Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago PD or any of the characters linked to the series. They belong to Dick Wolf and Matt Ormstead. I also do not own any of the Chicago Fire, Chicago Med or SVU Characters that might appear.
Chapter Seven: The Charity Ball.
Taking a glass of champagne, Gianna attempted to ease her nerves as she looked around the ballroom and tried to remind herself why she was here; after night she would be free of Michael and she never had to hear from him again. The glittering navy-blue figure-hugging gown that she had selected for the evening had been a last-minute buy, a smile forming on Gianna's face recalling Maggie's encouragement to splurge a little especially when the dress was paid for by Michael.
It was certainly what she had been looking for, the perfect revenge dress especially when Michael had not been allowed to bring his girlfriend tonight. No, for the last time for appearance sake Gianna was here as Michael's wife so that his parents would not have to explain to their friends that their son had shamed them so.
"Gianna darling," Nancy Nixon called, her hand waving and a warm smile on her face at the sight of her, there was not a hair out of place on Nancy's head and she looked immaculate as the last time that Gianna had seen her. Ever the Corporate Wife, Nancy lived for evenings like this and had spent years climbing her way up to the top of committees and that was just the beginning.
Taking a deep breath, Gianna made her way over to Nancy knowing that the woman would expect nothing but perfection and no drama from both her and Michael; they were to play their parts for just one more night. Gianna had to wonder what Nancy would do when this evening was over and they were divorced, she would have to face the music especially with Michael's plans to marry his girlfriend. Kissing both of Gianna's cheeks, Nancy stepped back to admire her; her smile only growing as she admired the gown, there was no doubt in her mind what sort of message that Gianna was sending.
"You look beautiful darling, simply stunning. My Michael is a lucky man," Nancy stated with a wink, she linked arms with Gianna knowing that her son would not know what had hit him. He was a fool if he thought his assistant could make him happy, he was thinking with the wrong part of his body and Nancy knew that they would insist upon a prenup with this one.
"Cornelius, have you met my lovely daughter-in-law. Dr. Gianna Marino, she's a Trauma Surgeon at Gaffney," Nancy stated turning to her old friend, she saw no reason that she could not show Gianna off this night. It had always pleased her greatly that Gianna had focused on her career, she had worked hard to get where she was and had not just dropped her career for her marriage.
"Cornelius Rhodes," the man said introducing himself, his eyes slowly dropping to take in Gianna, slower than Gianna would have liked and he stuck out his hand for her to shake; she did not have to guess to know what connection he was to Connor. Gianna was no fool and she frowned slightly when Cornelius held onto her hand a little longer than was comfortable; she sipped on her drink trying to steel her nerves.
"I work with your son," Gianna stated after a moment, she did not know what it was about Connor's father but he set her teeth on edge and she wanted nothing more than to excuse herself and hide from his sight. The mention of Connor did little to ease his leering and Gianna hide her frown when she saw the slight twist down of his lips at the mention of his son; she watched him compose himself, a mask slipping into place.
"How wonderful. You know I never thought Connor would make it, I always imagined him following me into the family business," Cornelius stated sipping on his whisky and he eyed Gianna over the top of the glass, his eyes glaring holes into Gianna's face making her even more uncomfortable. He pondered his next words, he had not thought that Connor would return to Chicago especially after how he had left and now that he was back, his son was resisting him on every turn.
"We should make our rounds, it was a pleasure to see you Cornelius," Nancy interrupted pleasantly, she flashed him a warm smile before slowly stirring Gianna away so that they could leave. Their arms linked, Nancy did not look back knowing that Cornelius was watching them and she made a mental note to not allow Gianna to be alone with him; she cared for her daughter-in-law too much to allow anything to happen to her. It was known that Cornelius would get a little handsy with the female waitresses at such events and Nancy would not allow him to do something that could jeopardise Gianna; she was too good for a man like him.
"Prick," Nancy muttered under her breath, she wished that she could leave him off the invite lists but unless she wished to offend one of their biggest donors; it was for a good cause and she could deal with him for a few hours. Her heart went out to his two children, she often thought of their mother and the rumours about what had happened to her; she had been such a kind girl and marrying Cornelius had ruined her. Forcing a smile back to her face, Nancy tried to push away the thoughts of Elizabeth; the woman was in a better place now and it was for the best not to disturb peaceful spirits.
"Oh, there's Margaret. I should go and say hello," Nancy stated once they were a safe distance away from Cornelius, she offered a smile to Gianna and a squeeze of her hands before swanning over to the older woman. Her black gown swaying as she walked and Gianna had to admit that she had always admired Nancy, the woman was a force to be recommend with and knew almost everyone that was someone.
