“I wanted cotton candy too! And balloons, lots of balloons! Oh, and we could watch movies too!” Millie’s breath hitched a little, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to talk without stopping.
“Okay, honey. I think Mr. Bianchi already understands everything you want for your birthday.” Alice laughed, finishing putting her baby's pajama shirt on “But, remember that the friends we are going to invite can only stay for two or three hours, so we have to choose carefully which games you want, so they don't be late coming home, okay?”
"Okay!" Millie nodded solemnly, while Massimo, who had been by their side, close to the bed, came over with Hoppy in his hands, to hand it to her.
“Don’t worry, Millie. Thea did me the favor of finding contact details for some p
Alice had tossed and turned for so long in that bed that she couldn't tell what time it was, but it was certainly still night, as the sun seemed far from rising on the other side of the window. Again and again, Massimo's questions hammered in her mind, spreading not only fear throughout her body, but also choking her with guilt. In the darkness of her room, she could only pray that he would show mercy after seeing her emotional state and let the matter drop. Otherwise, she would have to face him again, with lies on the tip of her tongue, cold sweat covering her face and her dry throat...No longer able to bear the way her mind was torturing her, Alice abruptly stood up, not even caring when the blankets fell to the floor. Putting on her slippers, she left the room exactly as she was, in a nightgown that came down to her knees. The spring air had been getting i
“I know my own body.” Massimo replied “I don’t need anyone for that. Especially someone who will treat me like I'll never walk again and need to live the rest of my life that way.""Very good." Alice crossed her arms over her chest, very serious “That's a choice that's up to you, anyway. No one will stop you from continuing as you are or from improving, so you can be more independent and play with Millie every day, whether you are in a wheelchair or not.” He leaned back as if she had slapped him “However, I hope you know that every day you go without the definitive cure you seek, your body will become more weakened, you will be able to do even fewer things. for yourself, until the time comes when someone actually needs to put food in your mouth and wipe your ass.” She pinned him where she knew it would bother him the most and, as expected, Massimo's pride did
“There he is!” Thea’s celebration sounded at the same moment that Alice had placed the last dish on the table “Our man is full of health!”“Stop acting like I’m a kid who just got back from the pediatrician, Thea.” Massimo rolled his eyes, as Josiah pushed his chair over to the dining table “I just went to physical therapy. I’m still a long way from having regained the health I once had.”“But that can’t stop you from telling us what it was like.” Alice teased him, although she was more than happy that he had completed his first physical therapy session without leaving there early or cursing everyone around him “So? What did you think?”“I found it as painful as what I already do at home.” He rolled his eyes,
“I want this one, it’s a rainbow! And this one too, with teddy bears!” Millie jumped up, sitting on her bed, almost causing the fall of the gigantic decoration catalog that Massimo had given her.“I thought you already decided on the pink and blue with ponies.” Alice laughed, holding up the catalog full of samples of wallpaper, flooring and toys, before Millie ended up falling out of bed with that folder that was almost as big as her.“But these ones are so pretty too…” her lower lip stretched out in a desolate pout.“Well, you have four walls here.” Massimo, who was sitting next to them still wearing the colorful wrapping in which the catalog had come wrapped like a Christmas present, said “You don’t need to worry about anything. I should have
“Are you going to shave your beard?”“I'm going to pretend I didn't hear the relief in your voice.” Massimo mocked, making her blush “Now, could you make some space? I need to get my shaving kit and take it to my room to get a floor-length mirror where I can see myself.” His voice became more and more bitter, as it always did when he had to talk about some adaptation to his wheelchair.“That’s going to make quite a mess, don’t you think?”“What? Are you afraid that I won’t be able to do even that?”“No, you grumpy fool. I'm saying there's no need to leave your bedroom floor covered in foam and fur when I can help you with that.” Before he could respond, she began steering his chair
“Thea, Thea! Can we put this necklace on mommy?” Millie squealed, running with the jewelry case in her hands, the necklace, which was certainly worth more than all the houses of all the clients Alice had ever worked for, swinging unsteadily.“Be careful with that, Millie...” Alice begged, but, as had happened that entire day, the two just ignored her."Oh, darling! How can you be so smart? This is just the one I had thought of choosing while finishing your mother's makeup!” Thea praised, taking a moment just to gently squeeze Millie's cheek, before turning her sharp gaze to Alice again “Very well. This is the last touch before perfection!”“I already told you that you don’t need to overdo it, Thea.” Alice tried to convince her again, her butt starting to hu
Did you see, Massimo? Doesn’t Mommy look like a princess?”Once again, Alice was forced to look up at him, surprised when she realized that he had approached without her noticing. Now, he was right in front of her face, his once emotionless expression now seemed focused on her, as if he was unable to tear his eyes away from her.“You...” he finally spoke, his lips emitting a low hiss, as if he were out of breath “You look beautiful. Millie is right.”“Uh… Thank you.” Alice cleared her throat, struggling to act like she wasn't totally out of her comfort zone at that moment, especially since Millie was looking at the two of them like she was watching a Disney movie “But... Shouldn't we go? I think I've already delayed you enough...”
Alice had forgotten how uncomfortable it was to arrive at parties like those. Even though the Bianchi's ancestral property was completely surrounded by walls as high as any low-story building, there were always paparazzi waiting on the road. They always desperate for some photos or scoops that never appeared on conventional gossip sites, but that the High Society ladies would eagerly browse in their favorite magazines, where only people with more than nine figures in their bank accounts would appear.“Just six months away from this kind of shit and I can forget how unbearable it is.” Massimo echoed her thought, resting his head against the back of the seat as the gates of the enormous mansion opened for them, revealing the entire brightly lit facade and with several other limos and sports cars leaving guests there “If there's one thing that old mummy was right about me, it's that I've nev
“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…”