“Look, mommy! These boats are so small! They look like the bathtub toy Dad gave me!” Millicent pointed out, trapped in Alice's arms, as she seemed too excited about the sea view outside the hotel window, maybe even enough to try jumping straight into the sea “Can we ride in one? I want to see the fish!”
“Those are fishing boats, piccola.” Massimo explained, looking more than proud that Millie is loving every detail of his homeland “This town is small, so most residents survive on fishing, in addition to tourism. But, don't worry. As soon as we go to Florence in two days, there will be lots of boat trips for us to do.” He opened his arms so she could jump into his lap “We came here first because I wanted to show you the place where I was born.”
“I want to see the house where you were a baby!&rdquo
“What are you…? Wait, did you buy this place? Like, this whole property?” Alice's eyes widened, although she should no longer be surprised by Massimo's behavior at that point.“This will be our home whenever we need to come to Italy and get some rest.” He nodded towards the mansion before them, which looked like a small castle in the middle of the meadow “It's not that far from Positano or all the other big cities around, but it's also the perfect place to stay in peace for a while. I know it might look a little dated, but I did some renovations recently. I bought this land years ago, but, other than the cabin, I never had the desire to make any other changes... Until I realized that our family deserved a cozy place to stay when they were here on vacation... Or, who knows, in the future, spending a slightly longer season.” Massimo cleared his throat “There will always be excellent opportunities in the nurs
“What a magnificent party, don’t you think, Mom?”“I don't know... I think they could put more chandeliers in this room and do a better job with all the dusty terrain on this farm. It’s not at the height of a Bianchi, even though Massimo seems to like keeping his country boy roots alive, God knows why…”“Don’t be so surly, Margareth. You were always complaining about him being the first Bianchi not to host a party to celebrate his rise as CEO. But, we’re here now, aren’t we?”“And can we blame him? After everything that happened… Alice being Micah Griffin and Elise's daughter, his stepdaughter turning out to be his biological daughter, the kidnapping attempts and all Kendra's downfall… God, I remember complaining that last year had been so uneventful, but could you ever have imagined that we would see all of this happen in such a short time?”“Can you believe it? They were just Tommaso's bastard son and Kendra's weird daughter, but now they are Mr. and Mrs. Bianchi! God, Tommaso’s moth
One of Massimo’s worst nightmare was hearing his wife scream in pain. But he could never have imagined it would happen on what should have been one of the happiest days of his life.“Oh, Jesus…” Alice whimpered, tears falling from the corner of her eyes as another contraction seemed to hit her, making her face contort in pain “Oh my God!” Her scream echoed throughout the delivery room, at the same time that Alice squeezed his hand as hard as she could, almost as if her life depended on it.“Why is she in so much pain?” Massimo growled towards one of the nurses who was standing next to the doctor leaning between Alice’s knees “You said you would give her anesthesia…!”“She received anesthesia, Mr. Bianchi.” one of the older nurses there sighed, making it seem like he wasn't the first father who had questioned that kind of thing “But, you opted for a natural birth, which means that very strong anesthesia could prevent your wife from being able to control her muscles and push, which woul
“A round of applause for our graduates! Mark Abbott! Camilla Allende! Bernard Attinks!”The campus director started calling out one student after another, causing all of Alice's classmates who were around her, behind the stage, to start shaking. Well, her heart was also beating a little out of time, she had to admit. There were so many years of dreaming and then five more years of studying, so that she could reach that day...But even so, it still felt almost like a dream as Alice watched her classmates walk out onto the stage, one after the other, so they could pick up their diplomas and wave to their family members who were sitting in the audience.“Oh, man…” Dakota Brown, a 23-year-old who had become one of Alice’s closest friends during college, muttered “They’re almost in the surnames that start with B… Damn, my legs won’t stop shaking. I hope I don't trip and fall on stage, for everyone to see. It would be all my brother needs to make fun of me for the rest of my life.”“You’re g
Most people thought Micah had never been the type to get over things easily, but that wasn't true. A long time ago, when he was young and the world still seemed like a place full of incredible things waiting to happen, his sadness didn't stay with him for long. His father had taught him to be optimistic and that's what he tried to be... Until he suffered the first loss in his life that could not be reversed.“Grandpa…” Millicent, the precious little girl who had been his greatest gift after Alice, asked him, the candy he had given her still in her hand, with her tooth stuck in it “Do you really think the tooth fairy will meet me here in France? What if she goes to my room at home and doesn’t find me?”“Don’t worry, honey.” Micah laughed, picking her up in his arms so they could walk down that little hill “The tooth fairy always knows where all the children in the world are. And I guarantee that, for a good girl like you, she might even give a doubly valuable gift.” He blinked, pleased
“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…”
“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
“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
“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…”