Chapter 18

HAZEL'S POV~









"Two birds, two different worlds."









I stood silently behind Matteo as he spoke to whoever was on the other line in Italian. He wore a black suit with a red tie that matched my dress. He looked like a model without even trying. His black hair was slick and combed back. He looked nice, even more than nice but he didn't need to know that.

Heidi had long left to catch up with a flight. Apparently, she had another appointment in Uk, I envied everything but her busy lifestyle. She was working too hard for her good, maybe that's what has taken her this far so I'm not judging.



"Weeeew!" Jamie whistled as he and Mikhail approached us with smiles on their faces.



"You look gorgeous, dear." Mikhail complimented me as he reached out for my hands placing a gentle kiss on them. I blushed shyly at his actions.



"Oh my..." said Jamie in a low voice with admiration all over his face.



"Looks like someone will be cutting off heads tonight," he joked nodding at Matteo who was still on the call. Mikhail and Jamie laughed out loud drawing his attention to us. I watched as he eyed me from head to toe with an unfamiliar look in his eyes.



"Boss," Leonardo called from the door, breaking his stare. "The car is ready."



"Okay, we'll be there," Matteo replied before facing Mikhail and Jamie. "Take proper care of things here until I'm back," he instructed before walking out leaving me stunned. Not that I wanted him to but the least he could do was compliment my look. A girl needs her confidence.



"Don't mind him, darling, you look stunning." Mikhail consoled me. Jamie gave a thumbs up nodding his head in agreement. I laughed at their efforts to cheer me up. I waved at them before walking out of the door into the front porch where the car was waiting. Leonardo, the driver, smiled at me as he opened the door for me. I entered giving him a grateful smile before he closed the door behind me.













MATTEO'S POV~













I entered the car, seething as we waited for the reason for my anger to join us. She was probably smiling and gushing around Mikhail like some love-sick puppy.





Finally, she appeared at the front door with a big smile on her face. I wonder what he had said this time that made her blush like that. Leonardo opened the door for her. We sat in silence as the car navigated through the city, deciding to brief her on some important details about tonight I broke the silence.



"Once we arrive, I want you to be on guard. I don't think we can trust anyone until I'm sure. So avoid being alone," I warned."Make sure you are by my side the whole time, and don't talk to anyone unless I ask you to," she didn't say anything, only nodding her head and looking out the car window. None of us said anything as we sat in silence. Hazel was acting rather strangely tonight, not saying a word and agreeing to everything I say.



"Why isn't Mikhail coming with us?" She asked, staring at me curiously.



"There were some other important matters he needed to take care of," I grunted. I could feel my whole body trembling from anger, the car was starting to get hot even with the AC on.



"Oh, okay." I heard her sigh in disappointment. Turning to face her, I watched as she absentmindedly bit her lip before continuing."What did you get him for his birthday?"



I furrowed my eyes. I'm confused about that question. " Whose birthday?"



"Mikhail's of course... don't tell me you forgot?" She remarked, giving me a dirty look. So he told her about his birthday? What was even going on between these two? I've known Mikhail for years now and not once have I seen him warm up to someone as quickly as he did with Hazel. There has to be something I didn't know unless... was he in love with her?



No, Mikhail wasn't like that, it was so unlike him but still, that didn't explain his actions. I pondered on these thoughts until we got to the hotel where the party was being held.



Leonardo opened the door for us, I first stepped out before helping her out too. We stepped on the red carpet that led to the automatic doors of the hotel. My arms wrapped around her waist pulling her close to me, from the corner of my eye I observed her reaction to that and she appeared unaffected. Impossible.



"Remember what I said. Be on guard." I whispered before we stepped into the large ballroom. Every eye turned in our direction watching us with caution, some in curiosity. I was used to the attention but I was worried for Hazel. Who was doing a very great job by the way? She didn't look scared or nervous rather she had this bored look, almost like everyone here didn't matter at all to her and they didn't. With her chin high and a smile on her lips, she let me lead her to some of my acquaintances over the years. Many of whom could barely hide their attraction to her. I glared as we walk past a group of young spoilt brats checking her out.



"Matteo, son!" called a voice behind me. I turned to see Marcus, an old friend of my father walking toward us.



