Melanie’s POVAlice's words stayed with me all day. I’ve spent so much time believing that, Adriano had taken away my choice I had never stopped to wonder if I gave up too easily.Did I really have the option to make a different choice or could I give in to my new reality and be content with it?The thought of going back to the house didn't really fill me with dread like before when I was still new to his house.But apart from restricting my movement, he had treated me nicely. I ate well, slept in comfort, and got freaking chauffeured to work, even though I hadn't gotten used to the last part.Every time I demanded anything from, Adriano, it felt like I was making a deal with the devil, in exchange for my soul.It didn't help that he kept making me flustered when I was around him, causing me to act out of character.Nevertheless, I called, Phoebe and informed her of the plan to visit du
Melanie’s POV“Are you ready for this?” I asked.“That’s an unnecessary question, little nurse,” Adriano said. “Are we doing this or not.”“I just need a few minutes to get in character,” she said.Adriano chuckled but remained silent while I tried to steady my breathing. It was Saturday evening and we were currently parked in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Phoebe had called me earlier in the day to ask if, Adriano had any allergies or something he didn’t eat.I didn’t have the answer to that question but I figured he ate anything, considering the kind of guy he was so I told her no.Now I wondered if I did the right thing. Maybe I should have asked him, but I avoided him all day until it was time to leave.“Do you have any allergies?” I asked.“Huh?”“Phoebe called earlier wanting to know if you had any allergies and I told her you didn’t,” I explained.Adria
Melanie’s POVI should have known the last time, Adriano had the other nurses literally eating out of the palm of his hands how big of a charmer he was.Phoebe was completely enthralled by him, and there I was nervous about how she was going to receive him, especially with how blunt he was with her by the door.But it had the opposite effect on her. Phoebe appreciated his brutal honesty and seemed to think that he was good for me.I guess I should be happy with that, it means he’s holding up to his end of the bargain but I felt some way at the fact that Phoebe took an instant liking to him when I prepared to defend him tonight.Was it jealousy? Heck no. There’s no way I was jealous of Adriano. I mean it took a few weeks after I moved in for, Phoebe to warm up to me while she took to him instantly. Did that make me jealous? Absolutely not!Adriano also somehow knew the right thing to say to make, Phoebe blush.
Melanie’s POVPhoebe went all out with dinner. She made a spread that was enough to feed a small army.“There’s no way we’ll be able to finish what you made,” I told her when I saw how much food she had made.There was roast beef, potatoes, and steamed broccoli with what I knew to be her homemade gravy. Just like Alice, Phoebe was a great cook, so I knew everything she made was certainly delicious.Adriano pulled out a seat for her at the seat of dining table and did the same for me and she gave me a knowing smile when his back was turned to us.I knew what the smile was for. He was rich and also a gentleman. Could he be any more perfect?“Everything looks so good, Phoebe,” Adriano said once he’d taken a seat across from me.“Thank you, Adriano,” she replied. “At least someone appreciates the dinner I made.”I sighed, now he was making me look bad. “You know how much I enjoy your cooking, I’
Melanie’s POVIt was a struggle before we were able to leave, Phoebe’s place. There was a lot of hugging and she made me promise to visit her often.Orange, on the other hand, clung tightly to, Adriano until Phoebe had to physically pry the cat away from him. I was still hurt at how quickly he discarded me for, Adriano but that didn't stop me from filling his cat bowl with food, like I always did.The ride back to the house was quiet but it wasn't laced with any awkwardness. It had been a good night and I didn't want us to end it on an awkward note.I kind of zoned out during the ride up until her approached the house gate. With a slight nod to the guards at the gate, he drove inside the house. At some point, I had gotten used to seeing the guards and though they still looked imposing and scary, I no longer felt fear when I looked at them.He pulled up in front of the house, killed the engine and that was when the
Adriano’s POVApart from the time I spent with my family, I couldn’t remember the last time I had a good time.Melanie might not realize if but she’s been shining her light on my dark soul slowly and I was getting addicted to it.The background check I had done on Melanie’s neighbor, Phoebe was clean so I wasn’t worried about her.I had been prepared to put on a show but it turns out I didn’t even need to. Phoebe was such a pleasant person and her love for, Melanie was quite obvious which was another reason why I easily relaxed around her.My girl sure knew how to pick good friends. Even the cat, whom Melanie glared at most of the time, wasn't so bad. I'm guessing her glare was because the little orange animal clung to me most of the night. I didn't even like cats but somehow, I picked up the animal without scrunching up my nose in disgust.So imagine how bummed I was when I got a call from, Nik informing
Melanie’s POVI went through my usual night routine but this time, opted for normal pajamas with a buttoned shirt and long pants. I just settled in bed and was about plugging in my phone to charge when it began vibrating with an incoming call.It was Aria.There was only one reason why, Aria would call me this late at night and it had Alice written all over it.I accepted the call and put the phone to my ear.“Hello,” I said.“Girl!!!!!” she screeched so loudly that I had to move the phone from my ear for a while."Are you done yelling?" I asked.“Not quite but I think I can save the rest for another day,” Aria answered.“I’ll take that,” I said. “So to what do I owe this pleasure? I already have an idea but please humor me?”“I don’t know whether to be mad at you for keeping this a secret from me or be happy for you,” she replied. “Adriano met someone important to you!
