The Strip was freaking amazing. We landed a day before the engagement party and went sightseeing. It was my first time in Las Vegas and it was so entertaining. They say New York City never sleeps but I could say the same about Las Vegas.

We couldn't see everything on the Strip because it was so long, but we did go to Little Venice. I think that I took about a million pictures. I don't even like social media, but I was going to post them all.

In the evening we had dinner with the Ricci's. Theo didn't look particularly nervous, but I was. My brother is a good person and he only deserves the best. I didn't want to see him stuck in a loveless marriage for the rest of his life. But I tried to be supportive, especially because Silas was ruining it with his foul mood.

"You're twenty-four years old, Silas. Don't make me get you to behave." Dad warned him when we stepped inside the hotel restaurant.

I was holding hands with dad because Amelia had already claimed Theo. Silas grunted under his breath but stopped sulking too obviously when dad gave him a look. If there was someone even more against the idea of Theo getting married, then it was Silas. I don't know why but ever since it's been decided, he's been difficult to deal with.

Diego Ricci was already seated at a big table along with his mother and younger sister. They quickly stood up when they spotted us. My eyes went to Ariana Ricci first. She was wearing a long-sleeved floral dress that came to her shins. There was a brown belt around her waist and all I could think was: 'damn, she's pretty.'

Her long black hair was curled slightly and she wore a very natural makeup look. I tried to see if she was scared because I would be in her situation. The same thing almost happened to me. But she wore this perfect and polite smile. She did it so easily which could only mean that it was fake.

"Signor Cassano." Diego Ricci kissed Hector's signet ring.

I've seen it before, but it still weirded me out. It was supposed to be etiquette, the proper way of greeting the don.

Diego Ricci looked a lot like his younger sister; they had the same black hair and green eyes. He was only much taller and more muscular than her. I believe that the eyes tell a lot. Nicolas' pupils got smaller when he lied about eating my cake pops, Silas' got bigger when he was angry, and Amelia's trembled slightly when she was upset. Diego's pupils got bigger when he looked at his younger sister. It was just odd.

The remaining time of dinner was odd as well. Their mother was a very mouthy person and didn't shut up. While the men discussed business, she told us all about her interests. She liked shopping, exercising, and going out with friends. Ariana hadn't even uttered one word after introductions. She almost sat next to her mother like a broken doll.

"What about you, dear? What do you like to do?" Mom tried to engage her in the conversation.

She looked confused as to why we were asking her questions.

"Ah, she's quite boring. Always reading in her room." Her mother commented.

Why would she call her own daughter boring? She had a mean tone to her voice that worried me. I had a feeling that this mother was the reason why Ariana was so quiet.

"Reading books can be entertaining." mom chuckled forced.

"No, don't bother with her."

Then she proceeded to talk about herself for the rest of the night. When I came back to my room afterwards, I hoped that the same wouldn't happen at the party. But of course, it did. That woman was just so terrible. She was stealing all the attention at her daughter's engagement party. Ariana just stood there by the side, almost like a wallflower.

"Her mom's insane!" I told Theo.

His eyes went to his fiancé. Amelia and I stood with him as he gave us drinks. He's been talking to the guests all evening, but I haven't even seen him interact with Ariana.

"I'll go talk to her. Do you want to come along?" Theo asked us.

I wanted to shake my head but Amelia nodded. I felt like they should probably have a moment alone together but I couldn't help but be curious. Earlier after Theo had officially given her the ring, they stepped aside and had a short talk. Mostly because Diego interrupted him.

The man was just so weird.

"Ariana." Theo nodded at her.

She smiled softly and looked uncomfortable. Perhaps she was just very shy and not used to this much social contact.

I couldn't blame her.

But she almost looked terrified. As if anything she did was going to get her in trouble.

"You look very beautiful tonight." Amelia complimented her.

She did. She wore a long emerald green dress that made her eyes pop out. It was a very modest dress with long sleeves and a high neckline.

Ariana was the type of girl that could even make a trash bag look good on her.

"Thank you, you too." Her voice was so soft and barely audible.

I tried not to look to much at her because it seemed to make her squirm. So I looked up at Theo. He had a polite smile on his face but I could detect the concern in his eyes. I wasn't the only one who thought something was going on with Ariana.

"I forgot to ask you earlier, but can I have your phone number?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she nodded with a blush on her cheeks. She grabbed her small purse and fished out a flip phone.

I don't know a lot of nineteen year olds with a flip phone. Maybe that's what she preferred but it was just odd.

"You can put yours into mine." Theo handed her his iPhone.

She frowned confused at the smartphone in her hands while Theo swiftly put his phone number in her flip phone. Ariana stood a bit stiff and wasn't doing anything.

"Do you need help?" I asked her softly.

The blush spread to her ears and she gave me an embarrassed look.

"I've never seen one before."

