His Champagne

Chapter 24: The Party

My hand wrapped around Romeo's muscular arm that was dressed with a cuffed beautiful royal blue sleeve and his blazer being closed by a single pearl button. I wore a long gown that matched with his palette and it screamed elegance. He opened the door of his cleaned black Porsche for me, letting my heels gently enter the vehicle. Romeo got in and held my hand again.

"Out of all times I could reunite with you, it had to be a party hosted by an asshole." He caressed my hand gently.

With a chuckle, "Pft, unfortunately. At least we get to look pretty. Maybe I'll get to dance properly with you this time?"

"Oh, I'll really see if you improved or not." His dimples appeared, "My feet are still aching from the time you stepped on me!"

I looked away, "Oh, please– Pft, heh!"

He and I were just playing around because this was no normal invitation. I didn't expect much from this party but we both knew we had to keep our heads high and stay cautious of Kenzo's every move. It had already been 2 weeks since I last saw him and heard him insult me in that janitor's closet. He was again unpredictable.

"Are you afraid of what the guests are going to think of you?" I pinned my eyes in the rear mirror, "It's been hard for you, and I'm sorry."

"No, no. I got used to it by now." He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, "It's not your fault too."

I felt reassured, "I'll always be by your side, okay?"

"Yeah, me too." Romeo smiled.

Back to staring at the moving streets, I let myself breathe. It had been a hectic couple of months after reuniting with Kenzo. But there were still unanswered questions I still had. Why was he so against the Aldine family? What did Elias do to him? Was Kenzo just a psychopath or someone with actual intentions? Dammit and I thought meeting him would answer all of them.

[...]

Elias, disguised as Claude, walked up the stairs to the banquet hall with Ivy's arm wrapped around his. They had to wear those fancy masquerade masks to fit the theme. Claude wore a signature Ralph Lauren black suit to match his edgy and demon-like mask, as Ivy was the complete opposite of him wearing a beautiful white lace dress to fit her bright angelic mask. He paused as he was about to enter, knowing it was very risky for him.

"Are you afraid?" Ivy caught up, fluffing her long dress behind her.

He nodded slowly. Claude met eyes with himself at the window's reflection, "Do I look okay?"

"Yes, you do. There's nothing to be afraid of, especially of what you've been through." She connected her eyes to the window, "You look great."

"It's been way too long since I've dressed up like this. The only time I could remember being this good-looking was ten years ago." Claude gave a smirk, "Thanks Ivy. You look good to yourself too."

She fixed her mask, "Hehe, thank you. Shall we enter now? It's starting to get crowded at the front."

"Yeah, of course." He led the way and lined up behind the guests, "Aren't you excited to see Ethan? I wonder what he's going to look like."

"I'm pretty nervous, cause I got lots to say to him." Ivy's eyes softened as she continued to think about him, "I can't wait. This is like a dream come true to me, and I'm so scared!"

Claude's smirk widened, "You'll do just fine. I hope you two have an opportunity to talk."

They stepped forward as the line started to progress. Her cheeks started to blush like red, "I think I see him."