Melanie’s POVThere was no way, Alice could be the one banging on my door, which left me thinking there was an intruder in the house.But would an intruder knock and how on earth did they know that of all the rooms in this house, I was in this one.I was frozen in shock and fear stopped me from moving to the door.Then I heard, Adriano’s voice boom, “Melanie!” that had me scrambling off the bed so quickly and I opened the door so fast."It was you," I whispered but then I saw the look of urgency in his eyes. "What's wrong?"“I need your help,” he said.I stared at him open-mouthed. A quick glance at him from head to toe revealed he was unharmed so I let out a breath of relief. That didn’t stop me from noticing the fact he was wearing a freaking bulletproof vest.Which got me thinking that maybe he was hurt somewhere I couldn’t see.“Are you hurt?” I asked.“I’m not hurt, little nurse but this i
Adriano’s POVI stared at my mom who had taken the seat that Nik occupied only moments ago.“You didn’t have to come over here to confirm it,” I said.“Yeah, I did,” she said. “Lately, it’s been like you’ve been doing everything possible to avoid a family gathering and I’m not going to let that happen again.”“You could have called instead,” I added.“I wouldn’t be able to tell how you’re feeling over the phone. It’s better to see your face in person,” she replied.“I already told you that I was not going to miss Christmas dinner, Mom,” I said. “Will you be coming alone?” she asked.Now we’ve gotten to the real reason why she came.“No, Mom. I won’t be coming alone. Melanie will be with me,” I answered.That made her smile. “Good, I want to see the lady that’s got my baby boy wrapped around her fingers. Besides, she makes great cookies and I need her to give me her recipe,” she said.
Adriano’s POV“Mr. Alfonso, is anything the matter?”I looked up at the accountant who paused his presentation. I could tell from the sweat marring his forehead that he was nervous. He was a new hire and was still trying to learn the ropes.So far so good, his presentation was good, but it was so goddamn boring. That was why when I started getting notifications of large transactions on my card, I couldn’t help but smile.I damn near forced, Melanie to accept the card from me and according to, Ralph they had been at the mall for hours and I just began getting transaction notifications.It didn’t take a genius to figure out that my sister had a hand in it. Maybe she wasn’t so useless after all.Melanie was too stubborn to let herself enjoy things that were freely given to her so it was good she had friends who didn’t hesitate to push her when she needed it.So yes, I’ve been distracted from the presentation, but that
Melanie’s POVAfter I had disconnected the call with, Aria, I went in search of my man and found him engrossed with something on his desktop.He raised his head when he noticed me and smiled at me."Did you miss me, little nurse?" he asked.I walked towards him and nodded. “I didn’t want to be alone,” I said.“Come here,” he ordered and I followed without hesitation.He pushed away from his desk and made room for me to sit."I thought you had a long overdue conversation with your girls," he said.“I did have conversation with my girls but that’s over now and I didn’t want to be left alone in the room. Besides, you’ve been holed up in this study for hours,” I said.“I had a lot of work to catch up on,” he replied.“I know that but that doesn’t mean I can’t try to distract you,” I told him. “I think we’re long overdue for something else.”He smirked at me. “Really? What is it?”
