“Let’s go.” Alice smiled gently at her best friend “You've had enough of this ridiculous scene.”
“I… I want to leave, but…” Lucy hesitated, her eyes not needing to travel far until she found Ruby still standing there, her usually unreadable gaze now full of expectation.
“If that’s what you want to do, then go.” Alice murmured, happy to finally be able to say those words “You're free now.”
“Yes… Free and without a home to return to, right?” Lucy sniffed, although she seemed more relieved than saddened by that fact.
“You know you will always have a place with your true family…”
“Yes, she does.”
“Let’s go.” Micah encouraged softly, placing his coat over Alice’s shoulders, as if to protect her from Kendra’s gaze “The last thing I want is for this crazy woman to decide to involve you in her show too.” he sighed, but Alice could tell he had enjoyed it all as much as she had.“I’m sorry about tonight, Dad.” Alice sighed, as the security guards formed a protective wall to escort them towards the exit “Ruby may have done Casey and Lucy a big favor by exposing those two cheaters, but you didn't get to present your project. Now everyone will be busy talking about gossip instead of the prototype you wanted to sell…”“Don’t worry about it, honey. Sometimes it takes a little chaos to put things in their place.” Micah smiled at her, keeping his voice low even as they w
Massimo thought he had overcome his habit of feeling frustrated when his house was filled with other people's joy. However, as he stood on the back porch, watching as Thea, Alice and even Millie prepared everything for this little birthday party to welcome Micah Griffin, he couldn't help but feel... Angry.He wasn't blind enough not to admit that his animosity with Griffin was starting to become ridiculous. At first, after so many years facing that old business crook, Massimo's fear that he might be trying to manipulate Alice was true. But, after all the positive DNA tests, Griffin's total absence from the decisions of the Bianchi Group and all Alice's joy at being around him lately... It was becoming difficult to keep his suspicions alive and use them as justification for not wanting one of the greatest enemies he'd ever had to become part of the precious family Massimo had built...
“Hello.” Millie said, still a little shy, but also smiling “Are you my grandfather? You look like mommy.”“Yes, Millicent. I am your grandfather.” Griffin smiled even wider and, as he bent down to Millie's height, Massimo could see his eyes shining with unshed tears “It's so good to finally meet you. You look exactly like I imagined your mother looked when she was your age.” he sniffed, seeming to try to contain his choked voice “I hope you can consider me part of your family from now on.”“I always wanted to have a nice grandfather! And mommy said you are very kind.” Millie took a step away from her mother, towards him “It's true that you lived far away, where people eat raw fish?”Micah’s response was to say something that Ma
“You know, Bianchi…” Micah broke the long seconds of silence between them, when Alice was no longer around to hear them “Continuing to look at me like you want to burn me alive won’t make your wish come true.”“Don’t act like you wouldn’t be treating me the same way, if I was the one who had meddled with your family like that.” Massimo grumbled, wondering if Alice and Millicent would be too disappointed if he just turned around and left Griffin with no one to annoy.“You seem to have a very possessive notion of what a family is.” he sighed, and his condescending tone, as if he were talking to a child, only infuriated Massimo even more “I don't think you realize this, but that's not a good example for a child.”“My
“Here, Dad. Don't forget the cake. I asked Thea to separate a large piece with the pistachio filling that you liked so much.” Alice remembered, handing the glass jar to Micah.“Oh, look at that. I have never had any problems with diabetes until today, but if you keep pampering me like this, I think that will change soon.” Micah laughed, putting the dessert in the glove compartment.“Don’t even joke about it. You will remain very healthy from now on, if it’s up to me.” she snorted “Besides, Thea’s sweets are the kind that are worth enjoying from time to time. I’m sure you were able to realize that today.” Alice joked."Yes. I confess that I still had my doubts about the things you told me about her, her husband and her son. But now, I'm hap
“You shouldn’t be listening to other people’s conversations behind the door.” Alice sighed, trying to buy some time to organize her mind “Also, this is a decision I made very recently. I still wanted to think better about everything this entails, before talking to you…”“Just answer the question, Alice.” Massimo growled, his fists clenched tightly “Are you going to file for divorce?”“I can no longer see another solution, Massimo. This situation that has arisen between us is unsustainable. Just think, do you want to spend the rest of your days like this? With a wife whom you ignore and despise?” Alice asked, even though she already knew the answer “I don't want to continue extending this suffering to both of us. What I did was horrible and you won't forgive me, that has become
“I won’t be able to be happy if you’re not here.”His murmur was so low that Alice even thought she was hallucinating. However, when she tried to move her hand even slightly, he just held her wrist more firmly, until she was forced to speak, even though she was afraid."Massimo?"“I have never forgiven anyone before. It’s a shitty thing to say, but it’s the truth.” Massimo growled “All my life, people tried to fuck with my life and I resented them as much as I could. Emma, my father's mother, the boys who tried to humiliate me at school, those fucking business associates... Why should I even think about forgiving them? I made sure to remember every single one of their words, so that one day I could make them regret every single time they made me feel inferior.
