My husband lost the reception ritual and had to feed Valentina wine, mouth to mouth, at our wedding.
Valentina pulled out two hundred thousand dollars in cash gifts and tearfully hugged my husband.
"If Adriana weren't here, would you marry me?"
He responded affectionately, "I would."
Everyone was shocked, and everyone looked at me with mocking eyes.
I didn't care at all. I was the first to clap.
"Let's congratulate this couple for finally getting together. May you have many children."
——
Dante and I had been together for eight long years, and after everything we had been through, we finally chose the date for our alliance wedding. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I wore a bright, carefully tailored suit, sitting quietly in the bridal suite of the Moretti estate, waiting for him to come and bring me into that long-awaited future.
But as time passed, the room remained empty. No one came. Instead, from outside, I suddenly heard a burst of loud cheers and laughter. The noise was so lively that it felt completely out of place with the silence surrounding me. Two soldiers stood posted outside the door, and neither one so much as glanced in to check on me.
When I finally looked up, I saw the scene clearly through the open doorway. My groom, Dante, was standing there with Valentina, the daughter of old Capo Ferraro, his family-raised companion since childhood. Apparently, they had just lost a game and were now facing a so-called punishment.
There was no hesitation on his face, no awkwardness, no urgency to return to me. Dante casually picked up a glass from the table, filled his mouth with wine, and without the slightest pause, leaned forward and pressed his lips against Valentina's.
Their lips met fully, their tongues brushing together in a way that made the moment stretch uncomfortably long. The wine spilled slightly, dampening their collars, and the sound of their contact was unmistakable. It lasted for a full ten seconds before they finally pulled apart, as if savoring every second of it.
Valentina's cheeks were flushed a deep red, and her lips were swollen, glistening under the light. The atmosphere grew thick, and slowly, every person in the room turned their gaze toward me. Capos, their wives, associates, old allies of the Moretti name. Every one of them.
Their expressions varied, but none of them were kind. Some were mocking, some were pitying, and others carried that unmistakable look of enjoying someone else's humiliation. It was as if I had become the entertainment of the day.
Valentina's hand remained wrapped around Dante's waist, her fingers resting there as if it was the most natural place in the world. She looked straight at me, her eyes steady and unapologetic. There wasn't a trace of guilt in her expression. Instead, there was something sharper, something almost like a deliberate provocation. Her tongue pressed once against her canine before the smile came.
Then she smiled, a light, careless smile, and said, "I was just helping you test the reception game. Don't be mad."
I wanted to ask her what kind of game required feeding someone else's groom wine mouth-to-mouth, especially on his own wedding day, in front of every family that mattered. The question burned in my throat, but in the end, I swallowed it down and said nothing.
Strangely enough, I didn't feel the anger I had expected. Instead, what rose inside me was something far more unfamiliar, a quiet sense of relief, as if something I had been holding onto for years had finally loosened its grip. My thumb found the worn edge of the St. Christopher medal at my throat, then stopped. I let it hang untouched.
Elena, however, reacted completely differently. She was already rolling up her sleeves, her face full of fury, ready to rush forward and start a fight on my behalf.
Before she could move, Dante stepped in front of Valentina, blocking her completely. His eyes shifted to me, sharp and warning.
"Adriana, if your friend dares to touch Valentina today, this wedding is off."
His words were cold and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation. The soldiers near the doorway straightened slightly, reading the temperature of the room.
I simply nodded. Without arguing, I reached out and pulled Elena back, signaling for her to stop. Then I calmly gestured for them to continue with their game, as if none of this concerned me.
Seeing how quiet I was, Dante seemed to assume that I was just suppressing my anger. He smoothed the face of his watch once with his thumb.
"Can you stop being so jealous?" he said impatiently. "How many times have I told you? Valentina is just like a sister to me."
His tone was filled with irritation, as though I was the one creating trouble out of nothing.
I gave him a lazy, almost indifferent smile. "I'm not mad. Go ahead and keep playing. We'll just wait in the room."
My calm response seemed to throw him off. For a moment, he had nothing more to say. Then, shrugging it off, he turned back and sat down with his associates and their women, continuing their game of Truth or Dare as if nothing had happened.
Soon enough, Dante lost again. This time, he chose truth.
