ABSOLUTE INSANITY: A forbidden bond-Chapter 143: Engagement party

Chapter 143: Engagement party
Chapter 143
ROMEO POV
The office was as quiet as it could be. The kind of quiet I needed to actually get work done.
The spreadsheet didn’t balance.
It should have. Antonio was usually meticulous, but the numbers on the weapons shipment kept circling back to a missing margin.
I tapped the end of my cigarette against the ashtray, eyes never leaving the document as the smoke curled upward in a slow, disciplined line.
The whiskey beside me had sat untouched for a while. Then I took a small sip—more habit than need—and set it down again.
The door opened without a knock.
"I’m regretting ever bringing you back to your smoking habits," Antonio announced as he stepped inside, a heavy file tucked under his arm.
I didn’t bother answering. My eyes stayed on the open paper in front of me—shipment records, coded transactions, a list of men who owed us favors and men who owed us fear.
Numbers. Ink. Order. Things that made sense.
Antonio sighed—loud enough to be dramatic—and dropped the first file onto the desk.
"You’re not even listening."
Still no reaction. The numbers mattered more than Antonio’s attempts at conversation.
He moved closer, placing another file—thicker, sealed, marked with the finalized-deal stamp—on top of the previous one.
"That’s done," he said. "Signed, cleared, and processed. You’re welcome." I finally shifted my gaze, briefly, to the second file... then back to the one in front of me.
Something still wasn’t adding up.
"Were these containers double-checked?" I asked, tapping the column that bothered me.
Antonio blinked. "Yes. Twice. By me. And I’m very offended you’re questioning my entire identity right now."
I exhaled smoke, slow and even.
"Then why is there a missing surplus?" The old man threw his hands up. "I would love to know that too. But if you’re about to accuse me again, check line thirty-two first."
His tone sharpened. "Because if something’s off, it’s your signature going on the final clearance, not mine."
I glanced back at the sheet, scanned the line he pointed out, ran the calculation in my head...
Damn it.
He was right.
I leaned back in my chair, tapping ash neatly into the tray. "Fine." The word tasted like surrender but I just left it out for now.
Antonio grinned—victorious for about two seconds—before his expression shifted into something annoyingly cautious.
"Oh, and—before I forget," he began, "I hope you haven’t, but... your fiancée is arriving today."
My finger froze halfway to the page. My fiancée? I had a fiancée? My brain couldn’t remember anything about that as the old man continued too quickly, like he was trying to outrun my silence.
"And Mr valerio is already on his way here. Something about finalizing details for the engagement party."
...Right.
The Valerios. The agreement. The meetings. The signatures.
I had gone through all of it, and had totally forgotten about it but because it didn’t matter.
It was just necessary. Strategic. A partnership that offered reach, leverage, political gain, and a way to appease my Nonna.
Nothing more. Nothing less. I took another sip of whiskey—larger this time—and set the glass down harder than intended.
"Of course," I said calmly, even though the only real thought echoing in my head was
...F**k.
Antonio raised an eyebrow. "I’m going to assume that means you didn’t entirely forget, but also entirely forgot."
I didn’t dignify that with a response. He sighed, flipping open the finalized file as he talked.
"Well, congratulations anyway. Engagement meeting in—" he checked his watch "—forty minutes. And no, you can’t reschedule."
I dragged a hand down my jaw, exhaling smoke slowly. "And which day is this engagement party?"
I asked, looking back at Antonio, who seemed to be getting way too much joy from my situation. Antonio hadn’t fully supported me through this absurd marriage idea.
He had tried his possible best to sway my decision in marriage but I knew one way or the other my nonna would find a way for this to happen so why not do it on my own terms.
"The engagement party is tonight." I stared at him. Not because I was surprised. Because I was already tired.
Antonio shrugged, flipping another page like this was just another Wednesday. He kept talking, clearly entertained.
"Your memory is incredible, truly. Selective amnesia at its peak."
I ignored him, turning back to the paperwork—anything to keep my mind on something that made sense.
Numbers behaved. People didn’t. And clearly the old man of on top of that list. If he hadn’t been someone I respected I would have gotten at least one tooth out.
Antonio continued, setting the finalized shipment file on top of the mess in front of me. "You also have that meeting with the East Port suppliers tonight. The one about the new storage line."
He smirked. "But since it’s your big, romantic day—"
"Don’t," I warned, this motherfucker is rubbing it in.
"—I can reschedule it."
"No." I didn’t let him finish. "Keep it."
Antonio blinked. "You want to attend a weapons logistics meeting and your engagement party? On the same night?"
"Yes."
He stared at me like I’d grown two heads. "You know most people clear their evening when they’re about to get engaged."
"I’m not ’most people.’" The words came out flat, clipped. "And this arrangement doesn’t change the operation’s schedule."
Antonio exhaled dramatically. "You do realize your bride-to-be might expect you to actually be present for the party?"
"She’ll live."
"Charming. Truly charming."
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Romeo, do you even remember what this girl looks like?"
I paused....Did I?
There had been a meeting. A long table.
Her father talking more than necessary.
The girl sitting quietly beside him—polite, proper, forgettable by design.
I remembered kicking her out of my office—This very office—one time... but that wasn’t the point.
Her last name was. A merger of empires. A deal, not a destiny.
"She’ll be here in an hour," Antonio added, clearly enjoying my internal recalculation. "Try to act like you appreciate this arrangement."
I stubbed out the cigarette and reached for another page, already shifting back into work.
"I won’t forget anything important," I said.
Antonio snorted and I shot him a look, but he only grinned wider.