I can't hide the expression of concern and uncertainty that settles on my face upon hearing that unpleasant news."Find out as much as you can," I ask of my faithful friend."Of course, sir," he replies, and I hang up.Bruno's call leaves me completely bewildered and with a terrible feeling.Something is not right here, Claudia wouldn't just disappear like this no matter how upset she is. Her friends must know something.I take my daughter and walk to Anna's room, finding her sitting on the bed."I have to go," I let her know."How can you leave when you've just arrived?" she questions, furrowing her brow."I need to take care of some things," I respond briefly."Once again, you're neglecting your responsibilities as a father.""I'm not neglecting anything and don't worry, we'll discuss custody of my daughter when I get back.""Custody?" she exclaims, agitated."That's right," I say, placing Vittoria next to her."You're not thinking of taking my daughter away, are you?" she says, ann
When I find her curled up in a corner of the room, her face soaked in tears, her dry lips, and her wrists bound, I only want to kill him.I rush towards her, kneeling by her side and quickly untie the rope around her wrists. Then I realize she's not even conscious."Claudia," I speak to her, placing my hands on her face. "Love, talk to me, I'm here."I'm extremely worried for her to open her eyes."Claudia, react, please."I start to panic as she doesn't respond, but then I feel her right hand on mine, and soon her eyes open, allowing me to see her beautiful hazel iris."Alessandro," she whispers almost inaudibly."Yes, my love. I'm here.""Claudia," she says again, clinging tightly to my torso as if I'm protecting her from everything, as if I'm her shield.The sound of her sobs reaches my ears, and for every tear I see her shed, I want to make that son of a bitch pay even more."He... he... did this to me," she mumbles, barely able to speak."I know," is all I say, kissing her forehe
I'm unable to think coherently after the words Alessandro uttered a few seconds ago. My heart is racing uncontrollably as I search his face desperately for a hint of a joke that might tell me this isn't real. But that doesn't happen. He remains serious and expectant, waiting for a response.I'm speechless and paralyzed. I'm trying to process his request over and over again. I never thought he would ask me this again, much less in this moment.I'm afraid because the last time he proposed, it didn't take long for everything to fall apart and I realized it had been more about my desire to get married than his own.I didn't want him to propose just to fulfill my wishes."You're playing with me, aren't you?" I managed to say at last."I wouldn't joke about something you've wanted for so long," he replies with the same seriousness.But contrary to what one might think his response would evoke in me, the truth is that it disappoints me to hear it."Are you asking me to marry you just becaus
A week laterI can't find words to describe all the turmoil and chaos that has surrounded us since the accusation against Charles was made a few days ago.Yes, I did it. With Alessandro by my side and having Isabella as a witness, I had the courage to report him for kidnapping at the Florence police department.After the judge had signed the arrest warrant, he was taken into custody on the same day at his mansion, with my bag containing my belongings and my phone as evidence.The media, press, and showbiz have gone crazy, but of course, you don't hear about a famous doctor being accused of kidnapping every day, especially when it involves the wife of a sexy businessman who's almost a Hollywood star.Needless to say, the calls to Alessandro haven't stopped but at least I'm grateful they don't know where our house is, because we would be harassed for it, just like we are when we leave this place.Regarding the trial, we're waiting for the date of the first hearing. We know that the head
I try to get out of my gloomy thoughts and pay closer attention to what the women in front of me are talking about in order to follow their conversation."Well, I drew from many of the things we discussed over video call to bring you some ideas that might fascinate you," the wedding planner explains. "You told me you wanted an outdoor wedding, and there are fantastic places in Florence. I'll show you some."She shows her tablet, Nora and Isabella chat excitedly about everything related to what she wants for the wedding, while we wait for the food. Excitement and contentment are evident in their eyes.Minutes pass and after a while the waiter appears with our dishes. I'm not very hungry, so I ordered a small chocolate cake. Isabella ordered an artisanal pizza and Nora got pasta."Here's your garlic bread accompaniment, miss," the waiter indicates upon returning, also bringing the drinks.However, as the smell of garlic reaches my nostrils, strong nausea overcomes me, causing me to supp
"Why are all these men here?" is the first thing I ask upon noticing the tall, burly men dressed in black in the room.Each and every one of them looks like thugs, straight out of a mafia movie."They're your security," Alessandro informs me."What?" I reply, confused. "Are you crazy?""I'd be crazy if I left you to your own devices, given how inclined you are to tell things to your husband," he says with irony."I was going to.""When? After something serious happened to you?""Nothing serious has happened to me so far, so I don't see why you're exaggerating.""Are you seriously saying that? A damn intruder broke into this house a day before Paul gave you the keys, and instead of calling the police or telling someone, you chose to keep quiet," he reproaches angrily."I don't want to argue about this," I simply say."We're going to discuss it now, Claudia," Alessandro says, approaching me. "Besides the fact that you keep being unable to tell me the truth, it bothers me how reckless yo
My brow furrows as I watch her place one of her hands on his shoulder and then lean in to whisper something in his ear, causing their inevitable closeness. With just that tiny gesture, my body burns with anger at the scene I'm witnessing. And even though Alessandro gently pushes her away, the woman clings to him like a damn tick.I don't even realize when I started walking towards them, but there I am, standing in front of him, staring at him intently."Claudia," he says my name as if nothing's wrong, making the woman turn to look at me."Who are you?," I ask the blue-eyed woman who won't leave my man alone."I could ask you the same thing," she retorts with an arrogant look."Olivia, she's…""Claudia," I interrupt him. "Nice to meet you, Olivia."I look at her without any hint of cordiality or joy."Oh," she huffs, looking me up and down. "So, you're the lucky one. I'm Olivia Brooks.""Claudia, she's an actress, like Piero," the idiot who unfortunately will be the father of my child
Days go by, and Alessandro informs me that he has news for me about Anna, which makes me nervous because I had managed to find solid evidence of her kidnapping and how she had drugged him to take advantage of him.It seems that Matteo himself had given them to him."Love, the good news is that Anna will go to jail for a long time, and her parents are accomplices. I will have full custody of my daughter."I couldn't be happier, I throw myself into his arms, but I notice he's tense, so I look at him inquisitively."There's another piece of news, isn't there?""That's right, and it's that Anna escaped. They could only imprison her parents.""And Vittoria?""She was with them. Bruno is bringing her along with John. She'll be able to live with us.""These are wonderful news, but Anna...""I'll do everything in my power to put that crazy woman behind bars. I won't let her keep hurting us."Ale comes closer to me and kisses my lips. I want to respond, but there's been something on my mind fo