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 S2
Thank 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, ahl, Dida25, Kylee, alifya mustafa, Mariana Jimenez, Tsholo Matjila, and Bolanle olashile for the kind reviews and for helping this story get an official star rating! ^^
My sincerest gratitude to mai velazq, visitor9876, Guille C, cjoy, and Shanna-deen Knight for sending gifts. As well as my gratitude to Clarice Raimundo, Irene Kibanya, Lhyn, Rachel, Tina, Awudi Grace Daitey, Shelyn, Shantel Osgood, Sabrina Philemon and Kathrine Elaine Reynolds for being in the top 10 fan contributions! You are all amazing, as are all the people who submitted gems! Thank you for being so thoughtful!Now that the story has come to an end, please leave a final comment or review on the main page so other readers can know what you thought! ^^
Now, enough suspense for the next story. Over to you, ladies and gentlemen... Millicent ^^
“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
“Our records show that Mr. Bianchi was discharged a few days ago.”“Oh...” Alice blinked, a pang of disappointment piercing her heart as she looked at the receptionist of that hospital wing “I... I didn't know...”“Even if he was here, this hospital does not allow patients to be visited by unknown people.” The woman replied, narrowing her gaze with pure contempt, measuring Alice from top to bottom “If you are the girlfriend that Mr. Bianchi's relatives talked about, then perhaps you should have come earlier, young lady.”“I didn't plan to visit him. I just wanted to leave these gifts here.” She tried to swallow the lump of discomfort in her throat and maintain her posture, even though her hands were nervously clutching the tiny bouquet and the candy wrapper “Also, my last name might be Dawsey, but the girlfriend you're talking about It's my sister, Amber...”“Of course, of course...” the woman snorted, refocusing solely on her computer “Since there is no one here to receive your gifts,
“Casey, could you excuse us for a moment?” Kendra smiled, her tone suddenly warmer and gentler, only because it wasn't Alice the one who she was talking to.“Uh... Of course...” Casey hesitated, and Alice knew him well enough to know he was eager to walk away from a possible argument. “Just... Please, Kendra, don't be so hard on Alice. It's okay for her to be sad. As much in love as Amber and I are, it was still a betrayal..."“Don’t be so hard on yourself, darling.” Kendra cut him off, with a friendly smile “What happened was just inevitable. I saw the way Alice treated you. Any man would realize sooner or later that they deserve more than a cold woman. As a mother, all I can say is that I am more than happy to continue having you as my son-in-law.”“Oh, uh... Thank you. I... I'll try to talk to Alice when things are calmer.” He promised, but didn't turn his eyes toward his ex-girlfriend before leaving the living room, leaving Alice with that sour feeling inside her, watched by the p
“Did you take my money?!” she gasped, horrified, but that only seemed to make her mother and sister even more arrogant.“You have to agree that you were the only one stupid enough to hide cash, little sister.” Amber laughed.“I only did it so you guys wouldn’t convince Dad to clean out my accounts again, like you did before!” Alice started to raise her voice, but Kendra quickly cut her off.“You forget how merciful I have been to you since you were born, especially in the last four years. I could have thrown you out of this house for being a slut who doesn't even know who got her pregnant, but did I? No! Did I let you continue here, creating a bastard and dirtying our family name, charging only a symbolic amount of rent so that you could learn your lesson? Yes! The money you had in that can? It were nothing more than compensation for the 23 long years I raised you, receiving nothing in return but disappointment and ingratitude. But once again, Alice, I will be kind and give you a choi
“This farm is still as… Rustic and old-fashioned as I remember.” Kendra grunted, as if she wanted to use much less gentle words, as the Dawseys' limousine parked in front of the steps leading to the front door of Massimo's country estate "Now, what are the rules?" she raised an eyebrow, staring at Alice and Millicent with pure disdain.“We don’t meddle in anything. Don't create any problems... And don't bother Massimo.” Alice repeated everything her mother had been repeating in her ears since that terrible night, two days ago.“And this girl? Did you teach her too?” she pointed at Millie, causing Alice to hold her even closer in her lap “I don't want to hear a single word in high society about the Dawseys putting a messy brat in the house of a Bianchi who killed his patience until he got even more sick..."“Millie would never do that!” Alice growled “Then stop right now!”“Who do you think you are, to talk to me like that...?” Kendra was clearly ready to start a fight when a hand appe
“Millie? Millie?!” Alice panting, looking around nervously but unable to find anything “Millicent!”“Oh, God... Don't worry, she couldn't have gone far or left the house. A little girl like her wouldn't even reach the doorknob...” Thea also started spinning around, trying to find Millie “Uh... Listen. You look down here and I'll go up and look up there. I'm sure we'll find her in no time, okay?”“Yes, thank you.” Alice nodded, knowing that she shouldn't be so worried, since, as big as that mansion was, Millie had limited places to hide, but still... "I'll look here and, if I don't find her, I'll come up to help you...”“Uh... Maybe it's better not to...” Thea shook her head, as if that were a bad idea “That wing is... Anyway, I'll let you know if I find her, I promise. But I'm sure she must be around here... I’ll be back in a moment.” The housekeeper didn't seem willing to explain much more, as she just turned and walked up the stairs much more quickly than Alice expected from someone
The first response Massimo received after that scream was a whimper from Millie, who hugged Alice's neck even tighter, looking like she was about to cry at any moment. And, as uncomfortable as that situation was, Alice couldn't help but feel irritated with that stupid man, who had dared to scare her daughter.“What happened today was just an accident.” She replied, her voice now firmer “Rest assured that if this is how you plan to treat us, because of what Amber did, then we will do our best to stay away from you. There is no need to threaten us for this. I thought maybe I could find the man I once considered my friend...” she admitted, crestfallen “But now you've made it very clear that it was a futile hope.”“That...” Massimo’s chest rose and fell quickly, without Alice knowing whether he was about to get sick or have a tantrum “How dare you...?” He shifted in his chair and, surprised, Alice watched the oversized sleeves of his sweater rise a little, revealing deep scars on his arms
“Look, mommy, this bed looks like a cloud!” Millie’s laugh warmed Alice’s heart, the only thing that seemed sweet and warm in the middle of that silent and gloomy mansion “Can we play trampoline in this?”“Uh… I don’t think we should do that, honey.” With the most carefree smile she could muster as she took Millie's favorite blanket out of her suitcase, Alice approached her daughter, ready to cover her "Doing that could break the bed and you know it's not cool to break other people's things. Besides, everything here belongs to Mr. Bianchi, so…”“Is he going to be mad with us again?” Millie, who was standing on the bed looking ready to start jumping, stopped abruptly, as if she had seen a ghost.“I won’t let him scare you again.” Alice sat on the bed, pulling her baby close, feeling once again something inside her burn like acid as she remembered the look of pure hatred on Massimo's face earlier, very different from the man she had fallen in love with so long ago “But anyway, we have to