THE MAFIA’S MISTAKEN BRIDE

Xavier’s POV

Her packed white hair catches my attention first.

Then the elegant nude degrading Capri evening dress she is wearing, makes my jaws drop in admiration.

She flashes me a smile and I stand up to drag out a seat for her, not knowing what exactly to do, whether to hug her or peck her forehead.

Muttering a thank you, she slides to the seat and I go back to my seat. When I am seated, I continue to stare at her beautiful face.

I am mesmerized by her dress and look except for one thing.

Her hair.

I thought she was going to disguise it with that black wig. The same one she normally uses but she isn’t.

For the very first time in years, I feel nervous. I feel like there is something I am not doing.

This is a date and I should be relaxed but I am not. Perhaps, it’s because this is my first. I don’t do dates or relationships. All I had ever had were one-night stands and casual flings like that of Catherina’s.

Soft music begins to flow through the restaurant, jerking me back to reality.

“Are we going to stare all day or do something?” She flashes me a smile, showing her perfect set of teeth.

It makes me want to ask her if she is smiling because she is happy here with me. She is still on about leaving after Sebastian has been gotten rid of but I want to know what she really wants.

This.

Or a new life.

“Shall we order?” I demand, against my will. This isn’t the time to talk about our situation. This is a date and I shouldn’t ruin it.

I wanted to take dating advice from Mathew but my ego wouldn’t let me. So I resorted to seeking advice online.

I am supposed to please her. Grant her all she wants since this is our first date.

I was supposed to hug or kiss her too as soon as she entered but I was too carried away and confused about whether to hug or kiss her.

I already failed in that aspect and I am hoping I won’t mess up anymore.

She shakes her head. “Let’s talk first.”

My heart skipped a beat at that.

Talk? What does she want us to talk about? We can talk when we get home, this is a date!

“Let’s talk about us. I want to know you more and I don’t mind telling you more about me too and that is if you haven’t done your findings since there is little or nothing to know about me other than my name”, she mumbles with another smile which I find strange.

Is she trying to do this as a goodbye? In preparation for leaving?

Why does the thought of her leaving make me feel horrible inside?

“Your name is Xavier Ravarivelo, what else am I supposed to know about you?” she questions when I am not saying a word.

I am just sitting rigidly in my seat and staring at her.

Shrugging, I answer. “Nothing much. I am not an interesting personality.”Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

She nods in agreement and looks thoughtful for a while before blurting. “You are in the Mafia, I know that. You love black and dark colors. You don’t eat or sleep regularly. You love coffee. You don’t associate much with people. You find it hard to open up. You are not transparent. You have Italian blood. You love Italian food. You speak Italian fluently. You are filthy rich?”

It sounds more like a question. Like she is asking me if what she thinks of me is right. It almost makes me smile but I only continue to look at her.

“Is there anything else?” she asks after a moment of silence.

I shake my head.

“What about your past relationships?” she demands out of the blue, the joyless smile coming back to her face like the other day at the party.

“Any exes?” I shake my head, not willing to dwell on that. We shouldn’t be talking about this.

“Have you ever been in love?” she questions again, making me wonder where this is leading.

“No”, I answer confidently, folding my arms and awaiting more questions.

“Really?” her eyes sparkle at my reply. “You’ve never been in love? Not even with Andre? Or Catherina?”

This is it.

Did I just detect a note of jealousy in her voice? Mixed with curiosity.

“The relationship between Cassandra and I was just a fling. It was nothing serious”, I respond honestly, hoping this will be the end of this conversation.

“What about Andre?”

“You know I don’t like her so don’t ask me if…”

“Really?” I glance up in confusion. Where exactly is this leading to? What is she trying to get out of me?

“What do you mean?” I manage to ask.

“If you didn’t feel a thing for either Catherina or Andre, then why should I stay back and not leave?” her face hardened suddenly, making me more dazed.

I frown, sitting up. “I don’t understand what this is all about. What exactly do you mean, Andr…Jas…”

“You see? There you have it. You still call me Andre.”