Melanie’s POVAlice and I spent the rest of the day together chatting in the living room while Adriano was upstairs doing God knows what.He did join us downstairs for dinner, looking freshly showered and I wanted to take him upstairs and lick him all over because of how delicious he looked but I focused on dinner.I helped, Alice clean up before I finally excused myself upstairs to take a shower. Adriano wasn’t in the room which means that he was in his study.I showered and changed into shorts and one of Adriano’s t-shirts before I settled in bed to call the girls.Now that the weekend was almost over, ignoring them was no longer an option so I put a group video chat and they both answered like they have been waiting for my call.“It’s about time, bitch!” Hayley said the moment her face filled the screen.“I see you’re back from la la land,” Aria added. “You abandoned us just because of a man.”I laughed
Melanie’s POVThe flight home was peaceful even though I spent most of the flight alone.When we boarded, Adriano told me he had a phone conference and I encouraged him to go ahead and join the teleconference when I saw that he was willing to postpone the conference on my behalf.He had already done a lot for me this weekend and I didn’t want to keep him from the rest of his responsibilities. People depended on him and of course he had to deliver.The group chat with the girls had been blowing up non-stop over the weekend after, Aria let it loose that Adriano took me on a thanksgiving trip.She ganged up with Hayley and have been badgering me for details all weekend but I wasn’t about to interrupt my time with my family so I sent them a message three days ago telling them that I would talk to them after the weekend.That didn’t deter them from sending messages on the group chat constantly. I spent the whole flight reading
Melanie’s POVMom was staring at us with a bright smile on her face and I was blushing so hard that I was pretty sure my face was red.“You both are just so cute,” she said. “It reminds me of when your father and I just started dating. Those were good times.”“Woman I still woo you regularly,” Dad said, walking into the kitchen.“Is the food not ready?” Danny piped up and Mom glared at him.“If you’re so hungry maybe I should leave you to make breakfast then,” Mom said, then she turned to Dad and Adriano."You all need to get your asses out of my kitchen. Melanie and I are almost done with breakfast but we won't make progress if you all keep hovering around here," she said.“You sure you don’t need any help?” Adriano asked.“I’m sure, honey, now get our,” Mom ordered.“Bossy as ever I see,” Dad mumbled and gave Mom a quick kiss on the cheeks before turning back and walking out behind, Danny wh
Melanie’s POVWatching, Adriano interact with my family, I wondered why I was ever nervous.My worry about whether or not they were going to like him was moot because he had them all charmed. Even Dad who was a bit hesitant yesterday had warmed up to him.In other words, he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. Also, I was pretty sure my brother idolized him with the way he kept asking him questions throughout the night and regaling him with football stories.The day after thanksgiving, I was helping my mom make breakfast while the rest of the house slept. We had a late night yesterday so it wasn’t a surprise that they were still asleep but not my mom.Mom had always been an early riser no matter the time she went to sleep, she always woke up the same time every day, like clockwork.We worked together silently in the kitchen, this time with no one to interrupt us anytime soon, I knew that I was going to hear all she’
Adriano’s POVThe scent of spiced apple pie hit me as soon as we stepped inside Melanie’s childhood home. It was warm and cozy in a way I didn’t think houses could be anymore. I grew up in a warm and cozy home but I soon learned that not all homes were like mine. Pictures lined the walls, memories frozen in time. Her mom, Roselyn, had been very welcoming. Melanie had once told me that her family was affectionate, but still, I wasn’t expecting this level of hospitality. Her father, on the other hand, was another story. He’d shaken my hand firmly, his eyes narrowing just enough to let me know he was sizing me up. It didn’t bother me. Hell, I respected it. If I had a daughter like Melanie, I’d do the same thing, I might even go overboard with it and try to scare the boy away but I didn’t get scared easily so he was just going to have to tolerate me in his house and his daughter’s life.Her brother, Danny, was a wild one. The guy w
Melanie’s POVThe wheels of the plane hit the runway with a soft thud, and I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Adriano’s hand slid over mine as the plane taxied along the runway, his fingers warm and firm. “Relax, Tesoro,” he murmured, his voice low and soothing. “We’ve landed.” I turned to him, his dark eyes drawing me in as they always did. “I’m relaxed,” I lied, though the tight grip I had on his hand betrayed me. The corner of his mouth tilted up in that knowing smirk that drove me crazy, in both the best and worst ways. "Sure you are, little nurse. You look very convincing.” The pilot announced over the intercom that we could disembark and we stood. We landed on another private airstrip but I could tell it was an extension of the bustling Austin airport.The flight attendants had already carried our bags into a parked SUV. I couldn’t help but feel a mix of excitement and nerves.