It had been two days since I returned back. Both Riya and Ritesh cried because they did not want me to go. I wished I could stay with them longer but work was piling up. Gigi's wedding date was nearing and there was lot to be done. Emily had been working double-time in my absence and I need to cut her some slack. I returned back and got right to work. Emily had updated me about recent developments and scheduled new meetings with clients.

Today Emily and I were accompanying Gigi and Andrew to choose their wedding outfits. We waited outside the emporium for Gigi and Andrew. Secretly I hoped I'd get to see Leo but I knew that wasn't going to happen.

Andrew and Gigi arrived – both of them were holding an identical small box in their hands.

"Here, take this." Gigi gave me the box and Andrew handed his box to Emily. "Open it!" Gigi ordered.

Emily tore open the packaging and opened the lid of the box before I could open mine. I peeked inside her gift. Inside the box there was a note which said – Will you be my bridesmaid?

"Oh my god!" Emily squealed.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course. You both have been my biggest support system and that's why I want you to be my bridesmaids. So, do you both accept?"

"Yes yes yes." Emily blurted.

"It's an honour to be your bridesmaid Gigi."

"Those are your pajamas for my Bachelorette party. I had them customized for you guys."

"You're so sweet Gigi. This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me." I meant it. She was so adorable.

"Yeah I agree with Meg. This is very generous of you." Emily added.

Gigi just dismissively waved her hand. Come on, "You're my friends so stop thanking me and let's go see some dresses."

We all made our way to the emporium. The attendant brought some outfits for Gigi to try on. While Emily and I helped Andrew pick a right tuxedo. Gigi was still trying some outfits – well, this would take a heck lot of time.

Two hours later, Gigi was still confused between some dresses. Andrew's tuxedo was finalized and we were brainstorming about Gigi's wedding outfit. Gigi changed into her normal clothes and took a seat on the couch to discuss all the potential outfit choices. When we were discussing, Leo arrived.

"I hope you haven't finished the fun part without us."

I look up and see Leo dressed in a rolled up black shirt, halfway unbuttoned and grey pants. God, why did he have to wear black? It was like he looked a thousand times more sexier in black.

I saw Bianca clutching his arm and flashing a fake saccharine smile. Ugh, I hate this. Not that I'm jealous. Heck, who am I kidding? I'm literally green with envy. I hate the fact that Leo is keeping me in the dark. He flirts with me and gives me all kinds of mixed signals while he claims to be with Bianca. I don't understand and my heart refuses to believe that he's a two-faced jerk.

Gigi scooted closer to Andrew to make room for Bianca. Leo sat next to me; he was so close, I could almost smell his perfume. He always smelled so amazing.

While we all were discussing Gigi's wedding dress, Leo's hand rubbed against mine. I felt a rush in my stomach accompanied with a quickening pace of my heart. In response, I gently rested my leg over his leg. I would've thought he hadn't noticed if he wouldn't have looked at me with a faint lopsided smirk.

"I will think about my dresses, why don't you girls choose bridesmaid dresses?" Gigi suggested.

I briefed the attendent about our colour scheme. She laid out outfits out of them, we selected each for us. After we'd finished trying the outfits, it was decided that the one with V-neck would be kept by Emily, the one with a sweetheart neckline was for Bianca and lastly, I chose an off-shoulder dress.

"You know what I want that off shoulder dress." Bianca said. "I hate sweetheart neckline."

"Didn't you just say that you wanted sweetheart neckline because it flattered you? It was like five minutes ago?" Emily said firmly.

Ever since she arrived, Bianca has been behaving like a diva. She had passive aggressively called Gigi ugly. She had been criticizing Gigi's fashion choices as well. Emily had been whispering in my ear that she'd gotten tired of Bianca's cattiness. I was just trying my best to not let any conflict occur.

"Sweetheart neckline doesn't flatter me as well so I understand you Bianca. How about this? Why not we both opt for an off-shoulder dress?"

"Ew. I don't want to match with you." Bianca said and pointed an accusatory finger at me.

"Bianca! That's quiet enough." Leo interrupted. He had been quiet for way too long and when he spoke, there was this strange commanding force in his voice. "You promised me, didn't you?"

Bianca sighed and threw up her hands. "Why don't you understand that this witch is trying to make me look ugly so she can get you back."

Wait a second... what the hell was this woman saying? I just offered her the dress.

"Bianca... I wouldn't need to make you look ugly, your rudeness is already making you look ugly."

"Shut up!" She snapped. "I'm not matching with her, it's final."

Gigi and Leo tried to convince her to stop being so impossible. What was her problem? I admit I had a crush on Leo but I stayed away from Leo all this time. I made sure to limit my interaction with him because I did not want to cause problems between him and Bianca. Yet, she was accusing me. This is so unfair.

"You know what? It's just a dress. You can have it Bianca if it means so much to you."

Are you sure?" Gigi asked.

"Of course I would've gotten it. No need to act like you're doing a favour on me Meg." Bianca retort.

I rolled my eyes and sat back on the couch. It was taking me every ounce of self-control to not punch Bianca. Since the start, she had a thing against me. I understand her hatred towards me considering my equation with Leo but she was taking this too far.

Finally, we finished finalizing the outfits and decided to head home. Emily returned to our office to meet a client. Leo went to drop Bianca and I accompanied Gigi and Andrew as they dropped me home.

