CHAPTER 16: RICARDO’S POV

RICARDO’S POV

The week crawls by like a test I never agreed to take.

My father’s words still echo in my head.

You’ll escort Valentina to the Falconeri Gala. No arguments.

So here I am, in a perfectly pressed suit, waiting for a woman I don’t want beside me.

She walks down the stairs like she’s descending a runway, perfume thick enough to choke the air.

“Don’t you look handsome,” she purrs. “Almost like you’re excited to see me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I mutter, adjusting my cufflinks.

She laughs, looping her arm through mine before I can move. “Relax, Ricky. It’s just one night.”

Yeah. One night too long.

Matteo spots me from across the hall, his smirk all teeth.

He leans close as we walk out. “Still pretending you don’t care?”

“About what?” I snap.

He raises a brow. “About who, you mean.”

I glare at him. “Drop it.”

He doesn’t. “You know your father’s not stupid. He’s watching. So whatever you’re doing with her—”

“I’m not doing anything.”

He laughs under his breath. “You keep tel