Chapter 45: – These Scars –
Fernando didn’t appear surprised to see them there. It was clear that he was aware Viviana was coming.
Nikolas, on the other hand, couldn’t help but wonder what this night was about to turn into. Pure anticipation glinted coldly in his eyes. His gaze locked with Fernando’s, and when he noticed Fernando’s eyes drop to where Viviana held him, he slipped his hand free, only to curl his arm firmly around her waist, pulling her much closer to him.
It was possessive. A clear warning.
Fernando’s expression faltered, anger twisting across his face. It was undeniable in his eyes. And to rub further into the wound, Nikolas grinned at him and made sure he saw.
"Why is he here?" Viviana’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"I invited him," Amadeo said.
She looked at her father. "You invited him?"
"I invited him," he repeated in a stern tone. "Why? Do you have a problem with it?"
Her lips pursed and her head angled just enough as she studied the man with probing eyes.
Amadeo did the same to her.
"I’d assumed this was a family dinner."
"Hm." Amadeo steepled his fingers. "I’m unsure why you have a problem with the decision I made. I invited him, isn’t that enough reason to keep quiet and sit down?"
Viviana’s lips curved into the faintest smile. "You do agree it is no longer a family dinner, no? I don’t oppose your decision, Pa. It’s just that I would have appreciated it more if you’d said so."
"And if I had, what would you have done?"
He held her gaze.
"Not come? Sit down, Viviana. You’ve only just arrived. Do not raise issues from nothing."
She didn’t pursue the matter and settled into the seat Nikolas had pulled out for her. He sat beside her, though as he did, he felt a tight gaze fixed on him.
His brow arched.
Turning his head, he found a woman seated next to Viviana, her chin resting on her cupped hands as she stared at him.
Blonde, gray-eyed, and very similar to the woman seated nearer to Amadeo. This was none other than Serena, Amadeo’s stepdaughter.
"You brought him along," Savannah said suddenly, gaze directed at Viviana.
Viviana’s voice came even and smooth with no rise or bite to it. "What are you implying?"
"I mean–" Savannah shrugged. "–You may have married him, but that doesn’t mean we accept him. He’s not fit to be here, to casually walk into the Di-grassi home."
"Are you done, Savannah?" Viviana arched a brow. Gone were the times she called this woman ’ma’ because her father forced her to. She answered to no one. Not anymore.
Savannah clearly didn’t take it that way, because she’d frowned. "Savannah?"
"What?" Amusement flickered across Viviana’s face. "Did you expect me to call you ma? But why in the world would I do such a thing? I don’t know who you are."
"Viviana!" Amadeo fired over with a clenched jaw. "Respect yourself–"
"I do not answer to you, Pa." Her gaze flickered over to him, slow and cutting. "You are nothing more than a man with whom I share DNA. Nothing more. I am here because you claimed you had something to say to me. So do not presume to tell me what to do or how I should address anyone at this table."
Amadeo stared at her, his pupils shrunk to pin size. He was speechless, too lost for words. He was a man who rarely showed emotions on his face, but at this moment, his shock was as clear as day.
Serena’s jaw had fallen, her mother equally taken aback. Nikolas, on the other hand, almost whistled, his face lit up like a candlelight.
Fernando rapidly blinked. Viviana had always been her father’s controlled puppet, the obedient daughter who answered to him without question. Never once had she dared to cut him off mid-sentence. Even he wouldn’t dare.
But now...
"Did you just interrupt me?" Amadeo asked.
Viviana picked up her fork and knife, cutting into her food. "If this is the only reason for this so-called family dinner, Pa, then I’d rather leave. I don’t enjoy being here."
"She is absolutely my type,’ Nikolas swallowed as he thought, taking a long look at her. Assertive women...
A faint smile painted his lips. His finger moved without a thought, tucking the loose strands of her dark hair behind her ear so she could eat more comfortably.
Viviana looked at him, surprised by the gesture. She’d been certain he was still angry with her. Did he—
"Have you changed your mind about the divorce?" Amadeo’s sudden question grabbed her attention.
She glanced at him. "What divorce?"
"We had a talk about you divorcing him," Amadeo was speaking as though Nikolas wasn’t even present at that table. "I told you that you couldn’t stay married to him. Fernando here has apologized, and we’ve set things straight. Divorce him and–"
"His name is Nikolas, Pa. And he is sitting right next to me," she interrupted him again. Her voice was soulless.
Amadeo’s right eye twitched. But he swallowed down his displeasure. "As I asked, when do you plan on divorcing this man... Nikolas?"
"I never planned to." Viviana tapped her finger idly by her plate. "I’ve said it before. And I am saying it again. Nikolas and I are not getting a divorce. He is my husband."
Amadeo’s gaze grew chilly. "So you plan to stay married to him? To this man who has nothing? Do you know who you are?"
"Lady Viviana Di-grassi, no?"
She gave a small, deliberate nod.
"I know the woman I am. However, what does that say about you, Pa? Weren’t you going to marry me off to this..." She turned her gaze to Fernando. "...Thing?"
Fernando boiled where he sat.
"I do not care for what he has to offer me. I chose him precisely because he has nothing, because I’ve had enough of rich men like you who think they’re at the top of the world." She was speaking to her father, but her eyes were fixated on Fernando. "Even if he didn’t have a dime, it wouldn’t matter. I like him just the way he is, and I don’t care what you have to say. I am not divorcing him. And even if I did, I would never marry Fernando Stolov. Over... my dead body."
Amadeo slammed his hands against the table and pointed a raging finger at her. "Do you have any idea how much money I spent on you? Raising you, perfecting you, shaping you? I made you better than them, so flawless that when people look at you, the only thing they see is perfection! I made you the billionaire you are today! I shaped that potential inside of you and made you what you are! And now, you’ll stoop so low as to marry a man beneath you? With nothing to offer?"
Viviana took a deep breath.
"You polished the potential inside of me, and what did I give you in return?" Her silence stretched, and her smile grew sharp. "I lifted your company into what it is today. I worked like a puppet for you and dragged this family up into the list at second place. I, Viviana Di-grassi, did that. That is why your company will fall without me. That is why you cannot let me go, because without me, Vizera Luxe is nothing. And I owe you nothing!"
Savannah brushed her fingers through her hair, and before anyone could speak, she barked, "Can we all please calm down? What kind of family dinner is this?"
All eyes turned to her.
Viviana simply went back to her food. Nikolas narrowed his eyes. He had been prepared to protect her in every possible way if things went wrong. But looking at the situation, she could handle these people.
His lips twitched into a barely noticeable smile.
Amadeo forced himself to sink back into his chair.
She was slipping further and further out of his grasp. The Viviana he had crushed in his palm would never have spoken to him this way.
But now... "I can see those scars haven’t taught you enough."
Viviana instantly froze.