Chapter 14: Serpents in Silk
1332 Words
~Isabella’s POV~
The air inside the ballroom had grown thick, choking......perfumed with too much wealth and too many lies. Laughter rang out in tinkling notes, but underneath it all was a tension only I could feel gnawing at my nerves. I stood there, rigid as stone, wrapped in designer fabric and old scars, every smile around me a reminder of the mask I was forced to wear.
I needed to get out.
I needed air. Real air.
Not this suffocating illusion of civility.
I murmured an excuse to Dante. Something about needing the restroom, and slipped away from the gilded chaos. My heels clicked sharply against the polished floors as I made my way out of the ballroom and into the hushed corridors of the Mondragon estate.
The air beyond the ballroom was cooler, but not kinder. This house, with its mirrored halls and velvet walls, knew me too well. It whispered things I didn’t want to hear. Every chandelier shimmered like it might drip blood instead of light.
I trailed my fingers against the velvet wallpaper I had once helped choose. The once familiar hallway stretching out before me, like a scene from a dream I tried so hard to forget. The portraits on the walls stared down with frozen judgment. Ghosts of the past with painted smiles.
I turned sharply into a corner, and collided into someone.
Smack! Our shoulders roughly brushing against the other.
The sharp impact sent me stumbling slightly. As I clutched my clutch tighter, steadying my heels. And then,
“Watch it!” a voice snapped.
One which was unmistakable. Sharp as a whip and laced with venom.
My head lifted, and time stopped for a subtle moment.
Just as I presumed.
Jackie Mondragon!
Of course, it had to be her.
Tall, lean, draped in a silver gown that shimmered like ice and ego. Her dark silky hair was twisted into an elegant chignon, her lips pulled into that ever disdainful curl.
Her eyes icy blue like Robert’s, looked me up and down like I was something stuck to the bottom of her Valentino shoes. Then my gaze locked with hers, and something inside me tilted.
I should have walked away.
But I didn’t.
My breath caught, rage rising like bile in my throat.
I remembered trying so hard back then when I was Melissa. Desperate for her approval. Inviting her to lunches, gifting her the same designer bags she flaunted, smiling even when she mocked my accent, my past, my humble beginnings.
“Your bargain bin charm is adorable, Melissa,” she once told me during a family dinner, sipping wine like she hadn’t just gutted me with a grin.
I should’ve known then.
I wasn’t meant to be one of them.
And now?
I wasn’t even meant to exist.
But I did.
“Maybe you should watch where you’re going,” I said smoothly, with a quiet fire, my eyes locking with hers.
A beat of silence.
She stiffened, blinking rapidly. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I replied, brushing invisible dust off my gown. “Your ego must’ve blocked your vision.”
Her eyes flared, as her brows pinched, ever so slightly. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” her voice was slower now, thrown off.
I smiled. “Just someone who still walks like the world owes her a red carpet.”
That did it.
Her eyes narrowed. Confusion warred with fury on her face. She took a half-step closer, her head tilting. “Have we met?”
Ah.
There it was.
The c***k.
But my smile didn’t waver. “I’m sure I’d remember. You’re… hard to forget.”
Jackie’s face twisted. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Take it however way you dim fit, if it helps you sleep well at night.” I spouted.
She stepped closer again, annoyance bubbling into indignation.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but you just bumped into me, and now you’re being rude. Apologize.”
“Or what?” I challenged, voice soft but laced with steel. “You’ll call security? Throw another tantrum in Daddy’s house?”
Her mouth parted slightly. Face contorted with shock.
Something flickered in her eyes. Suspicion. Recognition that wasn’t quite full. But enough.
In a swift moment, she reached for my arm, gripping it tightly.
“You don’t know me,” she hissed. “You don’t get to talk to me like that.”
I looked down at her hand.
“Let. Go. Of. My. Arm.”
But she didn’t.
Her hand lifted instead.....slowly, like she was considering whether to strike me.
I didn’t flinch.
I wanted her to try.
God! I wished should would, so badly.
But just before her hand could move
“Now, now. This is no way to treat our guests, Jackie.” came a deep voice.
Dante.
Effortless. Leaning against the archway like a bored prince, voice dipped in irony.
“Seriously, what is it with you Mondragons and hallway drama?”
Jackie flinched like he’d thrown water on her. Her hand dropped.
“She started it,” she muttered.
“She finished it, too.” Dante walked forward and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “With more grace than I’d have shown.”
Jackie’s eyes flicked between us, first to me, then to him.....and back again. She sniffed, eyes still suspicious, and swept off with a final venom-laced glance.
As soon as she disappeared, Dante chuckled.
“You’re lucky I showed up when I did. That woman can file a complaint just for blinking the wrong way near her.”
“Do you make a habit of rescuing women from rich bullies?” I muttered dryly.
“Only the ones with claws sharp enough to scare me,” he teased, winking.
I rolled my eyes, lips twitching despite myself.
“Come on,” he said, offering his hand. “Let’s get out of here before one of your other fans throws a drink on you.”
Thank goodness, it's almost like he could read my mind. I was completely done, not looking forward to more drama tonight and neither did I want to spend another ill fated second in this hell hole. And with that we made our way towards the entrance, no half hearted goodbyes, nothing and exited the premises.
**************************
The car ride was quiet at first.
City lights flickered past the tinted windows as I leaned my head back, trying to process the whirlwind of the evening. My fingers tapped anxiously against my thigh.
Dante sat beside me, one arm draped lazily over the backseat, his cologne faint but comforting. For a moment, I studied him through the soft lighting. There was something unreadable in his gaze, something simmering just beneath the surface.
Something gnawed at me.
Finally, I spoke.
“Can I ask you something?” I said, breaking the quiet.
Dante glanced over. “Sure.”
“Back at the party… you said something. About Robert. And earlier, he called you his arch-nemesis.”
Why?
Dante exhaled, long and slow. “That wasn’t just for show.”
There was a pause, heavy with implication.
“Robert and I have been rivals since we were kids,” he said eventually. “Business. Women. Power. We’ve always been at odds. He wanted to dominate the world… I just wanted to make sure he didn’t get away with it.”
His voice turned bitter. “Then it got serious. Business serious. He climbed by cutting people. I built from scratch.”
I watched him, studying the shadows on his face.
“You still hate him?” I asked , feeling anxious.
Dante turned his gaze to me, sharp and unwavering.
“No.” A pause. Then a cruel smile. “I want to destroy him.”
My throat went dry.
His voice dropped, deliberate and deadly.
“And that’s where you come in, Isabella.”
- Writer
