Housewarming party

An excited Sophia sat on the chair, as she looked at herself in her mirror and smiled, nervously. She had roamed around and explored the whole house already. As Sophia explored the luxurious and sophisticated interior of the Romano residence, she couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the grandeur of it all.

However, her excitement for the housewarming party soon took over. She sat in front of the mirror, checking her reflection and taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

The event was to be attended by most of Lorenzo's family and close associates, with only a few guests from her side. Lorenzo's mother, Mrs. Romano was the woman behind the reigns, and now that her late husband was gone, Lorenzo had stepped into his shoes.

The thought of meeting all those important people made Sophia a bit nervous, but she was also looking forward to the event. She knew that she would have to make a good impression and represent her family well.

Sophia took one last look in the mirror, making sure that her makeup was flawless and her dress was fitting her perfectly. With a determined smile, she got up and headed towards the hallway to join the party.

As Sophia walked down the hallway, she heard a voice behind her and turned to see the matriarch of the Romano family standing there with a warm smile.

"Welcome home, my lovely daughter-in-law." said Mrs. Romano as she hugged Sophia, her voice full of warmth and affection.

Sophia felt a sense of intimidation as she looked at her future mother-in-law. There was no denying the strong and independent aura that emanated from Mrs. Romano, and Sophia couldn't help but feel a bit awed by her presence.

"Thank you, Mother." Sophia smiled warmly. Mrs. Romano's elegance and grace were unmistakable and Sophia couldn't help but wonder if she could ever measure up to the woman who stood before her. She returned the hug awkwardly, feeling a bit self-conscious of her own appearance compared to the flawless composure of her future mother-in-law.

"Well, I must say, you look exceptionally gorgeous tonight even though you always look like that."

Sophia blushed at the honest compliment of Mrs.Romano as her eyes roamed around the crowd, searching for that one face. Mrs. Romano noticed her gaze and smiled as she spoke,

"Loren is on his way. He'll be arriving soon. Come sit with me." She said as she gestured Sophia to sit near her. Sophia sat down and looked at the bunch of women equally looking perfect and graceful of Mrs. Romano's age.

Sophia smiled sheepishly at the compliment. Mrs. Romano's words of praise made her feel both flattered and a bit out of place. She looked around at the crowd, feeling a bit uneasy in the presence of so many sophisticated women.

When Mrs. Romano gestured for her to sit, Sophia gratefully took a seat on the chair. As she looked over at the group of women, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. They all seemed so sure of themselves and so much older than her.

"These are all my sisters. These are my cousins and these are my childhood friends." Mrs. Romano introduced them one by one and Sophia greeted them all. As Mrs. Romano introduced Sophia to each woman, Sophia tried to memorize their names and faces. There were so many women, all related to Mrs. Romano in some way.

Sophia greeted each woman politely, feeling a bit pressured to make a good impression. She smiled and nodded, trying to hide the nerves that she felt. She could sense that these women had a close bond with each other and would be scrutinizing her every move. She shifted her gaze from Mrs.Romano's sisters to back to Mrs. Romano and spoke,

"Now I know where you got your grace and sophistication from."

Hearing that, Mrs. Romano couldn't help but to laugh, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Her sisters and friends chuckled too, clearly amused by Sophia's statement. Mrs. Romano smiled at Sophia's comment and replied,

"My dear, you're too kind. But I do appreciate the compliment. We women of the Romano family do take pride in our grace and elegance, you see."

Their laughter was interrupted by the arrival of another woman who was addressing herself as Lorenzo's aunt. She was Mrs. Romano's one and only sister in law. She sat down and also joined in on the conversation. Sophia got up started pouring everyone juice while speaking a little in the elderly's conversations.

As Sophia was serving the elderly, she suddenly stumbled and accidentally spilled a little bit of juice on the floor. Almost instantly, Mrs. Romano's sister-in-law got up, her voice loud and scolding.

"Watch what you're doing, you mannerless girl!"

Sophia felt her face heat up in embarrassment at the scolding. Everyone's attention was now on her and she could feel the weight of their gazes. She immediately tried to apologize.

"I-I'm so sorry, it was an accident, I didn't mean to-"

"Ugh so annoying. Who the hell allowed you in this party?!" She screamed in anger. Mrs. Romano was not at the table and hearing the commotion, she started walking over to her table.

