Five.

"What are you saying? Marry you? I don't even know you..." said Natalia, who was really scared by the proposal, not finding the slightest sense in it.

From one moment to the next, she felt that she was pale and cold.

The machine that marked her heartbeat began to beep loudly, so Stefano couldn't continue talking to her.

"I'm just saying it would be a good opportunity for both of us. I'll pay you" he told her.

The nurse on duty ran desperately to where the girl in question was.

She gave her first aid and also gave her medication to stop the intensity of the pain she was feeling.

"I'm sorry, sir. You can't be here right now" the woman informed him.

She led him out of the room so that Natalia would have peace of mind since she didn't want her to feel bad because of someone's presence.

Stefano had given up trying new things when it came to women, but this had taken him by surprise.

He never thought that he would propose to a woman like Natalia, who had nothing to do with him or his luxurious life.

He decided that he would still do the damn casting he had in mind, he refused to let a woman reject him.

He took his cell phone out of his dress pants pocket and decided to call one of his closest friends.

"Stefano, what's up?" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Everything's fine here, Silvio, but I need your help with something."

"I knew that you would come to me at any moment. What do you need?" replied the man with a tone as if he fully expected it.

"What would you think if I told you that I'm going to get married? I need to do a wife casting" the dark-haired man commented lightly as if nothing had happened.

"A wife casting? What the hell are you talking about?" he spoke with a strange voice "For God's sake, what do I have to do with that?" The man's voice already sounded a bit rude.

"Please, it's not a joke. I need to get the best women in this community, even if they are foreigners. Better if they are, I wouldn't understand them at all and we would have the best fictional relationship"

The man snorted "And what do you want me to say? Congratulations?" Silvio continued "You're talking about women of high value... What are you going to offer them? Do you think I'm trafficking people?"

"Of course not, Silvio. I plan to pay for its value and services. Also, I respect your marriage and your family very much, that's why I'm asking for your help. How did you choose your wife?"

"Stefano, you can't go through life buying everything. My wife is with me because we love each other. And from what I see, you still have a long way to go to learn to distinguish what love is."

"I need your help, Silvio, not a life lesson. Tell me now if you'll support me with this" the man of Italian descent spoke annoyed.

"You know I wouldn't let you die, but I don't share your vision at all" informed the man, who was about to turn forty.

"It seems that old age is bringing out those attitudes. I don't think twenty-year-old Silvio would have said the same" Stefano insisted with a mocking laugh.

"Laugh if you want, but when you find that person, you'll know it's not a joke."

"Fine" the younger of the two spoke "I don't understand why you almost always give me advice and not my father" commented Stefano a little frustrated at the situation.

"It's because your father doesn't care about you as I do, understand that once and for all" his friend blurted out.

"I would like to say that it is not like that, but you see how life is."

"Yes... Just tell me the time and place. I'll try to gather the best matches for you" the man said, referring to the woman he was requesting the last name of Mancini.

"I'll text you that later, I need to discuss it with my assistant."

Having said that, they said goodbye and Stefano had to go to the garden that his mother had behind the house because he always liked having privacy. 

She had designed a beautiful entrance to that place.

It seemed like a fairy and magic movie, and although he wasn't a fan of it, he liked being in that secret passageway of the mansion to think a little.

He suddenly thought that he would like to be there with someone, but he quickly dismissed that thought from his head.

From there you could see the window of the room in which that stranger woman was, also the window of his own room and that of one of his younger brothers.

The sky looked like a watercolor painting, further into the night again.

He ran his fingers through his hair.

He just hoped he hadn't caused the girl's death by saying something like that in the state she was in, it would be terrible to have tried to save her and achieved just the opposite.

After spending about five minutes there, he went out again and made an appointment with his assistant in the office that he had available to himself at home.

This was in the opposite wing of the house with the rooms when going up the wooden stairs.

It was the second gate, so he opened it, and when he did, the guy was already there at his own computer, typing a few things.

The assistant was named Julio, he was a Spanish boy who had arrived there by chance, but he worked very well.

"Boss. Since you texted me the situation, I looked for a good place where we can do that casting."

"Oh yeah?" he wanted to know the name "Which is that?" he wanted to know.

"This is one of the sets of the famous television network NHYPE, I got them to give you the set for three hours in total."

"Sounds like a good choice to me, but are you sure no one is going to gossip about this?" Stefano wanted to know, frowning.

"I made sure to buy their silence. They won't let anyone through who isn't on the list. Although we don't have one yet, I know there will be."

"Okay, when would that be?" The dark-haired one spoke, sitting down in his chair in front of the desk.

"In five more days, sir."

"That long? I need to do that as soon as possible" he said, trying to see if he was joking.

"The second option, although less private, would be to do it in the vineyard, sir" Julio said, adjusting his glasses again on the bridge of his hooked nose.

 "My mother would kill me" Stefano exclaimed "But it’s available whenever I want..." he thought about it until he nodded "It could be".

"It's not a bad idea, but we must look for a lot more security equipment since rumors fly, Mr. Mancini"

"I know, I want it to be as private as you can get."

"I'll try to do it your way, but I can't guarantee anything. People always find a way to slip away and find out what's going on."

"Enough, Julio, we must be positive" insisted Stefano.

"By the way, your father left this for you," the younger one said, handing him a golden letter envelope.

Stefano took it in his hands, somewhat confused.

Julio left the office and Stefano stayed there to review the contents of the envelope.

It was an ultimatum and attached was an invitation to an event that would take place the night after, one he had to attend.

There was also a handwritten note from his father.

Don't leave us in shame this time. Strike two.