5. DINNER NOT SERVED

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"Your mother wants you back at the mansion for dinner." Sasha informed Natalia as the two of them stepped out into the afternoon sun.

"Am I invited?" Alessio asked.

"Mom does not invite outsiders to the mansion. Says it's her sacred space." Natalia recited the age-old excuse.

Alessio wanted to snort. He wondered what a woman like Aria Wellington could hold sacred. She definitely did not hold the institution of marriage sacred. And it was starting to look like nor did she hold any importance for a relationship as pure and sacred as that of a mother and a child.

"Alright then." He took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles, looking up with a twinkle in his eyes. "I hope to see you very soon, Miss Natalia Wellington."

Natalia bit her lips to suppress a smile as she rolled her eyes. "I am busy till next weekend." She said.

He nodded. "Guess I am lucky I have work to keep me company till then."

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"Alessio Gretto is the ultimate charmer!" Sasha squealed that evening as she drove Natalia to the Wellington mansion. "Man, I wonder if he has ever seen himself in a suit. The mere thought brings moisture to my dry vagina."

Natalia gave her assistant a flat look.

"Careful, Sasha. You are talking about the man who I might marry. You don't want a jealous boss on your back, do you?"

Sasha chuckled but raised a brow as she looked in the rear view mirror. Natalia was on her iPad, working on a weekend. Typical Natalia.

"I thought you told your mother that you would only meet him once. But here you are, having set another date. And even talking about marrying him."

Natalia looked up, realizing for the first time what she had said.

She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before she shrugged, "Any man who can get on my mother's nerves is an ally. And he seems like a nice guy. I guess I could do worse?"

"Wait a minute, are you really considering marrying the Italian Adonis?" Sasha anything but screamed.

Natalia flinched at the shrill noise and then shook her head, "I said no such thing."

"But you implied so." Sasha correctly caught on. 

Natalia rolled her eyes. "Sasha, my darling, it has been a really long day and I am exhausted. I might say things that I do not mean or completely comprehend. Please do not misunderstand." 

"People often tell the truth when they are drunk or tired." The PA muttered under her breath as she pulled up into the Wellington mansion. 

The butler, who once worked for Natalia's father, came forward to open the door. 

"Stuart." Natalia smiled genuinely. He was one of the few faces which she liked to encounter there. 

"Miss Robertson." The man refused to call her Miss Wellington. According to him, she was the only heir of his former employer and she would always be a Robertson to him. 

"Come on Stuart, you don't want the great Aria Wellington to hear you call her that." Sasha stepped out, looking up at the outrageous twenty-five bedroom monstrosity of  a residence that was inhabited by just one person. Even the staff lived in separate quarters. 

"I would come in," Sasha started and Natalia rolled her eyes, "But this place is really bad for my spiritual magnetic field." 

"And any man's sanity." Stuart coughed into his fist. 

Natalia chuckled, giving Stuart a pat on his arm before climbing the stairs that led to the front double door. Sasha leaned against the car hood and pulled out her phone while Stuart followed the miss. The PA would have left since Aria had called Natalia for dinner but she knew that after getting slapped the same day, there was no way in hell Natalia was staying for happy family time. 

The only reason the twenty-five-year-old even bothered showing up was because she did not want another temper tantrum or emotional outburst. 

Natalia sighed as she pushed open the door and walked in. 

"Good that you are here!" Aria made her daughter jump as she grabbed her arms as soon as Stuart opened the door for her. "I checked with my sources. He might seem like a loser but he is the only heir. So the inheritance is safe!" 

Natalia rolled her eyes. "He does not look like a loser, mother." 

Aria abruptly let her go and walked over to the couch and plopped down. "You are right. He just needs a makeover, which I expect you to give him as soon as possible. I cannot have you getting papped with a weirdo who dresses half his age." 

Natalia decided to keep her mouth shut for her own peace. 

"Is that all?" She asked. She knew that now her mother had had her word, and she looked pretty pleased with herself, she would not bother to invite her to stay for dinner even though she used the pretext to have Natalia come over. 

"Yes." She was on her phone. "And I see that you like him." 

Natalia narrowed her eyes. She wanted to argue but she wanted to see what had brought her to that conclusion. 

"Which is good. I want the alliance as long as it can last." 

Natalia rolled her eyes. Of course, she was not going to get a follow-up on the earlier statement. And just look at the audacity of the woman to keep the marriage going for her own gain while she could never make a marriage last to save her life! 

Aria looked up with a smirk. 

"You are not arguing today. You really do like him." 

Natalia opened her mouth to retort but Aria continued, "But honestly, you could do so much better than that wannabe. Mommy will let you off the hook as soon as she gets what she wants from the Grettos." 

Natalia felt bile rise up her throat. How could her mother be so vile? 

She was worried that one day she would turn out to be as horrible as the woman who gave birth to her. 

"I am leaving." She huffed. 

“Okay.”

Aria didn't even bother with a goodbye.

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