Tears spring to her eyes. “I thought maybe something beautiful was going to spring up between us after that day you told me those lies and I did too. All those kisses, those stares, I thought they meant something but now I get it. They are all meant for Andre as I have always thought. I can’t believe you just called me her…”

“You need to calm down, ok?” I cut her short. “You don’t expect me to get used to calling you your real name after knowing you as Andre all this while…”

“All these while? You knew I wasn’t her right from the start, Xavier. You don’t need to lie to me!” Her voice is loud, making me furrow my brows and wonder what exactly happened back home before she came here.

Did she talk to Andre or Nicholas? Where is all of this coming from? Just when I thought I would be the one to ruin our date, here she is trying to ruin it.

“I am not lying!”

“You aren’t? Then tell me when you got to know I was her. Wasn’t it from that night in Chicago?”

I remain silent.

“No!” I finally utter with all honesty. I never knew. I was 100% sure she was Andre. I was damn sure it was her even when she had a different hair color. I thought she changed her hair color just to deceive me.

“When did you know?”

“A day before we got married”, I respond and a sob leaves her mouth immediately.

Instead of saying something to console her or make her feel better, I sit still, unable to do a thing.

I don’t even know what to do. I am not used to this. I don’t know how to deal with women’s tantrums and to be frank, I am upset Jasmine is doing this.

The silence goes on for several minutes before she leans upright, her eyes dry. “Let’s go home, please.”

I almost exclaim loudly in disbelief.

We came here on a date. I was hoping we could start something from here but here she is demanding that we go back home.

I did a lot to put things together so we could have a good night.

“Jasmine”, I call softly.

“Let’s just go home, please.”

I glance at my watch and nod. We’ve spent just twenty minutes here and our date is over.

Shooting to my feet, I ignore the rush of adrenaline inside of me. She does not wait for me to pull back her chair before standing up. Then she begins to stride towards the exit.

I follow.

The ride back home is in extreme silence. She is looking out of the window while I watch her carefully, trying so hard to figure out what happened and what triggered this behavior from her.

Is this because she is looking for every means to leave?

I try to think of what to say to break the awkward silence between us but nothing comes to my head.

I am too angry to think of the right thing to do. If this is what a relationship is about, then I don’t think I can handle this.

I thought she was going to talk about having Andre’s name on our marriage certificate again like she did the other day and I was ready to tell her a big NO.

I changed the name the very next day after our wedding. Aside from that, it doesn’t even matter whose name is on the damn paper. The fact remains that I got married to her, not Andre.

She was the one present in flesh and blood, not Andre.

When our car stops right in front of our home, I shift, hoping she would spare me a glance but she is still.

I clear my throat but she is not moving.

“Jasmine”, I call eventually. “Did something happen back home before you came to the restaurant?”

I feel it.

Something must have happened. Something triggered it.

Did she speak with Moore? Or Andre?

She turns to me with disbelief skating her expression. She turns back to the car window as the gate opens and the driver drives in.

I sigh deeply, tired of having this conversation with her. Maybe I should let things be. I will let her be and then tomorrow, when she is level-headed, I will ask her again what happened and we will resolve it.

I will also make sure the security is tight so she doesn’t try to run off again like the last time.

The car stops and I open the door to come out. Before I can turn to the other side to open the door like a gentleman just like I was reminding myself to do after our date today, she steps out hurriedly, walking past me.

I shut the door.

When I turn back, a figure appears, blocking Jasmine.

“Andre?” he calls out, staring with jaws dropped as I make out his face.

“Alex?” I called to be sure it is him. I rush towards him. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He closes his mouth and shifts his gaze to me, his eyes still widened in fear and confusion. “What is Andre doing here?”

Where the hell does he know Andre from?

He turns to the quiet Jasmine who is still fuming in anger for being mistaken as Andre. He points to her hair. “Your hair. What happened? What are you doing here?”

Her jaws tighten and she grits her teeth in response. “I am Jasmine Cooper, not Andre.”

With that, she storms past him, leaving a curious me with my confused prodigal brother, Alex.