"Are you sure it wouldn't be better to call the store and have them rent this dress to us instead of selling it, Andy?" Rose asked for the millionth time, wringing her hands nervously "That's a lot of money for something I'll probably only use a few times while I'm married to your brother."
"What are you talking about? You won't use this a few times. You won't use any more." Adele corrected her, getting up from the armchair she was sitting in to assess Rose's figure in the large mirror before them.“What my grandmother was trying to say is that you don't have to worry about values.” Andy explained, returning to speak at the moment when Rose had just opened her mouth to disagree “It was my brother who proposed to you that the contract between you two continue, wasn't it? So nothing fairer than him providing you with all the materials you need for this, which includes clothes.”“For the love of God, stop talking about that contract thing ou“Have you really never melted chocolate before?” Rose laughed for the millionth time in just the last five minutes as she watched Aaron struggle to flip the small, still solid chocolate chunks with the spatula without them jumping out of the glass bowl into the pot filled with warm water.“Don't make fun of me, I had already warned you that at the bank we don't learn to do any of that.” Aaron snorted, looking almost on the verge of sweating as he gently stirred the chocolate, “Why don't we do this in the microwave, by the way? Wouldn't that be much more practical?"“Some people think so, but I particularly don't. In order to melt correctly, chocolate needs to be stirred properly and, by staying in the microwave, it is not always possible to do this correctly. And believe me, everything is much better when you eat chocolate that is smooth and creamy, rather than burned or lumpy.” she taught, feeling happier than she knew to have him by her side at a time that was normally reserved for h
"Violet" Aaron snarled, turning at the same time as Rose to face her cousin, who was standing before them with a glass of champagne in hand and a dark blue dress that left very little to the imagination.“Aaron.” she replied, pouting as if he was the one who had lied and mistreated everyone the last time they had seen each other “I thought the next time we saw each other would be the perfect opportunity for me to try to explain myself and work things out. among us. But it's pretty clear that you're still falling for this woman's lies...” Violet sniffed, staring at Rose like she was the plague.“If you know you blew your own cover the last time we saw each other, Violet, then why did you even bother to speak to us?” Rose complained, sharply "Or is it that she hasn't been in enough contact with Michael and Elisabeth lately to know what's happened lately?"Even though he didn't quite understand why, Aaron felt deeply satisfied to see h
"Oh Rose, I swear I could stay here all night talking to you." Beatrice commented and Aaron had to bite his tongue to say that he truly believed this, as they seemed to have been chatting away for ages “Too bad we still have a few guests to greet. But please leave some space on your calendar for the next few weeks so we can have afternoon tea together and talk more.”“Of course, Beatrice, I would love to.” Rose nodded and Aaron could see that her excitement was genuine.“I still can't understand how a curmudgeon like you managed to win over a young woman as nice as her, Aaron.” Alessandro teased, causing Rose and Aaron to instinctively exchange a look.“It is such a long story that we would certainly need to spend many, many nights here for me to tell it, I assure you.” Aaron forced a smile "Now, maybe it would be better..." he started to try to encourage them to pay attention to other guests, but a small noisy crowd nea
All his life, Aaron has been trained and taught to function under pressure, like every other Vamcap before him, so that there is no problem or unforeseen event that could rob him of his concentration and prevent him from working as hard as possible. However, at that moment, even knowing that his attention should be focused on the papers in his hands and the computer screen on his desk, he couldn't take his eyes away from the view that his office window provided at that moment.Outside, where the first flakes of snow had already managed to lay a white layer over the grass in the garden, were Rose and Alec, trying to gather as much snow as possible to make the base of what looked like a snowman. little crooked. And when he saw her realize that Alec had taken off his gloves and started to warm his hands between hers, while appearing to start a worried lecture, Aaron felt a sweet smile spread across his face, although he knew his little brother well enough to knowing that he had pr
I have to admit, this turned out better than I imagined...” Adele commented, tapping her finger against her chin slowly as she stared at the Christmas tree there in front of her, to which Rose and Andy were finishing adding the last details “ Of course, it could be a little bigger, as our ceiling allows it, but...”“But none of us could spend a week decorating a ten-foot-tall tree, Granny.” Andy chuckled, dangling one last colored ball from the lowest end of the pine tree “Besides, it's not like we left your favorite decorating company out of work this Christmas. They even decorated the rest of the house for us, but Rose had a great idea by suggesting we at least put up a tree ourselves this year. We haven't done this since…” she finished that thought, but just the way her expression fell and she bit her lip made Rose sure that Andy was thinking of her mother.“She would be very happy to see the good things this last y
