“Forgive you?” Kendra clenched her teeth, and, to her surprise, Alice saw genuine anger and pain in her expression, something so intense that, if the circumstances were different, it would certainly have made her feel pity for that woman “Is that it? You belittle me, fuck with my entire life and, just because you want to die in peace, you want to force me to forgive you too?” she laughs full of bitterness “Well, I don't even know why I'm surprised. It's like you said. You never learned to stop being selfish, much less to ask for forgiveness.”
“I'm sorry, Kendra. I really am.” Lucas grunted, as if there was a weight on him “But me realizing that I was responsible for you becoming this way doesn't change the things you've done. While I was blind thinking that I was doing the best for you by exploring your potential and giving you every possible opportunit
“Grandpa…” Alice murmured, approaching the gurney when Kendra slammed the door behind them, leaving her, her father and Lucas alone “Are you okay…?”“I don’t think I still have the right or the ability to be okay.” he smiled ruefully “But, it's not like I didn't already expect it. Even if she never forgives me for being a terrible father, I couldn't die without asking for forgiveness first. And, if like Kendra, you are not able to forgive the things I did…” his eyes slowly rose, until they met hers, making it very clear that his strength was running out “I will understand. Being able to see your face at a moment like this is enough for me.”“I just… I can't understand…” Alice wiped away her tears, trying to force herself to remain calm “You wan
“Please, Mrs. Bianchi, make yourself comfortable. Mr. Schulz is just preparing the papers and will be here in a minute.” the secretary said, with a friendly smile as she handed Alice a cup of coffee.“Thank you. We will be here.” She tried hard to be kind, even though that morning's cold seemed to have settled inside her bones, after her grandfather's funeral.“That was ridiculously fast.” Massimo grumbled, after the secretary left the room they were in “Will readings shouldn't happen on the same day as the funeral. Even someone like Emma was able to respect the memory of a dead person and wait a few weeks before talking about inheritance after my father died.”“I'd like to wait too, but apparently, as my grandfather's primary heir and only living daughter, Kendr
“What…?” Alice started to ask, in shock, but Kendra was faster.“This is unacceptable!” she shouted “This division is unfair and ridiculous! I have been the CEO of the family companies since my father was permanently hospitalized! And now you're telling me that old man wants to give everything that belongs to me to this brat, who has never even managed a single store in his life?!” Her finger rose in Alice's direction “I don't know what kind of scam you're trying to pull off with her, but I'm going to demand a review of this will right now...!”“Lucas and I imagined what your reaction would be like, Mrs. Dawsey.” Mr. Schulz sighed, crossing his arms “Just know this will wasn't even recently drawn up. Your father came to me to dictate these exact same words more than 7 years ago, when Alice
“What the fuck are you talking about?!” Kendra snarled "If you think you can just meddle in our business and put everything in this idiot's hands, without her making any effort, know that..." she was in the middle of her tantrum, when something seemed to click in her mind and all her body became limp, as if the realization had hit her too hard “What… What do you mean by…”“Do you really think I wouldn't have the means to deal with you and Lucas, just because I was out of the country?” Micah smiled a wicked smile “I grew up hiding in the corners of that house, Kendra. I always knew that, while Lucas clung to those factories as if they were a part of him, you did the same with money. I’m glad these two things will be in my daughter’s hands, now. It's the least what you two deserve, even if fate is still being too kind to Lucas by leaving his
“Come on, dear. You must be the first to take the first step into your new property.” Micah offered, with a huge smile of pure pride on his face, leaving Alice touched that he seemed so happy for her in that situation, even though that house certainly brought back so many bad memories for him.“Thanks, Dad.” Alice smiled, still holding his hand as she walked past the Dawsey mansion, the same place she had once promised herself to never return, but which now belonged to her “Well, that moving company certainly did a good job. I can barely recognize this place when it’s so… Empty.” She looked around, managing to see not only the entrance hall, but also the beginning of the living room, all looking even larger than usual, now there was so little furniture left “And I guess the shock wasn't just mine. Ruby mentioned that some High Society ladies even prete
“This party is… Quite bigger than I expected.”“Don’t be so petty, Harry. It’s the best party we’ve been to in… God, I don’t even know how many years.”“Have you seen the wine they are serving? I think my son-in-law would have to sell one of his entire resorts to buy such a large amount. I told Sarah to wait for a better suitor before deciding to get married…!”“But, why do you think Mr. Griffin would throw such a big party and still invite the Bianchis? Do you think the rumor about him being Alice’s father is true?”“Of course not! And don't repeat that! It's disrespectful to Lucas' memory. Griffin probably just called the Bianchis here to show them yet another of hi
“Mom! This apartment is shit! It looks like it was designed by someone with no brains! There's a window in the closet and, as I could never imagine that someone would be stupid enough to put that there, I didn't close the damn thing and half my silk dresses are soaked now! Didn’t those idiots who made the move stop to think about it, when they organized everything…?!” “Amber…” Kendra grunted, the vodka hitting her mind so hard that she didn't even have the strength to straighten up in her seat “If you don't want me to throw you out of the window you're complaining about, then you better shut up.” “How can I shut up or stay calm, knowing we are going to live in this rat hole from now on?!” her idiot daughter squeaked “What must my friends be thinking of me? Do you know what we used to think about girls who called themselves High Society, but lived in a tiny apartment like this? We called them prostitutes in disguise, trying to impress us with a single property in a posh neighborhood
“Daddy! Daddy! I drew a picture for you!” Millie whimpered, jumping from side to side on the sofa with the paper in her hands, seeming to think she should get Massimo's attention, even though he was still on his cell phone screen, right in front of them "That way you won't forget me..."“Honey, we already talked about this.” Alice tried not to laugh, kissing her baby's cheek “Daddy only will be gone for less than two days and then he's going to come home. It's not that long. He has important work things to do in Italy…”“But he promised we would travel together…” Millie cried, heartbroken “He said he would show me what Italy is like and we would eat ice cream…”“And we will, piccola.” Massimo sighed, looking sincerely guilty, which only made it much funnier for Alice “I’m sorry for not being able to keep my promise. But when I get back, I'll prepa
“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…”