Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter) novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4
“Alvise? Am I seeing a fking ghost?” Kelvin yelled in shock.
The room suddenly felt too small. Every muscle in my body locked as conversations died around me, and one by one, everyone turned to look behind me.
No. This couldn't be real. I didn't dare turn around… I just couldn't. Four years… Four years, and somehow my body still recognised his presence before my mind could catch up. I rubbed my trembling hands against my dress and forced myself to breathe.
“Alvise fking Valerio,” Archie said with a grin as he pushed to his feet and walked past me. The other guys followed almost immediately, all shock and laughter as they gathered near the bar.
Reunions were happening behind me, and I hated every second of it. Hated that his absence had haunted me for years, and somehow, his presence felt even worse.
The room had shifted without me noticing. The conversations had dulled into curiosity, with too many eyes drifting toward the bar. Toward him.
“Arabella?” Sierra leaned closer, lowering her voice. “I don’t mean to be that person, but your brother just made eye contact with me and nodded toward you.”
Her phone dinged, and she glanced at the screen then grimaced. “He’s asking why you’re being weird.”
“I–I don’t know what to do,” I whispered, fumbling with my clutch so badly I nearly dropped it. “I genuinely don’t know what to do.”
Sierra winced sympathetically. “I hate to say this, but it would be weird if you don’t go say hi.”
My bottom lip quivered, and I trapped it between my teeth. She was right.
I hated that she was right.
I stood slowly, my legs threatening to betray me beneath the weight of my heels. Without making eye contact with anyone, I walked toward the bar, slowing when the conversations abruptly quieted.
God. I finally looked up, and somehow, everyone was already staring. My stomach dipped and I moved my weight from one foot to another. Was I being that obvious?
I didn’t have to search for him. It wasn’t the black suit or his towering height. It was just him.
“Alvise…” I called softly, my voice sounding smaller than I intended. A moment passed before he looked up from his phone. Then my eyes met his.
For one dangerous second, everything around me blurred. The noise, the people and the years between us. I got lost in those blue eyes so quickly it embarrassed me. But whatever flicker of recognition had crossed his face disappeared almost instantly, leaving behind nothing except cold indifference.
He looked through me.
“Arabella.”
My heart betrayed me at the sound of my name on his tongue.
I swallowed. “Welcome.”
That was all I could manage. I didn’t trust myself to say anything else.
He gave a curt nod before glancing back at his phone. He looked away… Just like that. The ache caught me embarrassingly off guard.
I watched him for another second, noticing the absent stroke of his jaw, and the way his attention shifted back to whatever was on his screen. Then it hit me again.
He was engaged. Of course he looked away. Alvise couldn’t be bothered with me anymore. He was probably texting her.
I turned around immediately, suddenly needing a distraction.
“Can I get a shot, please?” I asked the bartender.
“Sure, miss.”
A few moments later, the glass appeared in front of me and I sighed.
“Alvise! What a surprise!”
I winced at the sharp, sugary voice cutting through the air. It was Francesca. “I went to use the restroom and came back to Alvise fking Valerio at our after-party? Hell yeah!”
Her voice sounded sweet enough to fool everyone else. I wasn’t fooled. Francesca had wanted Alvise for years. She'd kill to marry him instead.
I grabbed the glass and threw the shot back, immediately wincing at the burn.
“Hi, beautiful.”
A familiar voice pulled me from my spiralling thoughts, warm and annoyingly calm. Still slightly shaken from the shot, I looked up and found warm brown eyes and an easy smile. “William.”
“You look dashing,” he said as he slid into the seat beside me.
I glanced down at my black velvet off-shoulder dress and managed a grin. “Thank you.”
William had always been easy to be around. Easy in a way that wasn't really demanding. And tonight, I desperately needed that.
His eyes flicked toward the empty shot glass. “I’ve never seen you drink.”
“Me too,” I joked weakly, earning a quiet laugh from him. Truthfully, I couldn’t think straight with Alvise in the same room.
“What did you say that got a chuckle out of Bella?” Sierra asked as she suddenly appeared and slipped into the seat beside me.
“It’s a secret,” William said with a wink.
The awkwardness of it made us laugh.
“Never do that again,” Sierra deadpanned before resting her hands lightly on my shoulders. Then her voice softened. “Do you want to leave?”
I closed my eyes. “It’s the only thing I want right now.” And it was true. I could survive this engagement party, even if it was the last place on earth I wanted to be. But Alvise? I couldn’t survive having Alvise here.
“Then let’s go,” Sierra said immediately before turning to William. “Can you drive us home?”
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “You’re leaving already? I just got here. I wanted to catch up.”
“She’s sick,” Sierra lied.
He nodded instantly. “Say no more. I knew drinking wasn’t for her.” Then he stood, dramatically reaching for both my arms to help me up. “Come on.”
Sierra scoffed, hitting him on the shoulder. “I said she’s sick, not handicapped.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled. Mostly because the distraction stopped me from thinking about the tight ache in my chest…or why it suddenly felt hard to breathe. We were halfway to the exit when Archie suddenly caught up to us.
“Where are you going?”
I finally looked at him. “H-home…”
“Home?” he snapped. “Arabella, you got here like an hour ago. What’s the problem?”
His tone made me shrink into myself. Before I could answer, Sierra spoke. “She’s sick.”
Archie narrowed his eyes. “You’re sick?”
I nodded quickly, desperation making the lie easier to sell.
“Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll drive you home.”
My eyes widened. “No.” I shook my head too quickly. “It’s your engagement party. You can’t leave because of me–”
A strange unease settled over me, cutting me off midway…And then I knew. Alvise was close. I could feel him behind me.
Archie sighed, glancing over my shoulder. “Perfect. You said you’re leaving too, right?” He turned to him. “Can you take Bella home?”
My fingers grew clammy, and I straighten
ed immediately, the panic rising too fast. “No, it’s fine,” I said quickly. “William is driving me ho–”
“I’ll take her.”