The mafia boss gestured for Valeria to eat her breakfast while they talked. She cut the lobster meat on her plate and began to eat it.
Seeing how calm Valeria was that morning, Dominic opened his mouth. He said they were going to have a big family dinner with his father's extended family. It was a common practice, but this time, since Dominic had just gotten married, they wanted to speak with Valeria directly.
"During the wedding, they were out of the country. So they didn't get a chance to see you. That's why this time they want to meet you in person, ginger," he explained.
"So you want me to act like a good wife in front of your family, so you'll look amazing in front of them all after what I did to you yesterday?" Valeria asked, then turned to the man she'd just married the day before.
He slowly placed his knife and fork on the plate. "I know you won't let me down."
"Ohh? Don't get too excited, darling. You're playing with a snake," the woman replied, giving him a sly smile.
Dominic returned her smile with one of his own, amused by his wife's words. He knew Valeria would do her best for him in front of his entire family next week.
However, Valeria seemed to have other plans in mind. She simply ate her breakfast in silence while continuing to stare at Dominic.
'It's not bad at all. His taste in food isn't much different from mine. Or did he actually prepare all this on purpose because I like it?' Valeria thought.
After finishing her breakfast, Valeria went to her room and organized the belongings she had brought from her father's mansion.
"I want my shoes arranged neatly. Hang those clothes in the closet. Don't let anything get messy, left behind, or lost. I'll make sure your hands are gone instead," she ordered, threatening the maids to work properly.
"Y-yes, Madam."
She watched each maid work, then took a photo frame from one of the boxes. An old photo of herself with her mother. Valeria immediately tucked it under her pillow while continuing to watch the maids.
"Good morning, Miss Valeria. I've come as you requested," said an elderly woman dressed as a maid.
"Oh, Jane, I'm glad you're here. I want you to continue serving me as usual in this mansion. These maids aren't used to taking simple orders from me. They're too stupid," said Valeria.
The maids were startled when Valeria called them stupid. They were simply afraid of Valeria's strict nature toward them. Although Dominic was the same, he didn't usually give orders directly. Instead, he did so through the head butler, Edward.
The man who had woken her up that morning.
Meanwhile, Valeria felt that Edward wouldn't understand what she wanted. Plus, she also wanted her maid to be at the mansion. So she called Jane to come back and keep her company there.
Jane herself didn't mind because she'd been used to Valeria's attitude for a long time. To her, it was all the same—the only difference was that her employer's house had changed.
"Your car has also been brought here, Miss Valeria." She handed Valeria the keys to her beloved sports car, and Valeria gladly accepted them.
After nearly three hours of organizing her belongings, the maids left her room—all except Jane. Valeria lay on her bed, sighing.
"Is something wrong, Miss Valeria?" Jane asked her.
"Nothing, I'm just feeling bored right now. My friends wouldn't want to go out for drinks with me right now," she replied.
Hearing that, Jane suggested Valeria take a walk around Dominic's mansion since it was so large and there were surely many rooms she hadn't seen yet. Plus, the grounds were like a vast green lawn with a fountain in front of it.
"You're right, I've never explored around here. I think I'll take my car and drive around the area," said the ginger-haired woman as she got up from her bed.
"Are you leaving? Didn't you ask Mr. Lawrence for permission first? He's your husband now," the elderly servant advised.
"What for? He's not even here. I don't want to call him and ask for stupid permission. I'm not a little kid," she replied as she walked into the walk-in closet and changed into a red mini dress.
She walked toward the exit with enthusiasm. However, just as she was about to leave the mansion, two tall, burly men dressed in black blocked her path.
"What the hell are you doing? Get out of my way!" she ordered them both.
"We're sorry. But this is an order from Mr. Dominic not to let you leave the mansion. So you have to stay inside," said one of them.
"You must be kidding me. He must be out of his mind if he's trying to lock me up by sending Tweedledum and Tweedledee to hold me back? That's ridiculous." Valeria let out a harsh sigh as she spoke dismissively to the two men standing before her.
*(Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the twins from Alice in Wonderland)
The two men glared at her and insisted that Valeria couldn't leave. However, the stubborn Valeria refused to listen to them and continued to force her way out.
"Get out of my way or…"
"Or what, Mrs. Lawrence? Are you going to try to force your way past us? Heh."
Her blue eyes narrowed sharply as they asked, as if challenging her. "I don't like the way you're talking to me."
Valeria kicked the man hard in the groin, causing him to double over in pain, clutching his crotch. She used that opportunity to slam his face against her knee, making a loud thud.
THUD!
"Akkhh... Damn it—" he growled, whimpering in pain.
Not stopping there, she even kicked the man so hard he fell backward, and as he lay writhing in pain, Valeria stepped on his neck.
"Say it one more time, and I'll crush your neck with a single step," Valeria said in a cold voice, pressing down on the man's Adam's apple, making it even harder for him to breathe.
"Let him go!" his partner shouted, trying to pull Valeria away.
However, suddenly Valeria drew a pistol from the holster on her inner thigh, hidden beneath her red dress.
The second man tried to raise his hands, as if signaling his surrender. But, using his wits, he immediately grabbed Valeria's left wrist to wrestle the pistol away.
Unfortunately, he used his quick thinking against the wrong person.
Valeria immediately released the gun from her left hand. It fell, but before it hit the floor, she caught it with her right hand and pressed the muzzle against the second man's chin.
"You idiot."
BANG!