She's never seen a smartphone before? Theo looked up from the flip phone as soon as she said that.

She's a girl that comes from a wealthy family. It was just hard to grasp that she's never seen a smartphone before.

What kind of people were the Ricci's?

"I'll help you." I stepped forward and helped her put her phone number in Theo's phone.

She seemed to interested in what I was explaining that it kind of broke my heart. Ariana was three years older than me but she was quite adorable.

"What's happening?" Diego interrupted.

Ariana stiffened and took a step away from me. I frowned confused, especially when he yanked Ariana's phone out of her hands.

"I told you to only use it for emergencies." He snapped at her.

She lowered her head and I felt like punching this asshole. Why was he so mean to her?

"I only exchanged numbers with my fiancé. There is no need to react this way, Ricci." Theo warned him.

Diego was clearly still angry. He grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her close. I don't know what he whispered in her ear but she ran away after he was done.

"You should've asked me for permission first." Diego told Theo.

"Why? She's my fiancé." Theo shrugged.

The tension got extremely high. I don't think that I've ever seen Theo like this. His face resembled Hector's so much that it made me shiver a bit.

"Why would I even ask your permission? You seem to have forgotten who I am."

He stepped closer to Diego. Amelia and I shared a glance.

Are they going to fight?

"That's my little sister. I just want you to respect that." Diego muttered.

"Don't forget that we're doing this to help your family, Ricci." Theo reminded him.

I didn't really know what that meant. But Diego nodded and walked away. Theo took a few deep breaths before turning to us with a soft smile, as if he wasn't intimidating as hell two seconds ago.

"It's time to get the babies to bed." He smirked.

By babies, he meant Amelia and me. We whined and protested but it was already late at night. So we eventually gave up and went back to our room. Our family had the entire floor to ourselves with a shared living room. When we got back to our room, we found Silas there.

He was drinking whiskey while scrolling through his phone. Theo left as soon as we entered the living room because he was the guest of honour. Amelia went to take a shower first while I sat down next to Silas.

I was wondering why he was acting so stupid lately.

More than usual.

"Are you on your period?"

It had to be the only explanation.

"Don't push me, brat." He muttered.

I pouted and looked at him. He was still focused on his phone, so I took it away. Silas glared at me but I wasn't scared of him. No matter how much I pushed him, he'll never hurt me. And I trust him with my entire heart.

"Why are you acting like a little bitch?"

"I'm not."

"Says the little bitch."

He softly pushed me aside but I came back. I hung on his arm and tugged it until he started to talk.

"I feel bad for Theo." He confessed.

"Me too. The Ricci's don't look normal to me." I nodded in agreement.

"It's not just that." He sighed.

I frowned confused. Silas stared ahead of him and went with a hand through his hair. He was growing it out, which suited him better in my opinion.

"Diego is infertile. So he can't have any children, which means that he won't have an heir to take over his position. That'll leave the state weak and easy to be taken over by rival gangs."

Apparently only boys can take over from their fathers. Sounds very misogynistic to me.

"So naturally marriage was brought up. It was tense as fuck. Everybody was suggesting their sons but it would all cause a big fight within the business, so Hector concluded that it had to be one of us. No one would riot against that decision."

He finally turned to me and I stared into his brown eyes. He looked broken and it was shocking to see. Silas never showed any emotion other than anger.

"Hector and Theo decided it all by themselves. I fucking hate it."

"Why didn't they ask you?" I wondered.

"Because they knew that I'd never allow Theo to do it."

Silas was even protective over Theo, which was still hard to grasp.

"Why didn't Hector marry Ariana?" I questioned.

He was the oldest. I'd expect him to do it.

"Hector's heir will be the new Don, not a Capo." Silas explained.

I still had to get used to this world.

"Why didn't they choose you?"

"Because of her."

I fell quiet and Silas closed his eyes. I did notice the hurt inside of them. My big muscle man had a broken heart. I hugged his arm closer to me because at this moment I truly pitied him.

"They want you to be with someone you love." I whispered.

"They act as if I'll ever get a second chance with her." He whispered.

"What happened?"

He squeezed his eyes tightly as if he was remembering a bad memory.

"I was dating a girl four years ago. I fucked up and hurt her. I was a mess back then. Vic had horrible nightmares, mama was going through a rough time, and I had to help Hector steady our claim on the country. I turned all that frustration onto her and blamed her when she didn't do anything wrong."

He took deep breaths and I then pulled him in for a tight hug. Silas was a teddy bear and his hugs were always good, though he rarely gave them.

"Do you still love her?" I wondered.

He seemed to regret hurting her more than anything. I could understand why he was acting that way with all the stress in him, but it was good that they broke up. If even he admitted that he hurt her.

"She's the love of my life."

I'd never thought my brothers would ever tell me this kind of thing. But I was glad to be a shoulder to cry on for them.