“Very well, Mr. and Mrs. Bianchi…” Dr. Lewis’ assistant smiled sympathetically, motioning for them to follow her “You can come in now. Dr. Lewis is waiting for you.”
“Thank you.” Alice replied, waiting for the woman to turn and walk a few steps away from them, before she leaned towards Massimo, murmuring “And you, lighten that mood. There's no reason to be so grumpy like that. It’s just a routine appointment.”
“I don’t understand what the point is in continuing to do this.” he snorted, annoyed “I don't feel any pain anymore, I've never missed a single physiotherapy session in the last month and my exams have had almost no changes. Why do I still have to be here, when I have so many important things to do at home and at work?”
“Now, updates about the corruption allegations against Stanford Mitchell, who was removed from his position as judge two months ago, causing a major scandal in the Supreme Court.” the reporter on the small television screen said, while Alice watched, her vision darkened by the sunglasses she was wearing inside that small café “New accusations and the breach of Mitchell's telephone secrecy revealed several cases of corruption in which the former judge molded his judicial decisions in accordance with the payment of those who sought him. In addition to the names that could be identified through the calls, the public was informed today that, after weeks of maintaining his innocence, Mitchell pleaded guilty last night and began cooperating with police through confessions regarding his verdict-buying scheme. It is hoped that more names can be revealed soon, so that victims affected by the fraudulent sentences can seek their rights. We’ll be back with more information after the break.”Clutch
“Mother! Let’s get out of here, please!” Amber begged softly, sounding almost like a dog squealing, but Kendra just continued ignoring her “Everyone is watching!”“Everyone is watching because you are acting like a cow about to go to the slaughterhouse, you fool!” Kendra growled through her teeth, discreetly reaching for Amber's wrist so she could squeeze it “Align your posture and lift your chin. We're still Dawseys! It is not a simple difficult phase that can bring us down. Our surname and our legacy will always come before us, no matter what happens.”“But shouldn’t we be looking for Dad?” her daughter swallowed hard “I told you. The jewelry he took was what we had set aside to pay the next installment of the Campbell money...”
“Up, Daddy! Up!” Millie screamed louder and louder, while Massimo held her aloft, moving her around as if she were flying.“Millie! Calm down!” Alice begged, setting the bucket of popcorn aside so she could run to them “And, don't ask Daddy to do something like that. He has to be completely rested to be able to have surgery tomorrow.”“It’s okay. We’re just playing.” Massimo tried to calm her down, but at least he had Millicent sitting on his lap again.“Yes! We’re playing flying, like the cool Superman movie Daddy watched with Grandpa Tommaso when he was little like me!” Millie said, excitedly “We’re going to watch this today, aren’t we, Daddy?”“We'll watch whate
“Very well, Mr. Bianchi…” a nurse with a wrinkled face and gentle smile said, standing in front of the operating room with a clipboard in her hands as she looked at the stretcher where Massimo was “I'll go back to take you to the center surgery in a moment, but take as long as you want to say goodbye to your wife. Everything is ready.” “Thank you.” Alice replied, trying not to sniffle.“Don’t be like that, love.” Massimo tried to console her, stroking her hair while Alice leaned even more over his body on the stretcher, covered only by the hospital gown “I already told you. Everything will be fine. I’ll be back soon, better than you’ve ever seen me.”“I… I know…” she wiped away her tears, hating the fact she couldn't be as confident as him “But it's still hard knowing that you're about to enter an operating room again… I was in this same hospital last year, when I found out that you had been in the accident, did you know?” Alice admitted, blushing “I was still very afraid that someon
Under Alice’s feet, the carpet of the hospital waiting room was starting to look worn out, but still she continued pacing back and forth without a moment’s rest. Every second that the clock ticked, she took another look toward the door that connected the corridor to the operating room, but no one appeared. 4 hours. 4 hours, 12 minutes and 34 seconds had passed since the nurse had announced the start of the procedure, but there was still no news or any sign that Massimo’s surgery was over. Everything around was completely silent, with the exception of the sound of her footsteps and her occasional sobs, as Alice tried not to think the worst and end up crying.Her husband was going to be fine. The expected time for a surgery could always vary and that specific one was quite intrusive. The doctors were probably just taking their time to make sure Massimo’s sutures were as perfect as possible. Yes, that had to be it. He had promised that everything would be okay and that he would come bac
Massimo first sensation was that someone had hit his head with a baseball bat. His back was hurting as if the flesh had been sliced in half and his entire body was weak and stiff. Even his eyelids were heavy as if they were lead, but, as it seemed to be the only part of his body he still had the strength to control, Massimo struggled to open his eyes, grunting slightly as an intense light pierced his vision, making him close it again.Fuck, why was he feeling shit like this? And, mainly, why did he have the distinct impression it wasn't the first time he'd gone through something like this? When was the last time his body had been completely defeated like that? The confused memories in his mind said it had something to do with pain, blood and the loud noise of an ambulance piercing his ears... But, at that moment, he could only smell alcohol, something sickening that seemed to be medicine and the low soun
“Very well, Mr. Bianchi… Can you tell me which part exactly I’m playing right now?” the doctor asked and, because of the blue cloth that had been raised above Massimo's waist, hiding the doctor and his assistants from their view, not even Alice could tell.“That’s…” Massimo squeezed her hand lightly, concentrating “The space below my fingernail, right?”“Good.” the old man said, a smile clear in the heavy accent in his voice “Now, I will press a textured object against the sole of your foot and you must tell me what it feels like.”“They play doctor just like us at home, right, Mommy?” Millicent murmured, sitting on her lap as she watched the doctors work, curious.“Ki
“And this is the garden where daddy could walk in his chair, when he got out of bed.” Millicent said to Hoppy the bunny, holding him out as high as possible, as if she wanted the toy to see through the bushes behind the glass walls “It's beautiful, but the garden we have at home is much bigger. And in this closet right here are the nurse's things that Mommy uses to take care of Daddy. I wanted to get one of the cool things she used to listen his heart, but she said it was from the hospital…”“Millie! Don't get too close to the closet. Things can fall on you.” Alice warned her, as she helped Massimo settle into his chair, taking great care so the bandages on his back were not under pressure.“Come on, princess. Come help Grandpa carry your dad’s things to the car.” Micah called, handing Millicent just
“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…”