“What?!” Alice gasped, her blood running cold.
“A heart-warming family reunion, isn’t it?” Massimo laughed contemptuously “But oddly enough, this was positive for me. I learned from day one that I wasn't welcome by anyone in that house, other than my father. He had hopes that things would change as time went by, but my mother and I knew the truth. That same night, I begged her to we go back home, but... She was honest with me. She told me that, soon, my father would be the only family I would have, so I needed to be strong and not allow those people to destroy me. Four months later, she died.” He revealed, making Alice's eyes become heavy with tears “My father tried to help her, but it was too late. Tuberculosis led to several widespread infections, until she could no longer resist. As she told me would happen, all I had was my father.”
“My parents... Did something similar happen between you and Millie’s father?” Massimo asked, but his curiosity disappeared the moment he noticed her body tensing “Forget it. I know my father was one in a million. I how many cowardly sons of bitches there are out there, incapable of assuming their own flesh and blood.”“I... I always thought that Millicent and I would never fit into his life. When I found out I was pregnant, I was sure my baby would be a shock and a hindrance for him.” Alice admitted, although every word was like a stab at her, with her mind begging her to stop “There was a lot at stake, especially on his side, and I knew how it feels to be an unwanted child. It seemed like the best choice was to keep his life as it was, so that's what I did. A lot of things have changed in the last almost 5 years, but...” she sniffed “I don't thin
If one day someone had told Massimo that he would be supervising a children's party with the same care he used to oversee his company's projects, he would probably have laughed for hours. Yet, there he was, standing in the middle of his farm's garden, watching as all the workers finished assembling the toys, stocking the food carts, and decorating every inch of his property for Millicent's birthday.“Is that Millie’s new daddy?” a childish and frightened voice asked, and, from the corner of his eye, Massimo noticed three children who had already arrived for the party watching him, close to their mothers, whispering to each other “Why is he sitting on a chair that has wheels? Is it because he likes riding in cars?”“Can I have a nice chair like his, mommy?” another little girl asked, grabbing her mother's skirt.
“Uh... Honey, why don't you go talk to your friends?” Alice suggested as she approached them, her smile trembling “They're right there. I'm sure they missed you.”“Yes, go, Millie.” Massimo placed her on the floor “So I can give your gifts in a few moments, before you and your friends can play and eat.”“Yey! Lily, Mark, Cassidy! Massimo will give me gifts!” Millie screamed, running towards the other children, while Alice leaned towards Massimo.“Massimo, don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful that you did this for my daughter, but…” she chewed on those full lips that had been starring in his dreams since the day they had kissed “Don’t you think that Is this all a bit... Too much? I mean, how much did that must have
“How are you, Petunia?”“No, Massimo!” Millie scolded him, causing Massimo to lower the blonde doll he was holding onto her bed, where several other toys were scattered at a tea party “Beth doesn't have such a deep voice.”“Uh... Not even if she was sick for today?” he tried to dodge “That way, after the tea party is over, we can take her to the hospital.”“Then we can have a tea party at the hospital!” she said, excitedly, but approached to hold Massimo’s arm and try to lift the doll close to his face “But you have to start by giving her a kiss and telling her that it will pass. It’s like mommy always does!”"Everything will be fine." Massimo said, touching his lips to the to
“Mommy? Can’t we go home?” Massimo murmured, trying to warm his cold little hands on the scarf full of holes that was around his neck.“You’re home now, honey.” His mother spoke with a smile on her pale and tired face “And, soon, your father will take you to see America, too. Isn’t that exciting?”“But, you’re going with me, aren’t you?” he practically begged, something bad squeezing his chest as they approached on foot that huge house, the biggest he had ever seen, just ahead.“I…” Giulia hesitated, making Massimo sure that things weren’t as right as she was saying “If I’m feeling better, then I certainly will.”“So why can’t we go to the
Even though his desire to continue standing in the middle of the darkness of his room was strong, Massimo still forced himself to go through his routine as if nothing was wrong. Bed, bathroom, wardrobe. Making the bed, cold water on his face to wake him up, and any clothes other than the boxers he'd been wearing to bed lately. Oh, and brush his teeth well, too. Millicent would always try to escape brushing her own teeth when she realized he hadn't done the same. Massimo had to be her example.Finally, with a long sigh, Massimo opened the door to his room, trying to lock inside not only that damned nightmare, but also the memories of all the disastrous birthdays he had ever had, since the day his mother had died.The ramp he had requested to be retrofitted to the main staircase was now ready, which meant he had much quicker access to the ground floor rooms than
“And then, now transformed into a real boy, Pinocchio lived happily ever after alongside his father, Geppetto, and the talking cricket.” Massimo closed the book on his lap, looking up to watch Alice pat Millie, who looked like she could barely keep her eyes open, but was still fighting sleep.“We played a lot, took a shower and listened to a story.” Alice took her hands off Millie’s back, laying her down on the bed “Now it’s time to sleep.”“But I want to talk to Massimo on the phone…” Millie yawned for a long time, raising her little hand towards the can on her bedside table, even though it was impossible for her to reach it.“We can do it tomorrow, honey.” Massimo laughed, moving closer to the two so he could cover Millie completely &ld
“Very well, Alice. You only go so far.” Massimo grumbled, just as Alice pushed his chair through the door to Dr. Lewis's office “Ask Josiah to take you somewhere. Just be here in an hour and a half.”“Are you sure you want me to stay? I can help with something...” she offered, preparing to take off his coat, but Massimo pulled at his jacket as if she were trying to undress him completely.“Having a family member around is always good, Massimo.” Dr. Lewis said, looking more relaxed than Alice had ever seen him so far “Are you sure you don't want to...?”“What happened to medical confidentiality?” Massimo growled, now sounding really angry “I want to do this alone. Which part didn’t you understand?”
“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…”