"What is the deal with Bianca? Why is she so rude?"

I couldn't understand why everyone tolerated her. I had enough of her especially when she ruined Emily and my bridesmaid gifts. When all of us were busy occupied, she stained our beautiful satin pajama sets with blotches ink. Emily was almost in tears and that stupid woman had the audacity to laugh.

"As much as I hate her, I am obliged." She said.

"Don't you know Meg?" Andrew said. "She is a family friend of the Morettis."

"Wait she's from a mafia family too?" I blurted.

"Unfortunately yes." Gigi said. "Bianca's family the DeLuca's are the second most powerful mafia clan in Trinity. It's a tricky relationship because if we're not allied, we'd be fighting. So, Bianca as my bridesmaid is more of a diplomatic choice."

"It sucks." Andrew said. "And I wouldn't be surprised if Leo's relationship is for diplomatic purposes too. It makes sense that he can untie your clans if he and Bianca marry."

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"But her marrying Nico would've resulted in the same thing."

I guess I just wanted to hear that Leo was in love with Bianca from Gigi so I could stop pining for him.

"Nico just handles few aspects but Leo is the underboss. With Papa's deteriorating health, it is just a matter of time before he takes over. So, for Don DeLuca having his daughter wed to the future Don Moretti would signal a solid alliance and probably end some turf wars."

"Not that many have occured since three years." Andrew added. "I still suspect something fishy. The DeLuca are reputed for their trechery and I wouldn't trust them. Personally, I've had bad experiences with them when they tried to extort my dad and when he refused, the DeLuca sent our family threats. That's why my Dad hates mafia. Good thing though that Gigi helped us out. We had to fake that DeLuca's were related to Morettis."

Okay this mafia talk was making me queasy.

"I'm surprised that both of you know so much I mean Leo would keep his work hidden, wouldn't he?"

"I'm not involved in his work but I do advice him at times." Gigi said. "Mostly, I make sure he and Nico don't murder each other."

Before I knew, Gigi had pulled up right across my house.

"Here you are." Gigi said, as she parked the car.

"Thank you for the ride." I said.

"I've already emailed my guest list to Emily." Andrew said. "Gigi would email hers by evening. So, you can start working on the seating arrangement."

"Sure thing. Drive safely, see you later!" I bade them bye and watched Gigi's car disappear.

I'd gotten so used to Leo dropping by that it felt weird without him. I need to get used to this pain. Ugh, I did not expect my feelings to escalate so far. It was just a small crush and before I knew, it turned out into full-blown admiration. I was so screwed. My rational mind scolded my heart for being stupid enough to get hurt.

This was always my problem that I got attached so easily and quickly. Even the smallest gestures meant the world to me. Sometimes – well most of the times – I failed to realize that not everyone is  like me. People lie, people act, people fake, they do the wrong things, they're careless and they do things without thinking about it. I always tried to find meaning in every small thing not knowing that just because someone did something sweet for me, doesn't mean that they like me.

I thought Leo and I had something special. But, the truth was there wasn't anything that he felt for me. I can't even blame him; he is a dangerous guy. Manipulation is second nature for him and lies are essential for his line of work. I should've known better than to trust someone cold and beautiful.

I opened the door of my house and flopped down on the couch. Now that my work for the day was done, I better get to binge watching rom-com movies and eat tons of junk food hoping get rid of that tugging pain in my heart.

That night I couldn't sleep so I decided to stay up and work on Gigi's guestlist. Amy was working on an article so I thought it would be nice to give her company. As I went through the guest list, She got me a cup of coffee and peeked at the list.

"If I were you I would avoid having Vitellis with Harringtons."

"Why so?"

"Vitelli brothers are crude, muscle men for Morreti family and the Harringtons are a semi-noblity. It would lead to literal fireworks." Amy explained.

"Where should I keep them?"

"Have Harrington sit alongside Lady Selene and her family." Amy said. "As for Vitelli..."

"I'll place them with Alex. He might like being surrounded with his work people"

"Alex as in Alessandro Yukimura? Son of Don Moretti's sister and a Yakuza chief." Amy asked. "You know him?"

"Yeah." 

"Oh." Amy's expression softened.

"How do you know him?" I asked.

"He's...umm...  he saved my life." She said. "And I never got a chance to thank him."

"If you want I can arrange for you guys to meet so you can thank him."

"No!" Amy protested blushing a little. "I can't meet him, it's dangerous. Just tell him I said thanks."

Note to self: dig up more information about Amy and Alex. I had a strong feeling that there is more to the story than Amy is letting me know. But I know she wouldn't tell me straight up.

I took a sip of my coffee. "This is good. Thanks, I needed it."

"Well, I had a favour to ask so I was just buttering you up." Amy joked.

"What did you want?"

"Are you free this weekend? I have an interview and I need you to take notes. He's a fussy old man who is paranoid about technology. I cannot interview and write at the same time so I need you to write it word to word for me. You have such a nice handwriting too I'm afraid I'd mess up if I write. " Amy said.

"Who are you interviewing?"

"Don DeLuca... we're meeting him in his nightclub where there is a no violence rule. It is a neutral turf so we're safe." Amy said. "Come one... please?"

"Fine." I said. "It's not like I have any special plans during weekends."

Amy hugged me. "You're the best roomie."

I just hoped I might not run into Bianca.