REYNA

I spent an entire week struggling to locate Viktor with the limited amount of information Giovanni provided me. He was practically a ghost.

Unlike Viktor, every mob boss always left behind a trail, even if it was a tiny one. Most times, it would be a woman that they slept with who I could track down and acquire everything there was to know about her. It didn't matter if the mob boss was married or not, there was always someone else. Soon, I would discover how she met the mob boss, and I would be able to find out everything about him as well.

It was different with Viktor. He was completely faceless with an identity unknown, it was impossible to discover who he associated himself with. It was difficult to find anything about him really.

I was frustrated. Even when I looked into Adriano's ex-wife, she was completely erased from the world. The only thing that I found was her fake death certificate. Just like Viktor, she was a ghost, haunting me and insulting my intelligence.

"Reyrey," Giovanni called, walking into Saint's office. He had a full glass of lemonade in his hand that I was sure Rosalina made. I desperately wanted it.

"Don't call me that," I mumbled, taking the glass from him. My eyes never left the screen as I continued to dive deeper and deeper into crime world.

"I'm surprised you're not getting ready yet," Giovanni said.

Over the past few days, Giovanni managed to become the only person I felt comfortable around. He made me laugh when I was frustrated, and he assisted me when I needed him to. I didn't care if he was only there to watch over me, he was becoming the first friend I ever had. He was even tremendous company to have while I expended most of my time in Saint's office.

Saint was rarely around anymore. I was sure he had business to tend to seeing as he only stopped by every once in a while to grab something and leave.

"Getting ready for what?" I questioned, taking a break from my computer screen and glancing at Giovanni.

There was a blank expression on his face as he gawked at me. "The ball! It's today! You know, the big plan that Adriano put together last week. You're going to go out with the boss man as his date, and he told me to have you ready in an hour from now," Giovanni enlightened my clueless mind.

I usually remembered things, but after hearing the way Saint spoke so disgustedly at the thought of bringing me as a date, I thought it the plan was no longer in motion. I didn't even have anything to wear.

"Saint picked out something for you to wear. It's in your room," he said as if he heard my thoughts.

I stood up from the couch, pushing my glasses farther up my nose. Nervousness settled in the pit of my stomach at the very thought of what was in store for me. I wasn't very attractive, and I was sure the men at the ball would look at me in disgust... just like Saint. I wasn't sure if my self-esteem could handle a brutal jab like that.

"I'll go get ready now," I notified Giovanni.

"Go get dolled up, and show everyone just how beautiful you truly are inside and out," he told me, coaxing a smile on my face. I shook my head back and forth as I walked out of the office.

Hesitantly, I made my way to my room, too timid to see what Saint picked out for me. I didn't want to wear anything tight. I wanted to stick to my typical style which was looser and less constricting.

Once I made it to my room, the door squeaked as I pushed it open.

The first thing that I noticed was the long white dress in the middle of my bed. From the looks of it, it was nowhere near my style. Just from the absence of fabric for the upper part of the dress.

There were a pair of silver heels neatly tucked away in a box right beside the dress. I even noticed a huge velvet jewelry box as well as contacts.

Saint probably didn't want me to wear my glasses, and the thought was enough to make me frown. I even noticed makeup, tools for my hair, and luxurious smell goods. I highly doubted it was Saint who picked out all of those things for me.

I didn't know how to apply makeup to save my life. Maybe if I knew how to do it, I would be pretty enough for a guy to want me.

Grabbing the makeup, I walked over to the adjoined restroom and placed it all around the sink. My brows came together as I looked at everything I was expected to use.

Not wanting to spend too much time on it, I completed my makeup, happy with how it turned out. I started with the foundation and worked my way towards my lips where I painted them red. When I finished, I slipped my glasses off of my face and grabbed my eye contacts and popped them into my eyes. It took many tries until I was successfully blinking rapidly, trying to adjust to the feel of them.

Roaming back into my room, I picked up the beautiful dress and held it against my body. I hoped that it would fit.

After carefully removing the hanger, I took my time disrobing my attire before sliding the dress onto my figure. The first thing I noticed was how the fabric of the dress squeezed my waist so tight that I almost couldn't breathe. My breasts were almost spilling out of the small strips of fabric to hold them up, and my hips were less restricted so I could move around despite the dress being skin-tight.

I could just feel the confidence waking up after a very long nap, and filling my body as I sat down on the bed, grabbing the heels from the box. I was grateful they weren't too high because I wouldn't be able to walk in them. They were the perfect length.

Sliding them on my feet, I stood up.

"Time for a practice walk," I mumbled to myself, taking a step and almost falling right on my face. It took a while for me to get it together, but once I did, I was almost walking in heels like a professional.

My hair was always up in a ponytail, it was almost freeing to let it down in its natural form. I grabbed a curling iron and took care of my hair where I settled for big, bouncy curls.

After fixing my lipstick one last time, I knew I was finally done.

Just in time, a knock sounded on my door. I trailed over to it, my heels clacking against the flooring with each step.

I pulled the door open, smiling when I saw Giovanni standing behind it. His eyes fell down to my feet and slowly risen to meet my gaze.

"Damn," he drawled out, his brow quirking. "Hey, hot stuff, there was a girl in here a few moments ago. She's about, yay high," he moved his palm face down and just at the middle of his chest. "Wears the biggest glasses when she barely even needs them, and dresses like an eight-year-old boy, have you seen her?"

"Stop." I laughed.

"Saint's waiting for you downstairs. I only came to inform you that he doesn't look like he's in the best mood. Also, don't forget to put on your jewelry. Saint owns many jewelry stores, so it is only right that his woman, which is you tonight, is properly taken care of," Giovanni told me.

I gave a curt nod before heading back over to her bed where I picked up the jewelry box. I was just going to have to put it on in the car seeing as I ran out of time.

"Let's go, Reyrey!" Giovanni announced, much to my disapproval.

—

Don't hate me for how short this chapter was. As said in my other work's in progress, I am going to be doing a lot more shorter chapters since I'm working on so many books all at one time. Short chapters make it easier to write and edit, so I'll be able to update a lot more each week. I hope you can understand.

Thank you guys for how much love you all have shown for this book. With over 200,000 reads, I can't help but to smile and cry then laugh and cry some more. Thank you! You are all so amazing.

See you all next update,

—A. Marie