Chapter 9
Dinner was horrible for Mia. Luckily, both Theo and Nico kept the table entertained, but Mia barely spoke a word. Across the other side, Gino was equally sullen. Louise more than made up for his silence and Mia quickly favourite that she very much enjoyed the sound of her own voice. She was currently nursing her third glass of wine, lost in her own thoughts when she suddenly heard her name mentioned.
“So, Camilla, I hear you are a newish designer? It must be tough trying to build a name for yourself.”
Mia smirked into her glass, uncaring what she looked like. This woman certainly enjoyed annoying her. “Yes, something like that.” Mia pretended to be bored and looked away.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll get there one day.” Louise tried to look sympathetic, but Mia noted the challenge behind her eyes.
“I’m really surprised you haven’t heard of Mia’s designs, Louise?” Amber spoke up, directly facing her. “I mean, you said earlier you were really into fashion? Mia is far too modest.” Amber reeled off some very famous evening-wear designers, people with whom Mia had collaborated with.
Louise coughed and looked away, shooting daggers at Mia. “Uh, yes, actually now that you mention them, yes, I do seem to recall some of her designs.”
“So what do you do, Louise?” Mia sat up in her chair and leant forwards.
“Um, well, actually, I’m in-between jobs.” She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “To be honest, girls, I’m not really looking — I’m sure Gino would want me to be a hands on mother to our child.” She turned to Gino, giving him a megawatt smile. “Right, darling? And besides, soon I’ll be too big to work anyway.” She giggled as she picked up her water glass.
Gino tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace. He picked up his wine glass and took a long sip.
Dessert was brought out and Mia excused herself from the table, hoping to catch a breather. After visiting the ladies room, she decided to take a little walk for some fresh air near the side entrance, also hoping to sober up a little. As she neared the door, she distinctively heard Louise’s voice and quickly ducked out of the way.
“Yes, I’m having a good time. Wish that bitch wasn’t here though. Clearly, they had something going on before.”
Mia gasped and quickly brought her hand to her mouth. Louise was speaking to someone on the phone and there was a momentary pause as Mia strained her ears to listen.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t worry, I think I’ve got him, hook line and sinker.” A pause, as she listened. “I’m trying to bring it forward. He’s refusing to give me a date.” Then, laughter. “I know, just think when we’re married, I’ll get access to his fortune. I just need to get that bitch, Mia, out of the way. She thinks she’s so fancy.”
Mia was rooted to the spot. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Shaking her head to clear the fog of alcohol, she quietly listened for more.
“Yeah the other two are okay. Thick as thieves, I feel like that Amber is ganging up on me or something. Anyway, once we’re married, I’m never allowing him to see these idiots again…yeah, I know. I just have to play nice for a little while longer…tonight hopefully. God, I’ve been trying, hun. He bloody refuses too, it’s like he’s just not interested. Not since that first night.” She burst out laughing. “He better not be gay. Okay, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know if I succeed tonight…okay, bye!”
Mia quickly sank back into the shadows as Louise walked past, tapping away on her phone. Her eyes widened as she gripped onto the table nearby for support. Her heart was racing and a sudden coldness spread throughout her body. She didn’t know what to do, at the same time cursing herself for not having the hindsight of recording the call on her phone. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to escape this place. She quickly went back to the table and sank into her seat. Amber broke away from her conversation to look at Mia.
“Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I need to get out of here, Amber. I’m leaving now.”
“What? But you haven’t touched your dessert?”
Mia picked up her belongings and she immediately felt Gino watching her. “I’ve got to go. I’m sorry…I’ve a headache.”
“Okay, Mia, if you’re sure?” She lent in closer and whispered in her ear. “I know something’s up, but I don’t want to make a scene. I’ll call you first thing.”
Mia smiled at her and quickly said her goodbye’s feigning the headache as an excuse to leave.
Gino stood up. “Mia, let me walk you outside.” She noted Louise sending Gino a scathing look, but he simply ignored her. She desperately wanted to tell him what she overheard, but now was not the time. Besides she needed more evidence. She held her hand up as she backed away.
“It’s fine, Gino. Thanks anyway.”
She flashed him a genuine smile, for the first time feeling sorry for the situation and person he was involved with. Louise seemed happy that Mia had refused Gino’s offer. “Toodles, Mia! I hope we can see each other soon. It means so much to me to be able to spend time with Gino’s nearest and dearest.” She looked up lovingly at Gino and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. Gino’s smile froze on his lips as he subtly pulled his hand away. Mia felt like she was going to throw up.
“Sure, see you around, Louise.” She turned to walk away when she heard Louise’s voice again.