With a weary sigh, Rose breathed in the cool breeze, standing on the small balcony off the Vamcaps' dining room, which was now completely empty and the long table clean, after Christmas dinner and the opening of presents. And although the day had been busy, as she needed to take care of Nick and also bake a few things, even though the Vamcaps had hired the entire state caterer to take care of supper, Rose was feeling more than satisfied with that perfect day, with the exception of Alec having been forced to visit his parents, of course.Outside, the snow had given a break, although everything around was covered in white and the lights of the city in the distance made up a very beautiful landscape, which Rose was now admiring alone. Alec, Grace and Adele had been in bed for a long time and Andy, Jullian and Aaron were probably about to go, although they had taken advantage of the occasion to drink some of the drinks from the Vamcaps' famous wine cellar, which Rose was a little s
“Are you sure this isn't too much to handle alone, Andy?” Rose asked for the millionth time that day over the phone, worried "I know Alec is very well behaved and I'm sure his friends probably are, too, but still, babysitting three kids…""Relax, Rose, and put your babysitting spirit to rest." her friend laughed on the other end of the line, at the same time that Rose could hear the voice of Alec and the other two boys talking excitedly about superheroes, nearby “The boys are much more concerned with asking every five minutes what time the movie starts and whether they can get more than one of the toys that come with the lunch, rather than making a mess. Believe me, everything is under control. If you want to worry about something, worry about yourself. You haven't even been in bed for two days, so try to relax and make sure you're fully recovered, okay?"“I'm already fine, I said. I'm just going to have the flu.” Rose shrugged, though
Feeling as if she might die of embarrassment, Rose sank into the pool again and went as close as she could to where the water was churned up by the whirlpool, leaving only her head out, knowing that with that crystal clear water, Aaron could still see her entire body, if she stayed in the quietest part. Not that she thought he would be interested in looking at her that way, but...“I… I'm sorry.” Aaron stammered and, gathering what courage she had left, Rose turned her burning face towards him, finding him on his back with the muscles in his back like rocks, they were so tense "I swear I didn't know you would be here. Alec had said he was going to the movies with his friends today, and when I called Andy, she said she was with them, so I just thought you were too..."“Uh… She made me stay home to get some more rest.” she said, between stutters, “Actually, she was the one who gave me the idea to try hydromassage for the first time
She could do this.The past was in the past and that scared, easily intimidated Andy was no more. She had been locked in that broom closet, with her hands bleeding and at the bottom of that lake, on that dark night, so many years ago. Now there was only Andrea Vamcap, a competent lawyer and part of a family she would never allow to fall apart, if only because she hadn't had the courage to face her memories and meet with the only person who could save the Vamcaps from Alphonse in that moment."Ms. Vamcap.” a female voice called and, as he turned around, Andy realized that she had been so deep in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that the smiling secretary had returned and was now standing beside her “Mr. Ferrars will see you now. Please, follow me.""Thanks." Andy groaned, his throat raw with nerves.Biting the inside of his cheek to force his body to hold steady, Andy followed the woman to a private elevator and then down a wide hallway that certainly could have held an ent
“And finally, I want to thank our lead developer, Grace Evans, for making this indie initiative the game of the year.” Timothy Collins, the owner of the game development company Grace had been working for for almost 6 years, pointed her out from the middle of the row of all the other people who had worked alongside her on that project “This award belongs to all of us, folks. Thank you again."At the sound of that last sentence, the audience rose to applaud them and, right in the front row, Grace saw Simon, sitting next to Timothy's husband, with that beautiful smile on his face, looking at her as if he were seeing a Goddess on top of that stage, instead of a human being. And as thrilled as she was that her most beloved work had won the award that was every developer's dream, Grace couldn't wait to step off that stage and give her husband a hug.Finally, after another round of applause, she and her co-workers were finally able to step down from the stage and, without even worry
"And this is where Simon's old room used to be." Mrs. Dickinson announced excitedly, opening the door for Simon and Grace to enter “I left him as he always was, at his request, but it breaks my heart to see how simple everything here is. Especially now that his help has made our children's rooms so beautiful and cozy...”"It's just as cute as he is..." Grace sighed, making Mrs. Dickinson laughs and Simon blushes.“Well, that was the last place I wanted to show your girlfriend. Oh, I'm always so happy to see you here again, my boy..." the old lady sighed, going to hold Simon's face by the cheeks as she had done since he was abandoned at the door of the orphanage, in a box, as a baby "And even happier to know that now you knew what love was. I've never seen you so happy before, not even when I was giving you extra time on my living room computer.”“It was great meeting you too, Mrs. Dickinson.” Grace smiled, looking genuinely thrilled to be there “It was so amazing to see the