When Massimo had decided to forgive Alice, he had stupidly imagined there would be a trace of distrust or regret left, even if it was very well hidden among his love for her. However, at that moment, as he carried her to the bedroom, feeling her kisses on his neck and the movements of her hips against his, Massimo could only feel relief. Well, he was hornier than he had ever been in his entire life too, but mostly relieved to have her in his arms again.Suddenly, all his resistance up to that point seemed even more futile. It was obvious that Alice would keep her promise not to hurt him again and it was obvious that he couldn't live without her.Alice was his wife and her place was by his side. Now Massimo realized that a part of him had realized this since the moment they first met eyes.“Massimo!
“Look! Here comes our lovely bride!”At the sound of her aunt's cheerful and even slightly emotional voice, Millicent forced a smile, trying to look as light and happy as possible as she walked towards them, as any bride should be. Around her, the engagement party continued exactly as she had left it, flawless with drinks being served to smiling guests and the decor without a single flower petal out of place. Everything was perfect and she could see that everyone there, especially her family, also thought the same.And knowing that almost made her regret what they were about to witness.“You look so beautiful, Millie…” her Aunt Heidi was the first to come over, wrapping her in a warm hug “God, I can hardly believe that soon we will actually see you in a wedding dress and walking into a church...”“You look like you were a little girl just a few hours ago…” Thea, who had been her nanny throughout her childhood, took another tissue from the almost empty box on her lap “And now you are go
Today is officially the last day of publications and, for that, I have a lot to thank all of you for!This was my first story to get an official rating and also my first story to get over 30k (I hope it can reach 50k over time) and I owe it all to you. Thank you so much for commenting, sending gifts, gems and leaving reviews! A part of this story was written by you too, because I wouldn't have been able to get this far without all of your encouragement. I really hope to see you all in my next stories S2 S2 S2Thank you to Shelyn, Lhyn, Sabrina Philemon, Guille C, Rachel, Shantel Osgood and Penny Zagrafidis for always leaving comments. It was always wonderful to wait to read what you thought of the story, as well as all the other amazing people who left a comment.Many thanks to Abc Xyz, Lhyn, Irene Kibanya, Shanna-deen Knight, fizztae45, Arabella, Sarah, Lin Que, Kathrin Kähler, Moonlit tales, Shelyn, tina, Sabrina Philemon, Gabrielle, Blue_Hisbiscus, KayJay, Rachel, essstj, Guille C,
“You look so beautiful, Debbie... Isn't it amazing how that dress makes your hair color pop?” Evangeline hummed, and, even though she struggled, Deborah had her chin held and was forced to look at her own reflection in the mirror before them. “You… You really think so?” she swallowed nervously. “Of course! This will be perfect to shut up all those mean girls who are always talking about how this beautiful red is a mark of the God of Discord. Oh, I would give anything to have hair like that too...” Evangeline sighed, running her fingers through her perfectly straight, snow-white hair. "Do not say that. Your hair is perfect. How could it not be? It is a symbol of the Moon Goddess.” Deborah turned to face her cousin, intertwining their hands “And, don’t worry. I know that before I was always wetting your shoulder with my tears because of this, but... Iron is always saying that my hair is beautiful, so... I have no reason to cry anymore. Whenever he tells me I'm completely perfect...