"Why are you still standing there! Come on, clean my shoes fast!"

Guests started whispering to each other and Sophia was starting to panic under so many people's gaze. She braced herself quickly and looked up at the woman.

"I'm sorry for ruining your shoes. I'll let someone clean that up immediately." She said and gestured a waiter to come over.

"Let someone else clean that up when you're the one who messed it up?! Who let an arrogant brat like you in here! Do you know who I am? My son bought these shoes for me from Malaysia!"

"I apologise, Ma'am. Moreover, you also should know that I am the fiancé of Lorenzo." Sophia said confidently. She had no reason to panic. It was just a trivial mistake. However, the haughty woman in front of her was causing a scene for no reason.

"So? I believe, rules are equal for everyone and none should be given a different privilege when they do mistakes. Now clean that up quick."

Mrs. Romano had already returned and looked at the commotion and the spilled juice, she immediately understood the context. She was about to speak up but she was interrupted again and again.

Sophia's heart started racing as the woman started making a scene. She could feel the weight of everyone's gazes on her, and she felt humiliated. But she also knew that she couldn't let this woman bully her around.

Sophia looked back to see Lorenzo was already behind her. He was a little far from them while talking in a call. Maybe his aunt didn't notice him but what was eating Sophia from inside out was that Lorenzo was hearing everything but he still wasn't defending her. She had apologised for her mistake and offered to let somebody even clean the mess up but this woman was now gaslighting her into thinking she is being haughty and arrogant when in real it's the opposite.

But then, a man and a paper were thrown on the table near Lorenzo's aunt and seeing the man, her eyes widened in horror. It was her son who had multiple bruises of punches in his face and looked miserable.

"Pedro!!" She called out to him and knelt down to face him and her gaze went to the paper. It was their company's paper of him admitting to money embezzlement and fraud.

"Tell your son to sign and resign on his own or else we will sue him for money embezzlement and fraud charges." Lorenzo said, entering the crowd with a straight face and stood beside Sophia.

"Lorenzo..son...listen to me first." she tried to calm him down as his secretary signalled her son to sign the papers.

"Lorenzo.. I'm really sorry...you know I can't control my anger...he is your brother.." she pleaded.

"You should've known the consequences of your actions before committing them." Lorenzo said coldly.

"I will, I swear I will control my anger from now on. Just leave him alone. He's your brother. Your own!"

"I'm sorry aunt. But I thought, you said, rules are 'equal' for everyone." Lorenzo said, emphasizing the word equal. A small smile appeared in the corner of Sophia's lips upon hearing that. It seems like, Lorenzo was hearing everything.

Seeing no further choice, in order to avoid punishment from the law and ruining their life, she made her son sign those papers. Lorenzo was already enough merciful to give them the chance to just resign and leave without suing her son and ruin his reputation even though it was already pretty much ruined for them.

Lorenzo, then held Sophia's hand and signalled his mom to start the party again. Mrs. Romano smiled seeing the issue resolved without further problems and eventually everything returned back to normal. Lorenzo and Sophia were about to turn around and walk away when his aunt got up and yelled again.

"For a mere arrogant brat, you disrespected your own aunt and threw your own blood brother on the streets! She-" before she could continue further she was cut off by Lorenzo's death glare.

..."She is my wife!"...

..."My life partner for the rest of my life!"...

..."She is not a mere arrogant brat. She knows her rights and position unlike you who bit off more than you could chew."...

Lorenzo said in a tone which was mixed with disgust and anger. Guards came in and quickly dragged the mother-son duo out of the party. The whole atmosphere had turned quiet. The party had taken an unexpected turn. Sophia felt a wave of emotions wash over her. She had never heard Lorenzo speak so passionately or with such conviction before.

The party eventually resumed, but the atmosphere was still tense as the guests tried to process what had just happened. However, Sophia's mind was still swirling with thoughts and feelings. Lorenzo had defended her and made it clear that she was his top priority, something she had never expected.

The guards finally escorted Lorenzo's aunt and cousin out of the party, and the room fell silent for a moment. The incident had undoubtedly left a mark on everyone present. Lorenzo went inside while his hand still holding Sophia's.

With just those three lines from Lorenzo's mouth, everyone understood and became aware of what value Sophia kept to him.

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