SERAFINA'S POV
Next day, an invitation arrived by a courier at 10 in the morning in an elegant cream cardstock with gold embossed lettering.
The Venice Contemporary Art Foundation cordially invites you to celebrate the unprecedented success of "Renaissance Reimagined: New Voices in Classical Tradition." Your contribution to this groundbreaking exhibition has helped make it the most attended opening in our gallery's history.
Join us for an evening of celebration, Friday at 8 PM.
Cocktails, dinner, and recognition of our featured artists.
I stared at the invitation. It was about the same gallery exhibition where I'd first met Lorenzo, where all this began. They were throwing a celebration party, and I was invited as one of the featured artists.
My phone buzzed, another text from Lorenzo:
Did you get the invitation?
Just now. Are you going?
Of course. I'm one of the sponsors. More importantly, I have an important announcement to make there, about us.
My stomach flipped.
What kind of announcement?
The kind that makes this official. We go public. No more hiding, piccola spia. I want everyone to know you're mine.
The possessiveness in his words should have terrified me but it made me happy with dangerous warmth.
Are you sure?
I've never been more sure of anything. Wear something stunning. I want every man in that room to know exactly how lucky I am.
I set down my phone, staring at the invitation.
It was time for the public acknowledgment, official recognition as Lorenzo Vitale's companion.
It was everything my mission demanded of me.
Perfect!!
I spent the entire day shopping, not because I didn't have anything but because I needed something perfect.
The thought of his first love made my chest tighten. I'd been avoiding thinking about her since she'd appeared at his apartment yesterday. Lorenzo had texted me explanations, apologies, requests to meet so he could explain everything. I'd ignored them all.
But tonight would be different. Tonight, he will be making an announcement, choosing me publicly.
Yuki could keep her mysterious business partnerships and shared history. I would have Lorenzo's present.
I finally found the perfect dress in a boutique. It was a deep burgundy silk that hugged my every curve, had off shoulder neckline that was elegant without being overly sexual, a slit up one thigh that made it even more classy.
I spent two hours getting ready. My hair in loose waves, my makeup dramatic but not overdone with my favourite diamond earrings.
My phone buzzed. It was a text from Lorenzo again:
The car will be there at 7:30. Can't wait to see you, bella.
I can't wait either.
The venue was spectacular. The 18th century palace had been converted into an event space, with soaring ceilings, marble floors and crystal chandeliers.
The ballroom was filled with politicians, business leaders, artists, socialites, and more than a few people I recognized from my father's intelligence files as members of various organized crime families. All pretending to be respectable.
Lorenzo was waiting for me at the entrance, looking devastatingly handsome in a black tuxedo. When he saw me, he smiled.
"You're stunning." He said, offering his arm. "Every man in this room is going to hate me tonight."
"Good. I want them to know I'm taken."
"Oh, they'll know." His smile was promising. "Trust me on that."
We moved through the crowd together. Lorenzo introduced me to art collectors, gallery owners, critics, society wives.
Each introduction was the same: "This is Sera Moretti, the brilliant artist whose work stole the show at the Renaissance exhibition."
I should have been pleased by the respect, the professional recognition. Instead, I felt a little upset.
Where was the possessiveness? The public acknowledgment he'd promised?
"You seem tense." Lorenzo observed as we moved toward the bar.
"Just nervous. I've never been to anything this formal before."
"You're more than perfect." He leaned closer. "Have I mentioned how incredible you look in that dress?"
"Once or twice."
"I'm going to enjoy taking it off you later."
"Lorenzo…" I blushed.
"Lorenzo!"
We turned. Dante Vitale was coming towards us.
"Dante." Lorenzo said. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Wouldn't miss it, after all we are celebrating my brother's success." Dante's smile was charming. He looked at me. "And you must be the famous Sera Moretti. I've heard so much about you."
"All good, I hope," I said, extending my hand.
He took it.
"All fascinating. I'm Dante Vitale, Lorenzo's younger and more charming brother. Sera, would you honor me with a dance? I promise to return her in one piece, Lorenzo."
"I don't think…"
"I'd love to." I interrupted.
Something in Dante's expression told me this wasn't a casual request. There was some information that I might need. Lorenzo's jaw tightened, but he couldn't refuse without causing a scene.
"One dance." He said.
"One dance." Dante agreed.
He led me onto the dance floor, with one hand on my waist, and the other holding mine in perfect ballroom position. He was a good dancer.
