67. Out of my mind...

"Silvestri , I'm glad you could honor my invitation tonight." Liam Duke and his wife Lovett had walked over to him to greet him. 

"It's only proper to honor a business partner," he neatly says while shaking the man's hand.

"I see you came alone tonight, you weren't accompanied by Marchetti or the lovely lady DeFalco," At the mention of her name, his aura became even darker.

He had fought with himself for hours before coming here, trying to get her out of his head, only to come here and hear her name again, making him think of her again, bringing that confusing ache to his chest again.

"If that's not a problem, yes, I did come alone… Mrs Duke," he simply says, clearly showing that he had no further comment on the matter, and then taking the hand of the lovely Lovett Duke and placing a charming kiss on her knuckles. He was instantly ushered to his seat at the very front facing the stage.

*Clink_Clink_Clink* Lovett Duke stood on the stage in her radiant graciousness, gently slapping her ring finger on her wine glass to call attention to herself, and every eye turned to face her.

"Good evening everyone, I want to officially welcome you all here tonight, I'm hoping we're all having a pleasant time. I want to say a big thank you to everyone for honoring our invitation tonight. I know most of us would have squeezed out of our busy schedules to come here tonight, so on behalf of me and my husband Liam, I say a big thank you for gracing us with your expensive presence."

A resounding round of applause followed her words as Liam climbed up stage, slightly kissing her lips as he helped her get down from the stage.

"That lady has me drooling every time," Liam chortles, causing everyone to let out a loud laugh, everyone except Zeno who had no reason to find anything funny.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, to open the dance floor, I'll call up our major partners who made this foundation a success to do the honors."

"Firstly, we have…Mr. Zeno Silvestri." A thundering round of applause echoed throughout the place at the mention of his name, all eyes on him. But he wasn't in the mood to rise up from where he sat, neither was he in the mood to dance, but this is business… Yes business.

With a deep breath, he lifted himself up from his seat, the loud applause not stopping for one moment, not until he reached up stage and shook hands with Liam, and calmly stood next to him.

"Next is… oh, we'll call for them later, they're running a little late… Then next, we have our very own Lady Anna Marie…" Another round of applause filled the air as Signorina Anna Marie walked up stage, shook hands with Liam, gave an acknowledging bow to Zeno and stood beside him.

"Mr. Philip Grand… Signora Michelle Brown… Mr. Enzo Barone." At the mention of his name, Anna instantaneously rolled her eyes, and he winked at her as he walked up stage, taking a spot at the other side of Liam Duke. At that moment, a man walks up to Duke and whispers some words into his ear.

"I've just been informed that one of our honorable partners couldn't make it tonight and in his stead, his equally capable daughter will stand in for him tonight…"

What was this weird feeling? Fear, hope, or nervousness. Zeno had no idea, he could easily guess who the persons in question were, and on one hand he was eager to see her, but on the other he hoped she wasn't the one, he didn't wish to meet with her. So what was this?

This confusing feeling, what is it called when you want something you don't want?

"So ladies and gentlemen, help me welcome on stage Signorina Luna DeFalco" And there it was, that sudden pause in his heart when his heart would cease to beat, and everything around him went on standstill, and then after the pause comes the pulsating rush, the quickened heartbeat, the abnormal pumping and distribution of blood from his heart to every other part of his body, and he tried not to... He tried his hardest not to stare, telling himself that he didn't want to see her.

But his eyes failed him... He looked.

Gracefully, she walked forward, in that long and flowing black sequence gown. The off-shoulder cut, giving a perfect highlight to her fine shoulders, the slit of the gown reaching the upper part of her left thigh, giving a major emphasis to her slim legs, perfectly spooning her petite figure, her hair… her hair, it was still blue, perfectly straightened over her shoulders, and she shimmered underneath the illumination of the hall, and she was... beautiful.

Her cheeks and neck were sunken, and she'd lost some weight, he could tell.

But she was still beautiful, this little Luna of his, and she was causing his insides to stir up, and she was not even paying him the slightest of attention, she wasn't even glancing his way, but she was making him desperate, he didn't know it, or maybe he just refused to acknowledge it, but he was drawn to her.

Seeing how much she'd lost weight made him ache, but at the same time, there was this burning desire inside of him, the desire to grab her by her shoulders and pull her into his arms, and hug her tight, and then… then he wished to taste that sweetness once again, that sweetness that has kept him awake for long, long, hunting nights.

He wished to kiss her, and not just short and quick, but for long, long, breathtaking minutes. "devo essere fuori di testa... I think I'm loosing it."