Gianna could not imagine that there was anyone in this very room that did not wish to have such a connection to Nancy, she could get things done and she would walk over whoever was in her way. Gathering her thoughts, Gianna made her way across the room to the bar so that she might order herself a fresh drink; she had mostly been on her own since she had arrived.
Signalling for another drink, Gianna turned to look around the room and see if she recognised anyone that she might be able to talk with that was not her soon to be former in-laws. After tonight she would be free and Gianna doubted that she would see them again, she would be divorced from their son and they would have to deal with his pregnant girlfriend at some point.
"You look nice," Connor greeted approaching Gianna, a smile on his face and Gianna was a little surprised to see him here; this did not seem like his sort of thing. He looked rather fine in the suit that he was wearing and Gianna had to admit that it was rather fitting since she mainly saw him in scrubs while they were at work.
"What brings you here?" Gianna asked relieved to have someone to talk to, if she could avoid the usual suspects then she would not have to dodge questions about when she and Michael would settle down and start their own family. It was a nightmare and Gianna was thankful that this was the last time she would deal with them, she could imagine the whispers that would come next year when Michael brought Layla here.
"Family commitment," Connor replied moving to look back at his sister, they had just had a little argument about how he was still avoiding her since he had returned to Chicago. Claire thought he should let go of whatever grudge that he held against their father, she did not see why they could not move forward as a united family; it was not like holding a grudge against their father would bring their mother back.
"Ex needed an acceptable date," Gianna replied quietly, she could confine in Connor and it was not like he did not already know that she was in the process of getting divorced. With him she did not have to pretend and Gianna was thankful for that, she could be herself even if no one else at this party knew that she was divorcing Michael. The music that the band was playing changed to something a little slower and a mischievous smile formed on Connor's face before he offered out his hand to her; a way to make her husband a little jealous coming to his mind.
"Dance with me?" Connor asked with a smile, his hand out to her and his eyes searched her face; he did not care who was watching and he did not think that she should either. Michael had made his decision when he had screwed his assistant and gotten her pregnant, he had lost a beautiful woman when he had left Gianna.
Biting her lip for a moment, Gianna slowly reached out to take his hand and slowly the two of them made their way onto the dance floor; her heart pounded in her chest as she followed him. He gave her a little twirl before pulling Gianna close, one of his hands resting on her waist and he smiled down at her; the two of them swaying to the music and turning in a circle slowly to the music.
His left hand held her right as they swayed and Gianna could not remember the last time that she had danced like this. Even when she had married Michael, he had done all he could not to do their first dance and it had not felt like this one did; she recalled it feeling awkward in the big poufy white dress that she had come to hate. If she was to get remarried then Gianna knew that she would go for something entirely different, hell the entire thing would be different instead of some social event where all the grooms friends were prioritised.
"You look deep in thought," Connor whispered dropping his lips down to her ear, he dared not tell her that people were watching them and he had no doubts that people would whisper. As far as anyone else was concerned, Gianna was a happily married woman while he was the wayward rebellious son of Cornelius Rhodes; it did not matter what he did, that was all they would see him as.
"Thinking of an unhappier time," Gianna replied quietly with a shake of her head, there was no point in dwelling in what might have been or what could have been. Her marriage was finished and she would have no doubts next time, she would make sure of that; she was in no rush to make the same mistake twice and she would not forget what she had learned. Resting her head against Connor's shoulder, she had never been more grateful to have a friend at this sort of thing; she had always hated these events and she would not miss them.
"Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?" Connor asked glancing down at Gianna, he would not deny that she looked amazing in the gown that she was wearing and he bet her ex was kicking himself. There was no denying that Gianna was a beautiful woman, she had certainly gone out of her way to prove a point tonight and there was no one in the room that could deny that she had done so.
Gianna laughed at that, it was not what she had expected him to say and she looked up at him; her eyes searching his face almost expecting some sort of lie to be upon his face. However, there was only honesty and Gianna found herself stuck for words, she opened her mouth to say something only to find herself interrupted; the look on Connor's face telling her just who it was.
"Gianna," Michael called approaching the two, his face contorted with an emotion that Gianna did not recognise as she stepped back from Connor offering him an apologetic look. Grabbing onto her arm, Michael faked a smile as he turned to eye the man that had been dancing with her; he had watched them for long enough and he did not like what he had seen, he could not believe that she would show him up like that.
"Come sweetheart," Michael ordered moving to drag Gianna from the dance floor, he had enough of this and people were staring; she was meant to be here to stop them from doing so. Now she had made a fool of him by dancing like that with another man instead of her husband, he tightened his grip on her arm when she attempted to pull away from his hold.