"You're even more beautiful than the photos." He said as we moved to the music.
"What photos?"
"The ones from the gala. The ones that are still making rounds on social media. You and Lorenzo looking very intimate."
"We're close."
"Are you? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're being played."
"Excuse me?"
"Lorenzo is brilliant, I'll give him that but he's also calculating. Everything he does serves a purpose." Dante spun me, then pulled me back. "Tell me, Sera, what do you know about his relationship with Yuki Tanaka?"
My heart stopped but I kept dancing.
"They're business associates, former lovers, they have a history together."
"History?" Dante laughed. "Is that what he told you? How diplomatic."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying Yuki arrived in the city a week ago. A week, Sera, and Lorenzo has known she was coming for much longer than that. They had dinners, lunches together during this time. She even spent an evening at his apartment. Just the two of them."
The information hit like physical blows.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I like you. Because you seem genuinely nice, and you deserve better than being used as a pawn in whatever game Lorenzo and Yuki are playing. They were perfect together, you know. A perfect match. Intelligent, dangerous, beautiful. They brought out the best and worst in each other, made each other do things they'd never do for anyone else."
"That was years ago…"
"Love like that doesn't just disappear, Sera. It goes underground. It waits. And when the right moment comes…" He shrugged. "Well. We'll see."
The song ended. Dante stepped back, and bowed formally.
"Thank you for the dance. And Sera?" His expression turned sympathetic. "Be careful. My brother breaks everything he touches. I'd hate to see you become another casualty."
Then he disappeared in the crowd, leaving me standing alone on the dance floor.
Yuki had been in the city for a week, around the same time I'd entered into his life. And Lorenzo had been meeting with her, seeing her while playing with me simultaneously, making me believe I was special.
I walked back to where Lorenzo waited with a neutral expression.
"Everything alright?" He asked, studying my face. "You look pale."
"Just warm. It's crowded in here."
"We can get some air…"
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The event coordinator interrupted. "If I could have your attention, please. Mr. Lorenzo Vitale would like to say a few words."
This was it. The announcement.
Lorenzo squeezed my hand.
"This is the moment I told you about."
He walked towards the stage in the front of the room. I followed. Lorenzo stepped up to the microphone.
"Thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate the incredible success of 'Renaissance Reimagined." He began. "This exhibition has been one of the most successful in our foundation's history, and that's due to the exceptional talent of the artists involved."
There was an applause.
"Art has always been my passion. Not just collecting it, but fostering it. Supporting new voices, creating connections between past and present, tradition and innovation." He looked at me in the crowd. "Tonight, I want to talk about connections. About how art brings people together."
This was it.
"Some connections are immediate. Some develop over time but the most powerful connections are the ones that change everything. The ones that make you remember who you were before, and show you who you could become."
He paused, looked directly at me.
"Tonight, I want to publicly acknowledge…"
"Lorenzo."
The voice came from the side of the stage. I turned, and saw Yuki Tanaka walking onto the stage.
She walked with absolute grace, wearing a stunning black gown that made her look like perfection. Every eye in the room looked at her, including Lorenzo's.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Yuki said, taking the microphone. "I apologize for the interruption but I couldn't let Lorenzo finish his speech without acknowledging the real connection that brought us all here tonight."
The room was silent. I stood frozen in the crowd, watching like a spectator.
"You see." Yuki continued. "Lorenzo and I have a very special announcement to make together."
She turned to him, and smiled. And I knew what was about to happen next.
"Many of you know that Lorenzo and I have a... complicated history. What you don't know is that we've spent the past month working very closely together on a new venture. A partnership that means more to both of us than we ever imagined."
Lorenzo didn't moved, didn't speak. He stood beside her like a statue with unreadable expression.
"Tonight, I want to announce that partnership officially. To let everyone know that Lorenzo Vitale and I are…"
She turned to him, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on his lips. It was passionate. She did it in front of hundred of people including me.
The room erupted in murmurs, and gasps. Lorenzo neither didn't push her away nor did he pull back. For ten seconds, he let Yuki Tanaka kiss him in front of everyone.
When they finally broke apart, Yuki was smiling triumphantly. Lorenzo looked at me in the crowd. The expression on his face wasn't guilt, apology or surprise. It was resignation.
Like he'd known this was going to happen, like he'd planned it.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Yuki said, still holding the microphone. "Lorenzo Vitale and Yuki Tanaka are partners in business and in life again."