered to Dante with a mocking look on his face. frёeωebɳovel.com
"Just because you smoke only one cigarette a day doesn’t make you better than me!" his voice gruffer than before, even as he finally settled his gaze fully on Dante as he continued to speak. "We all must die one day!" he said, even as his face suddenly took a more solemn look as he took another puff of his cigar, focusing his gaze on Dante, who smiled almost like he knew exactly what the old man was going to say.