"Is that how you speak to your wife?" Connor asked eyeing Michael, he could not believe the nerve of this guy when he was the one that was in the wrong; they had simply been dancing since Michael clearly did not know a good thing when he saw it. He would not allow Giana to be treated as such, his frown deepening at the hold that Michael on Gianna seemed to grow even tighter; there would no doubt be a bruise tomorrow.
"When she's acting like a whore yes," Michael spat furious that Connor dared speak to him, did this man not know who he was; he was a Nixon and his name alone command respect. He had no time for this and he was going to have a serious word with Gianna, she was here to be his date and she had not kept up her end of the bargain.
However, what he was not expecting was for Connor to punch him, he stumbled back releasing his hold on Gianna as he crumbled to the floor; the room suddenly falling deathly quiet at the scene that was now unfolding. Gianna righted herself so that she did not fall to the ground along with Michael, she could see the blood that was starting to leak from Michael's nose and she felt a little satisfaction at that.
"The whore would be the woman you left her for," Connor spat at him, he stared down at the other man knowing that he would probably regret that but no one talked about his friends like that. He watched as Michael wiped away the blood that trailed down from his nose, if he was lucky then it was broken and he would have to explain why to people. Michael pushed himself back to his feet, his face contorted with rage before he launched himself at Connor, tackling him to the ground.
What followed could only be described as two grown men wrestling on the ground and punching one another, the room watched in stupefied shock for a moment before some of the guests jumped into action to pull the two men apart. Michael certainly had some choice words for those who got in his way and he struggled against them as they pulled him back from Connor; the room almost deathly quiet apart from the sounds of his shouting.
Taking a step forward, Gianna slowly made her way over to Connor to make sure that he was okay; it was her fault that he had been dragged into this. He waved off her concern with a tight smile on his face, he had no doubts that no invite would be extended to him next year especially after what had just happened; his white shirt had droplets of blood on it and he pressed his fingers gingerly to his split lip.
Finally, her attention turned to Michael, she could not believe him and she found that she did not care if he did not give her the other half of the money from the sale of their old apartment. Anger bubbled inside of her, this would be her only chance to speak her mind; it was too late to pretend that all was well and she wanted to speak her truth for once.
"How dare you," Gianna seethed, she could not believe that he dared call her a whore after what he had done; she was just dancing with a friend, it was not like they were making out like teenagers in a corner.
"How dare you call me a whore when you're the one that left me for your assistant," Gianna continued moving towards him, everyone would know their business now and she found that she did not care. She had come here like he had asked and played her part, it was him that had outed them by picking a fight and trying to act like he was the shamed one here.
"You left me and think you still get some sort of say in my life," Gianna snarled, she felt free and she could not believe that she had bottled this up when she had every right to speak her mind. He was the one that should be ashamed for what he had done, it was him that had screwed around behind her back while she worked long hours at the hospital to further her career which he had never really supported.
"I put up with your crap for years, what I wanted or my career never mattered to you," Gianna raged, her hands shaking and it felt good to say; he had wanted a trophy wife and her desire to be a surgeon had gotten in the way of that. He had whined often enough that she was never home or she did not support his work enough, it never crossed his mind to comfort her when she had lost a patient or had a terrible shift; the focus was always on him.
"I hope she takes you for everything that you have, she'll have your baby and rob you blind," Gianna taunted him, there was no love between him and Layla that she was sure. His girlfriend would take what she could get and then leave him, she almost felt sorry for him but he was a crappy person and he deserved to suffer; how could he let her walk in on them like that and not feel anything.
Turning away from Michael, Gianna felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she made her way over to Connor; she nodded to him before the two of them started to make their way towards the doors. The room was silent as they made their way towards the entrance and Gianna was sure this would be the talk of the town; she paused as they made to move past Nancy.
"I'm sorry about your evening Nancy," Gianna apologised softly, this was not how this was meant to go and she did truly feel bad for ruining a charity event; it had been for a good cause and now the attention was on her divorce. She was a little relieved when Nancy waved away her apology before they made their way outside, Gianna was thankful that no one stopped them and it was quiet outside. The sound of the door closing behind her made her smile, the weight was gone from her shoulders and she felt like she had just dropped five pounds; she did not need to deal with any of this anymore.
"How do you feel?" Connor asked as they waited for the valet to get his car, he had to admit that he was pretty impressed and he was a little in awe of her right now. He had not expected her to talk back to Michael like that, it was nice to see her stand up for herself and lay her feelings out there instead of bottling them up inside of her.
"Free," Gianna replied grinning, she stared up at the starry night sky and she would not deny that for the first time in months she felt like herself; she was ready to move forward with her life and forget all about Michael.
Please Review, Favourite and Follow xx