Mafia's Surrogate Bride Chapter 16

Aria's POV

My alcohol tolerance had always been decent—not great, but enough that a single sip of champagne shouldn't have affected me this way. The dizziness and disorientation I was feeling must be from exhaustion. These past few weeks of worrying about Jessica, scrambling to find work, barely sleeping while I tried to earn money for her treatment—it was finally catching up with me.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus. I still had a job to do, money to earn. Jessica was counting on me.

The ballroom buzzed with elegant conversation and the soft clink of crystal glasses. I moved through the crowd with my serving tray, trying to ignore the way the room seemed to tilt slightly with each step. The faces around me blurred at the edges, but I pushed forward, determined to complete my shift.

I was concentrating so hard on walking steadily that I didn't see the solid figure in front of me until I bumped directly into him.

"Well, well," came a familiar voice that made my blood run cold. "If it isn't our little bunny from the Moon Bar."

I looked up to see Vito Cavalieri smirking down at me, his eyes already taking in my unsteady posture and glazed expression.

"Excuse me, sir," I mumbled, trying to step around him. "I need to get back to work."

But Vito caught my chin with his fingers, tilting my face up to meet his gaze. "You look different tonight, piccola. Much more... interesting than you were at the bar."

His touch made my skin crawl, but when I tried to pull away, my movements felt sluggish and uncoordinated. Something was definitely wrong with me, but I couldn't figure out what.

"Let go of me," I said, though my voice came out weaker than I'd intended.

Vito's smirk widened. "Such fire, even when you can barely stand straight. I like that."

I jerked backward, finally breaking free from his grip, but the sudden movement made the room spin violently. Whatever was happening to me was getting worse, not better.

My body was starting to feel strange—overheated and hypersensitive, like every nerve ending was on fire. I needed to cool down, needed cold water to clear my head and regain my equilibrium.

"I have to go," I said, pushing past him with more force than grace.

"Running away so soon?" Vito called after me, but I was already stumbling toward the nearest exit.

The hallway outside the ballroom offered some relief from the crowd, but my body temperature continued to climb. Sweat beaded on my forehead despite the cool air, and my heart raced like I'd been running for miles.

I needed to find a bathroom, somewhere with cold water where I could splash my face and figure out what was happening to me. The corridor stretched ahead, doors lining both sides, but the numbers and labels blurred together in my vision.

Heavy footsteps echoed behind me, and I realized Vito had followed me out of the ballroom.

"You can't run very far in your condition, can you?" he called, his voice carrying predatory amusement. "Why don't you let me help you? I know exactly what you need."

Panic gave me a burst of clarity. I ran down the hallway, my heels clicking erratically against the marble floor as I struggled to maintain my balance. Behind me, Vito's laughter followed like a threat.

I turned a corner and found myself in a quieter section of the estate, away from the main party areas. The walls seemed to pulse around me, and I had to lean against the doorframe to steady myself.

"There you are," Vito's voice came from directly behind me.

Before I could react, strong hands grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. I found myself pressed against the wall in a small alcove, Vito's body blocking any chance of escape.

"Look at you," he said. "Seems like you ate something that didn't agree with you. Lucky for you, I know exactly how to help with that kind of... discomfort."

"Stay away from me," I tried to say, but my voice came out as barely a whisper.

His hands moved to the collar of my uniform, fingers working at the buttons with practiced efficiency. "Don't worry, piccola. I'll take very good care of you."

The fabric tore as he pulled too roughly, and I heard buttons scatter across the floor. Cool air hit my exposed skin, but instead of providing relief, it only seemed to intensify the burning sensation coursing through my body.

I tried to push him away, but my arms felt like they were moving through thick liquid. Nothing responded the way it should. I opened my mouth to scream for help, but Vito's hand clamped over my lips before any sound could escape.

"Shh," he whispered against my ear. "No one's going to disturb us here. Just relax and let me help you with that fever."

I couldn't breathe properly with his hand covering my mouth and nose. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision, and I felt myself starting to fade.

This is how I die, I thought with strange detachment. Not from poverty or Jessica's illness, but from whatever Adriana put in that champagne.

Just as I thought I might lose consciousness entirely, Vito's weight suddenly disappeared from in front of me. I heard a dull thud, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.

Through my blurred vision, I saw a tall figure standing over Vito's unconscious form. Dark hair, expensive suit, and those unmistakable eyes that had haunted my dreams for weeks.

Damian.

He turned to look at me, taking in my torn clothing and obvious distress with a single glance. Without a word, he scooped me up in his arms as easily as if I weighed nothing.

"Can you hear me?" he asked as he carried me swiftly down the hallway.

I tried to nod, but even that simple movement made my head spin worse.

He kicked open a door and carried me into what appeared to be a guest bedroom. The space was elegant but understated, with clean lines and muted colors that didn't assault my overwhelmed senses.

"What did you take?" he demanded, setting me down near a doorway that led to what looked like a private bathroom.

"Nothing," I managed to say. "Adriana... the champagne..."

Understanding flashed in his dark eyes. "Clever girl. You figured it out too late, but you figured it out."

He guided me into the bathroom and directly to the shower stall. Without ceremony, he turned on the cold water and pushed me underneath the spray.

The shock of the icy water against my overheated skin made me gasp and shiver, but it also brought a moment of clarity.

The water soaked through my torn uniform, plastering the fabric against my skin. I was dimly aware that the white shirt had become nearly transparent, but I was too focused on the relief the cold provided to care about modesty.

But even the freezing water wasn't enough to completely counteract whatever drug Adriana had given me. The burning sensation in my blood remained, along with a desperate need I couldn't name or understand.

I looked up at Damian through the water streaming down my face. He stood just outside the shower, his expression unreadable as he watched me shiver under the spray.

"Please," I heard myself say, though I wasn't entirely sure what I was asking for. But I have already started to rub my breasts towards him."Can you help me?"