The Slave of Pleasure
Chapter 85

Rachel

Upon hearing Veronica started talking about the empire she had and how she owned more than half of Italy's designer stores, something inside me immediately fitted. The way of walking, the look, the posture of superiority... Of course, she was Veronica, a famous and influential woman, known for her fortune and, for what she had heard in comments here and there, for her fierce personality. She looked at me like I was a trivial accessory, and this expression didn't help anything in the discomfort I was already feeling.

"You should pass any of my stores," she said in a condescending tone. - I could buy better clothes than this one you are wearing.

His words hit me, but I refused to show it. With an eye on, I realized Vincenzo preparing to intervene in my defense, but before he could say anything, something impulsive inside me took the reins of the situation. "I'll enjoy it and buy a degree glasses for you," I said, with a wry smile on his face.

Veronica seemed confused, lifting an eyebrow as I processed my words. Vincenzo looked at me clearly surprised, but there was a touch of approval in his gaze. Before she could think of retorting, I completed, without hesitation: - Who wears sunglasses at night...?

For a moment, silence fell over the room. I expected some kind of explosive reaction from Veronica, a scathing answer or an even more severe look. However, to my surprise, she just watched me up and down, as if she was evaluating my comment, and to my surprise a smile emerged on her lips.

"You know, Vincenzo," she said, turning to him with an approval look. "I really liked her."

I could hardly hide my surprise by hearing those words get out of your mouth. Vincenzo seemed equally surprised, but outlined a small smile, perhaps relieved that that tense exchange did not cast in something worse. Veronica then straightened her glasses, looking at me as if I had passed some personal tests from her.

"Well, that's just what I wanted to treat with you for now, Vincenzo," she said, turning her attention to him, but her eyes still had a tintious spark when she stares me again.

Vincenzo just nodded, apparently preferring not to extend the subject. I knew he wouldn't say anything else, so I just got there firm as Veronica walked toward the exit. When she passed me, I noticed that debauchery smile on her face, a smile that seemed to say "I'm still the queen."

As soon as she left and the door closed, I sighted that she didn't even know how to hold. I felt relieved, but at the same time, strangely energized. It was as if that exchange, however tense it was, gave me a new confidence. The woman I feared most here, a person who could put any relationship at risk, had somehow recognized and even praised my courage.

Vincenzo, in turn, approached me, his eyes reflecting a mix of fun and curiosity.

"You really know how to make a good impression," he said, with a fun tone.

"Let's say ... I learned from the best," I said, returning his smile.

I did not know what the future reserved, especially with someone as Veronica in our orbit. But one thing I knew: from now on, I would face anyone with the same courage I had at that moment. Veronica was an intimidating presence, but I refused to let her define who I was or the way I saw myself alongside Vincenzo.

After all, as powerful as she was, it was just another obstacle that I was willing to face in the name of what I felt.

As soon as the door closed behind Veronica, I let the silence take over the room. Although I felt more relieved, a whirlwind of questions began to form in my mind. I couldn't contain the impulse to finally ask Vincenzo who was really that woman and what was his connection with him.

- Who is she, Vincenzo? I asked, trying to keep my voice firm, but unable to hide the restlessness I felt.

He looked at me for a brief moment, seeming to ponder what to say. Finally, he sighted and answered in a cold and distant tone, as if talking about a subject he would rather keep buried.

-Veronica is ... my ex-girlfriend. Never accepted the end. We ended up for some time, but she insists on reappearing, trying to resume. Since it was abroad, I thought time and distance would solve the situation... but it seems I was wrong. It was just a matter of time until she returned.

These words hit me like a shock. I already suspected that there was something more in the relationship between them, but hearing confirmation made me feel a tightness in my chest. Vincenzo I had never talked about an ex-girlfriend before, let alone someone who still chased him, even though he was clearly trying to move on.

As these words hovered in the air, he turned, as if he did not want to prolong the subject, and began to climb the stairs toward his room. I stood there, processing everything I had just heard. The sound of his steps echoing through the steps seemed distant as I tried to assimilate what it meant to us.

The initial discomfort gave way to a certain fear, an uncertainty that until then I had not felt so intensely. Veronica was not any woman; It was someone with history, with influence, and apparently someone who still had enough power to shake Vincenzo. He could even seem calm on the outside, but I noticed that only sweat fillet sliding down his forehead, a reaction he probably tried to hide. It revealed what he tried to camouflage: a small but significant, weakness before her. The possibility of her still meant something to him, that there were buried feelings, was a reality that took me completely. Vincenzo was not someone who was easily shaken, but there, as much as he tried, he could not completely hide the tension that Veronica's presence caused him. And that, inevitably, planted a seed of doubt within me.

Would Veronica insist on reacting again? And if that happened, what did I actually represent for Vincenzo? I knew he liked me, that he showed affection and even careful, but was that enough to resist what Veronica seemed willing to do? She clearly wasn't a woman who easily gave up, and this kind of stubbornness could easily turn my world upside down.

I took a deep breath, trying to replace some peace, but all I found was a feeling of vulnerability that I hadn't felt for a long time.