Chapter 5 - The Queen of the BallroomThe moment Matteo Cipriani stepped back into the Grand Ballroom with Ayla Morris tucked securely against his side, the entire atmosphere of the room shifted.
Conversations died out mid-sentence. Heads turned in unison. Whispers rippled through the crowd like wind through tall grass. For years, Matteo had attended high-society events alone, radiating an untouchable aura of solitude and power. Seeing him holding the hand of a young woman wearing a simple, unbranded black dress—a woman whom half the room had been mocking less than half an hour ago—was nothing short of an earthquake.
Mabel Laurent, who had been laughing with a group of investors near the chocolate fountain, froze with her champagne glass halfway to her lips. Her eyes bulged in horror as she recognized Ayla—and recognized the man holding her hand.
Matteo Cipriani. The billionaire king of the city.
Ayla’s heart was hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She tried to slow her pace, whispering urgently under her breath, “Mr. Cipriani—Matteo—what are you doing? Everyone is staring at us. I’m not your wife!”
“For tonight, you are whatever you need to be to make these vultures regret their existence,” Matteo whispered back, leaning his head down slightly so his lips brushed the shell of her ear. His breath was warm, smelling faintly of expensive bourbon and cedar. “Trust me, Ayla. Just walk beside me.”
There was an absolute, hypnotic authority in his tone that made compliance feel like the only natural option. Ayla lifted her chin, taking a deep, steady breath, and matched his measured, confident stride as they walked toward the center of the ballroom.
Mabel Laurent scrambled through the crowd, her face drained of all color, desperate to intercept them before disaster struck.
“Mr. Cipriani! Good evening!” Mabel forced a desperate, trembling smile onto her face, stepping directly into their path with her hands clasped together in supplication. “I’m Mabel Laurent, senior executive at Dubois Marketing. We are simply thrilled to have you here tonight. I-I see you’ve met Ayla. She’s such a... a unique member of our team.”
Matteo stopped walking. He looked down at Mabel with the cold, dead-eyed stare of a predator examining an insect under a microscope.
“Mabel Laurent,” Matteo said, his voice carrying clearly across the suddenly hushed ballroom. “The woman who spent her evening discussing thrift stores and charity bins to inflate her own hollow sense of self-worth.”
Mabel’s forced smile shattered instantly. Her breath caught in her throat. “I—I don't know what you mean, Mr. Cipriani. It was just harmless girl talk! A joke!”
“My wife does not appreciate your brand of humor,” Matteo replied smoothly, his thumb gently stroking the back of Ayla’s hand. “And neither do I. Furthermore, I am informed that your department’s marketing campaigns rely heavily on plagiarized designs from independent local artists—a copyright infringement liability that my legal division will be happy to dissect in federal court tomorrow morning.”
Mabel gasped, her knees turning to water. Several colleagues who had been laughing at Ayla earlier now instinctively backed away from Mabel, terrified of being caught in the blast radius of the billionaire’s wrath.
“Mr. Cipriani, please—!” Mabel choked out, tears of humiliation spilling down her cheeks.
“Save your breath for your bankruptcy lawyers,” Matteo said dismissively.
Without sparing her another glance, Matteo guided Ayla past the wreckage of Mabel’s career and straight toward the private double doors leading to the hotel’s VIP terrace suite.
As the heavy mahogany doors closed behind them, shutting out the glaring lights and horrified stares of the elite, Ayla finally let out the breath she felt like she had been holding for an hour.
May you like
She pulled her hand gently out of Matteo’s grip and turned to face him in the dimly lit, luxurious private parlor.
“Alright,” Ayla said, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she looked up at him with a mix of awe, confusion, and lingering defensive pride. “You’ve played your part, Mr. Cipriani. You’ve destroyed their careers, terrified my boss, and completely upended my entire life in twenty minutes. Now, will you please explain what in the world is going on?”