“Stop swinging your legs like that! It looks like a tremendous duck!” Elisabeth scolded Grace for the millionth time that day, causing her to stop nervously shaking her legs as she sat in the waiting room of the restaurant where her parents had taken her to meet her mystery fiance “And stop biting your lip or you'll get lipstick on your teeth! God, I never met a girl more slovenly than you! How can you be my daughter?”“Shut up and stop causing an uproar!” Michael growled in a low tone, reaching over to grab his wife's arm after seeming to have finally finished confirming the reservation with the waiter who had accosted them the moment they set foot in that huge restaurant and who screamed exclusively "We have to make a good first impression on our son-in-law!"“Don’t you dare talk to me like that!” Elisabeth spat, moving her arm away from his grip, but at least in a lower tone “Do you have any idea how long it took me and how much makeup I had to spend to make her even remote
It had been exactly 7 months, 2 weeks and 4 days since Grace had asked to see her best friend's dick, and even after the day Simon had gotten up from the table so fast as to break his own computer and end the conversation, she felt that he was still awkward around her, even though they had made a silent pact not to mention her request again.The funny thing was, Grace couldn't even feel embarrassed. Not that she didn't know that asking someone to be naked during a video call was weird, but… She honestly wanted to see that part of Simon. The only thing that made her feel bad was the fact that, from some of their conversations, Grace had the distinct impression that Simon thought she had asked this out of pure and simple curiosity. And unfortunately, whenever she tried to explain that she really was physically attracted to him, and even more so, Simon seemed to panic and end the call.Her parents had always said that she was very strange, and maybe Grace really was. Because she
“Please make yourself comfortable, Mr. Evans.” Mr. Conti touched Simon's shoulder in a friendly way as the waiter poured a glass of whiskey at the table he was sitting at "It's a pleasure to have you here again."“Thanks again for the invitation.” Simon forced himself to smile, since, of all the people he had met since he had started making a lot of money and being invited to that kind of high society club, Mr. Conti and his wife seemed to be one of the few people who were being genuinely kind to him.“Let me say hello to my other guests, but I'll be back here shortly so we can talk a little, yes?” the old man smiled, as if he knew perfectly well that Simon would not fit in easily here among all these men who were twice his age and never had to worry for once in their lives about what they were going to eat the next day “Why don't you try to take a walk and meet the other gentlemen? I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun.”Suppressing a sigh, Simon just smiled a little and nodde
“Grace...!” Rose called out to her, still inside the living room where Alec Vamcap, the nephew of the man she had married, was now happily playing with his adorable puppy; however, Grace pretended that she hadn't heard her and continued to walk quickly towards the room where she was staying in the Vamcap mansion, with the Christmas card, which she had questioned about, in her hands.It was still hard for her to believe that her sister actually looked so happy, in fact happier than she had ever been in the Springs, here with the family of the man she had forcibly married. Not that Grace was bothered by that. After all, Mr. Vamcap had turned out to be a better person than she realized, not only preventing Rose from being assaulted by Michael, but also bringing Grace into that mansion months ago, when she still had to wait until she could move into the dorm. Of course, she had been absolutely surprised when he had done this, as she had painted an image of him in her mi
Simon knew he was acting like he was 8 years old again, hiding in corners and just observing everything around him, letting shyness get the better of him, instead of doing what he really wanted to do. But dammit, whenever he glanced in Grace's direction, his heart raced, his palms turned cold, and he was more certain than ever that he still didn't have the courage to walk up to her and simply introduce himself. Not if it meant his looks might disappoint her and she wanted to stop being friends with him.Of course, he also knew he shouldn't have taken advantage of the fact that she had told him where her college was and given him the opportunity to go there and see her, on the day he knew Grace would be coming to apply, but... He wanted so much to see her up close. Or, at least, from a few meters away, as he was doing now, sitting at one of the tables in the college cafeteria, while he watched Grace standing in line near one of the rooms, hugging some documents and looking very
Most kids learned from their parents that strangers were not to be trusted, especially strangers you met on the internet and had never seen their faces before. In the case of Grace Springs, however, it was her older sister who had taught her that. So she knew very well how horrified and worried Rose would be to learn that she was doing exactly that right now."How's your day?" The message flashed in the in-game personal chat after the match ended, and with a smile, Grace clicked to open the message and reply from her friend Simon.Well, theoretically his nickname was still TallMole95, but they were long past that stage of knowing each other's real names. Seven months in all, in fact, since she'd managed to get hold of one of the notebooks in her father's study. Rose always said that she needed to avoid getting into trouble with Elisabeth and Michael as much as possible, especially while her sister wasn't back from college, but after those two had sold the portable game con