TWO

After forty-five minutes of intense sweeping, Justin wiped the sweat pouring down his face and looked at the hall in satisfaction at what he had been able to achieve. All the banners were up, the decorations were eye catching and the floor was sparkling. He was finally done. None of his in laws were around, and he guessed they had gone to change into their outfits to begin welcoming their guests.

Justin went to the bathroom in his room in the apartment that had been hired close to the hall and washed his face. He was tempted to go and get dressed himself since he was walking the red carpet with his wife, but he knew he could be called out of the blue to take care of something that might cause a stain which would really tempt his in-laws to kill him, he was sure.

He went to the kitchen to check on the progress of the cooks and nodded with pleasure when he noticed they were almost done. His wife came in and he smiled at her. It was the first time he was seeing her since they had arrived at the venue the previous day. They didn’t share a bed, so it was during times when they met coincidentally that he had the opportunity to see her.

"How are you doing? Nervous for your first premiere?" He asked, forgetting where they were.

Rosetta looked him up and down in disdain and pointed at the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. "What else are you waiting for? Wash those immediately."

Justin sputtered. He had always known his wife didn’t care for him much, but for her to intentionally humiliate him in front of the people that were meant to be his staff was a little too much, wasn’t it?, not that it was the first time. The entire family had their special way of making him feel small, simply because he was on a different level than they were.

The cooks stopped their movements and started watching them. Justin turned to the sink and started washing the dishes, telling himself he wasn’t going to be affected by her coldness. Rosetta left after targeting a hiss at him, and Justin intentionally ignored the whisperings that were going on behind him. That was one of the reasons he hated their events. The Romano's were not satisfied with humiliating him at home, but they took pleasure in making him feel small even in the presence of strangers and guests. But regardless of that, Justin couldn’t stop his feelings for Rosetta. He loved her even more than he had when he had fallen for her for the first time.

When he was done washing the plates, he bid the kitchen workers goodbye and went to get dressed. He had about thirty minutes to the red carpet, and he was excited about the thoughts of walking with his wife. Even though she gave him the cold shoulder, he still got to enjoy her near him when he walked her down the red carpets at their numerous hosted events.

He removed the suit he had cleaned and kept in his wardrobe. It was the only suit he owned, and he had gotten it from Eugene when he had been appointed. He hoped his in laws wouldn't have anything to say, and especially not in the presence of any guest. He's had enough of embarrassment, in his opinion.

His wish was dashed when he met Martha and Cyril, his father-in-law, as they were passing his room. He cursed his luck, wishing he had come out only a few seconds later. Martha looked at him with familiar disgust in her expression.

"Haven't you worn that enough? You are just determined to disgrace the family, aren't you?

Justin started responding when Cyril shut him down. "Everyone can see what you are worth in this. It's perfect for him, since he is worth nothing."

Justin ignored the insult, knowing he had taken good care of the suit. Martha smirked at him. "Don't bother dressing up. You won't need to walk with Rosetta anyway?"

Justin reeled backwards in shock, "Why not? Has the red carpet been cancelled?"

Cyril laughed disdainfully,"Of course not. She has a plus one already, don't bother yourself." He looked him over,"But it's amazing that you do not have any qualm about humiliating my daughter like that. Don't you see yourself? Do we need to make more mirrors available for you?" He asked with mock concern.

Justin was no longer paying attention to their nags. The decision was not siting well with him, he was her husband. Were they considering he would be okay with parading his wife to all their guests on the arms of another man that wasn't him? Was it okay to be alright with even this level of humiliation?

He came back to the conversation to hear Martha finish with, "You should man the kitchen and help the staffs. When they start serving, you will be called to help as well."

He started protesting when Martha fixed him a dirty look. One of her high profile guest was coming to her. Justin nodded meekly, knowing nothing was going to change their decision.

While in the kitchen, he was busy with the preparations of snacks and gift bags for the guests. The Romano family thrived on social image and that was why they had been able to host the movie premiere, so there were some things that were expected of them to be in a large scale. As he was working, he could hear the sounds of camera clicking indicating the event had started and after a while, started hearing the sounds of applause, so he could assume the movie had been premiered and awards were already being given out.

It was his wife's first premiere, she was a model for several luxurious brands, but this was the first time she was trying acting, and he was stuck in the kitchen, what terrible luck; he thought to himself. He was about standing up to take a peek when Tyler entered the kitchen with a bowl and handed it to Justin with his usual smirk.

Justin opened the bowl suspiciously and stared at the food that was there. He looked at Tyler curiously.

"Mom said there was no need for you to join the serving crew. You just need to man the kitchen and being the amazing brother-in-law that I am, I decided against all odds to serve you myself.

Justin dropped the food. “Thank you so much but don’t worry. I’m not hungry.”

Tyler was being suspicious. He had never been nice to him, and Justin knew he couldn’t have changed so suddenly.

Tyler glared at him, which Justin found comforting, that was what he was used to. “Okay. I lied. Rosetta said I should bring this to you.”

Justin dropped the bag he had been putting together. “Really?”

Tyler eyed him and left the kitchen.

Justin couldn’t help but smile. If Rosetta had sent the food to him, he definitely had to eat it, and what better way than eating it still warm. He finished the bag and started eating the food, moaning at the burst of flavor on his tongue. It had been a while since he had eaten something this amazing.

Back at the house, he had his own cupboard of plain groceries, and he wasn’t allowed to eat with the rest of the family, so he enjoyed the food even more, not knowing when next he would be given the opportunity to eat like that again.

He was halfway through the food when he realized something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong. His head was feeling heavy and his throat started getting dry and itchy. He needed water. What was going on?

He stood up in a daze and had to support himself against the wall to prevent himself from falling from how dizzy and disoriented he had gotten. His hand slipped, and he felt himself falling, even as he could hear laughter coming from outside. He lost consciousness as he wondered what exactly was going on? Had he been drugged?