“Okay, honey. Now… Open your eyes.” Alice asked and, when Millicent opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in the mirror, the smile that appeared on her face made her mother's heart more than happy. “That’s amazing, Mom!” Millie smiled to herself, moving closer to the reflection to observe in more detail the way Alice had painted her eyelids “I’m… I’m pretty, right?” she asked with a shy smile, as her hands nervously twisted the hem of the dark green dress, the same color as her eyes, that she was wearing. “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, honey.” Alice sniffled, holding her daughter's face, unable to stop the tears from flowing. “Mom, please… Don’t cry again.” her daughter asked, hugging her. "Sorry. It’s just… One day you were my little girl, running around the house wanting to play with your dolls and now… You’re a 16 year old girl, almost as tall as me and getting ready for your first date.” she had to stop once again to stop herself from bursting int
“And this is the role of fibroblasts in the healing process.” Alice spoke on the phone, as she took her pie out of the oven, happy to see that the dough had turned golden and crispy, exactly how her husband liked it “You can read more about this in the Cell Biology book. Any other questions, Lindsey?”“No, Alice.” the freshman sighed on the other end of the line, clearly relieved “You saved my life. And thank you for letting me record our conversation, it will help me a lot to review all of this for the next test. I just hope it’s not as killer as the last one.” she lamented “Mrs. Doherty was right. You are the best monitor we could ask for.” “It’s just my job.” Alice laughed, opening the cabinet doors where the dishes were “Now, if you don't have any more questions, I'll hang up now, okay? And, if any of your friends comment they tried to contact me this weekend and couldn't, can you let them know that I'm busy? And also remind them that my work as a monitor can only take place dur
“I… I’m sorry if your father isn’t a good father.” Millicent said, feeling like it wasn't right to leave him alone there, even though he clearly wanted that "My mother also had very bad parents and they hurt her a lot, until she found out they had lied and were not her real parents…”“I don’t think I’ll be that lucky.” he grumbled, not looking at her.“Well, that's bad, but that's not what I was going to suggest. When I was very little, mommy… I mean, my Mom told me that bad parents make their children wonder what they did wrong to be treated badly. But the real question should be: how can a father or mother be so mean to their own child? Never let the bad words of your family get to you. Just because a person is your family, doesn't mean he or she is right about yoy.” Millicent recited, although the memories of her mother's words were a little blurry, coming from the time when they still lived in that small room in the Dawsey mansion and she didn't even know her father existed.“That
“Okay, class. We are already accommodating your parents in the main auditorium.” Mrs. Keeley, one of the 3rd grade teachers, clapped her hands as she entered the classroom full of children, quickly grabbing the basket full of cookies that was on the table "Everything is ready, so Miss Shepherd will be calling you any moment, okay? Don't forget the chorus of the song and much less the part reserved just for your father. I’m counting on you!” she said, her voice so fast it was almost difficult to understand, as she left the room once again, practically running towards the auditorium where the Father's Day performance would take place. “You shouldn’t have left putting those bows on the brownies at the last possible moment, Poppy!” Cassie grumbled, but still didn't stop applying the glue stick to the glittery paper bows. “It’s not my fault!” Poppy whimpered, desperately trying to glue the bows onto the cellophane of the brownies she was giving her father as a gift “Mom told me she would
“And, as a last question, Mrs. Bianchi, how do you feel, as the creator, seeing your social project come so far and reach so many people positively?” the reporter asked, turning the microphone towards her as the cameras were turned towards them. “It’s a wonderful feeling. Every day, we receive several families who are unable to even obtain a loan to pay their medical expenses and, here, we are able to serve them in the best possible way, often restoring the quality of life that they had lost a long time ago. It's teamwork from a fantastic team of not only nurses, but also doctors and other healthcare professionals, who I was very lucky to be able to bring together here to support this initiative. My expectations for the future are that we can further expand our capabilities and be able to serve oncology and kidney patients soon.” “That’s great to hear.” the reporter said, his excessively white teeth gleaming against the sun as he smiled at the camera. “And that was our interview with
“Elise?” His voice cracked, sounding almost as if all the air had been stolen from his lungs."Are you okay?" she murmured, moving even closer to him to caress his face, her hands feeling as soft as he remembered “Did you have a nightmare? You were talking in your sleep, but I couldn’t understand…”“Elise?! Is it really you?” Micah sat up with a start, but only managed to feel even more confused when he realized he was lying on a bed, in Elise's youthful room, with the same lilac wallpaper and one of the walls covered in sheet music, next to her grand piano. A few meters away from the bed was the balcony, with the glass doors ajar, where he used to sneak into her room after climbing the large empress tree that was right next to it.“Of course it's me…” her eyebrows furrowed more and more “Are you sure you're okay, Micah? I know you spent the whole day helping your father prune the trees in the garden. If you want to go home and get some rest, I don't mind. We can do it another night…”