“Oh, if you’re free, I’d love for you to help me pick out some maternity clothes.” She giggled. “I still want to look sexy for my man when I’m all big and fat.”
Mia swallowed the scream that was so desperate to escape.
“I’m pretty busy at the moment, Louise. I’m sure one of the staff members at any department store would be more than willing to assist you.”
Mia watched as the smile dropped off her face, lips pursing in anger. Serves you right, bitch, thought Mia, as she walked away.
* * *
That night, Mia laid awake in her bed, re-playing Louise’s conversation over and over in her head. Could it really be true that Gino refused to sleep with Louise? From what she was saying, it certainly sounded like he was refusing her advances. That gave Mia a little comfort and she smiled at the thought of Gino making his excuses and rejecting her.
Tossing and turning, Mia placed her arm across her forehead, as she thought about the other things she heard. She was confused and couldn’t decipher some parts of the conversation — why did Louise say that she had Gino, hook, line and sinker? What could that possibly mean? She thought about Gino, wondering what he was doing now. Would Louise have invited him back to her place? Would Gino have accepted? She couldn’t bear the thought of him being with such a conniving woman.
Finally giving in to sleep, her last thought was that first thing in the morning, she would call her mother and check to see if the PI had come up with any background information. Something was definitely not right.
* * *
Mia woke up to her phone ringing. She must have forgotten to turn it off last night and the loud ringtone jolted her out from her sleep. She scrambled around her bed and finally located it under the duvet.
“Hello?” Her voice was groggy and she barely opened her eyes.
“Mia? Cara, it’s mamma.”
“Oh, ciao mamma.” Mia yawned as she opened her eyes. She sat up in bed. “Sorry, I’ve just woken up.”
“It’s okay, darling. Do you want me to call back a little later?”
“No, no, I’m up. How are you and papà?”
“We’re fine, cara. But we have some news concerning Gino and we thought you’d like to know.”
Mia sat upright in her bed, fully alert. “Tell me mamma.”
“Okay, it’s not too much at this stage but it seems like this Louise girl has had a string of boyfriends. She seems to go for a particular type.”
“What type, mamma?”
“Well, from what we’ve found, she goes for the eligible bachelors. Hangs out in bars where the more wealthy or trendy men seem to go.”
Mia felt her stomach tighten. “Are you saying she targeted Gino?”
“Yes, we think so. But we’re still digging around. The strange part is that she had a boyfriend for a couple of months before she met Gino and then all of a sudden, he seems to have vanished. We’re looking into this further.”
Mia considered the information. “Can you obtain her phone records? I don’t know what, but you’re right, something’s going on.” Mia quickly filled her in about the dinner the previous evening and the conversation she overheard. “It doesn’t make sense. I mean, why would she say she has him, and why is she rushing to bring forward the wedding?”
“Well, cara, we’re working on it on our end and yes, we’re currently trying for her phone records. Gino is wise to keep putting her off…I don’t like this girl, I have a bad feeling about her.”
Mia pulled the duvet over her suddenly feeling cold. They spoke for a few more minutes with her mother promising to update her further in a couple of days.
After breakfast, Mia quickly called Amber to fill her in, omitting the part about the PI.
“What a bitch!” Amber was furious. “I can’t believe she secretly hates us.”
“I know, Amber. But we have to keep calm for now. Look, we both know that something isn’t right here, and I’m going to make it my mission to expose whatever it is she has going on.”
“I agree. You know what, Mia? Did you see Gino’s face last night? He looked so utterly miserable sitting next to her. I genuinely felt for him.”
“I know,” Mia agreed softly. “I can’t believe what a mess he has gotten himself into. But you must promise not to breathe a word to anyone about this, okay? I’m trying to piece this puzzle together and I really don’t want to say anything until I have some solid proof.”
“Of course, I won’t. I think you’re right, the last thing we want is to alert Louise that we’re onto her. Let me know if I can help in any way or if you need anything.”
“I will, grazie, honey.”
* * *
Mia spent the afternoon alone at home with the rain lashing heavily outside. She had so much on her mind and suddenly felt overwhelmed with everything. A few tears leaked from her eyes and she chided herself for acting silly. With the help of her parents, they would get this mess sorted out for Gino. With any luck, even though he would still be the baby’s father, hopefully she’d be able to stop him from marrying Louise.
She decided to watch a movie and made some popcorn. Sometime later, she heard a beep from her phone, alerting her to in incoming SMS. She picked up her phone.
Hey…so when do I get a chance to see your beautiful face again? J
She groaned as she read the message from Jonathan. He was a really nice guy and she hated that she couldn’t feel anything romantic towards him. With a heavy sigh, she knew her heart belonged to Gino and it would be cruel to give him false hope. She began to reply with the softest rejection she could manage.