"I didn't expect to see you here? How's the city treating you?" I moved over to the states about a year ago to handle the business over here which was basically crumbling.



"It's been good. How's your health? I see you still drink," my eyes scanned the glass of liquor he held in his hands. He was diagnosed some years ago with kidney disease. I didn't know the details but from what I overheard, his right kidney had been damaged from his excess consumption of alcohol.



"My health is fine, just age catching up with this old man," he joked before his eyes flickered to Hazel who stood silently the whole time. "Who is the beauty beside you?"



"Yeah, who is she? Some of us are very curious to know," an idiot whom I didn't recall his name said out loud proving that he had been eavesdropping on our conversation.



"None of your fucking business," I smiled through gritted teeth before returning to the earlier conversation.



"She is..." I paused looking at Hazel. "A friend, a very close friend. Her name is..." He cut me off.



"Hold on Matteo let the beautiful introduce herself. She's not dumb now is she?" He asked, giving her a warm smile.



Smiling brightly, Hazel reached out a hand as she introduced herself. "I'm not, sir, nice meeting you," the look on Marcus's face showed he was impressed.



"Is she?" He cocked his head in question. Not knowing what to say, I waved it off, changing the subject to a move he noticed. As we spoke, Hazel excused herself to go get a drink, my eyes followed her as she walked to the bar grabbing a glass of red wine. She was looking very captivating tonight. Acting all innocent and strutting with confidence. She basically had the attention of almost every man in this room.



"You are not going to be marrying her?" Marcus asked, catching my attention. I shook my head looking over at her.



"Oh... that's too bad. You do know she will make an excellent partner, especially to the family?" He had a point there, only Hazel didn't even know who I was. I knew she had her suspicions, she had earlier guessed that I am a crime lord, I didn't think she realize how correct she was.



"Yeah, but how am I that she won't leave like the rest?" By the rest, I mean his wife, my mom and so many other women who abandon their children just because they dislike their husbands' line of work.



"Don't make decisions based on past experiences. If anything you should learn from our mistakes and know not to lie to the woman you claim to love," he said with a serious tone. "She deserves to know the truth," I looked over again to Hazel to see she was now talking to someone, a man.



It was Dimitri Markov, the very reason I attended this party tonight. The fool who betrayed us. I excused myself, before storming over to them with a deadly look in my eyes. The crowd parted for me as I walked through them, eyes set on the two.

Hazel blushed at something he said before leaning in to whisper to him. Just then she saw me coming, her eyes widened causing Dimitri to look over at me.



"Well, well, look who decided to grace us with his presence," he said in his usual annoying accented voice. Believe it or not, Dimitri and I used to be good friends, very good friends. We were both heirs to different big families, and our preparation to take over brought us together. Even before that our mothers were friends, so sometimes I would go visit them in Russia or they would come down to Italy. He was my first friend until we had a huge fallout and just didn't see eye to eye anymore.



"What are you doing here?" I asked emotionlessly. Hazel stared at the both of us in confusion.



"You know each other?" I snorted at her, meaning fewer questions. I knew everyone at this fucking party and she knew that.



"Yes, darling," Dimitri answered with a smirk. "In fact, we are very good friends, the best of friends."



Choosing to ignore the fool I turned to Hazel. "We are leaving," I announced.



"Excuse you, we just got here," she turned towards me.



"Yes, Matteo, you just got here," Dimitri added, annoying me even further. "How do you think the host will react when you leave the party before it even starts? That would be very awful of you," he grinned. "Besides I was just getting to know this beautiful damsel, right, honey?" I reminded myself to remain calm as I watched the two of them. Hazel twisted her lips slightly into a frown indicating her dislike.



"I told you to not call me that."



"Well, I told you I liked calling you that," he replied, smiling at her. He had this soft look in his eyes, something I had never seen in him ever. The way he spoke to her like she was some damn porcelain doll or something. I frowned while the two of them bickered like I wasn't there. There was something about seeing the two of them together that irked me, they looked perfect together. They had the same features, especially theirs. If you didn't know, you would think they are siblings.

The sound of their laughter irked me even more. Seriously what was it with Hazel and making every guy fall at her feet? First, it was my men at the mansion now it was, Dimitri? Even Marcus was intrigued by her.