Ginevra The night I was planning to go out with Tommaso, being just the two of us, I did my best to doll up. Wearing a light blue summer dress and cute silver peep toes, I opened the door as he rang the doorbell. I had styled my hair into a neat, high bun and wore some light make-up fitting my dress. Smiling brightly as I felt really good about going out with my fiancé to be, I welcomed him in to say hello to my family. Naturally, everyone stayed in tonight to see me go out with the banker’s son. I was standing around feeling a little bit awkward, but he really didn’t seem to care. Looks like he has had amazing puppy training. After bidding our goodbyes to everyone, we step out of the front door, and I push out a deep sigh. I’m surprised at him chuckling at my gesture. “Looks like our families are both a bit too enthusiastic about the marriage.” “Yeah. Seems like it.” I try my best to smile, even if my chest squeezes painfully. As we walk to his car, I’m quite happy to see Rupert
Ginevra “Oh. My. God! You won’t believe it!” I look up from my magazine to face my best friend barging into the room. She walks straight to my armchair and plops down on the footrest standing before me. She grins happily and her eyes sparkle, making me giggle in anticipation. “What?!” “I hope you are ready for something spicy, because I have all the sauce!” I grin back at her, letting my magazine fall into my lap, “Spill it!” She clears her throat, expanding her hands theatrically in front of her. “Apparently, Mr. I’m-the-boss-of-the-world was at the party too.” My eyes widen at her. “Really?” She nods repeatedly, her sly grin growing. “Yes. Yes. And the best part is that he got stood up by a girl apparently. And now he is looking for her!” She burst into a loud laugh, and I laugh maliciously. “What an idiot.” “He posted it on i***a. He is looking for her. Apparently, they made a deal, and he says he wants to break it.” I push out a now forced laugh while my heart skips a
Ruggerio I groan as I open another text that reaches my inbox. This one is straight pick me. It doesn’t even state any details, she just writes how she is the woman of my dreams and wants to make out. Sure. My nerves are already growing thin as the meeting with the representatives of the Montecco family is coming closer and even if I’m ready to handle the prick on my own, my grandfather doesn’t seem to be convinced of the same. He told me a few days ago that this deal is too important to take it casually. So, he and my father are now in the game too and it is getting on my nerves. Badly. Arabella walks in carrying another bunch of documents and I’m ready to jump out of my office situated on the 95th floor as my phone chimes with another incoming DM-notification. Thanking my assistant, I pick up my phone ready to throw it on the wall as I freeze reading the name. I open the message and jump out of my chair at the impact it has on me. Cass: Your name is gorgeous. It suits you. You
Ginevra I don’t even feel the cold air blowing on this chilly summer evening, as we are in line to get into the club. My heart is beating so fast that it seems to warm myself with my anxiety painfully. Not even the buzzing streets of the city that never sleeps has me getting distracted from my sorrow. My breathing gets labored, and I try to regulate it, fearing I will suffocate soon. Nina and Hissy are standing in line with me and while Hissy is clinging to me, telling me how her week was, Nina is already flirting with a guy waiting in another line. As the bouncer finally lets us pass to enter into the club, I straighten my spine and take a deep breath. Sheltered by the loud music, Nina turns to squeeze my arm. “It’s going to be alright, breathe.” I nod with a forced smile even if I would give everything to just turn around and leave. I’ve made up plenty of scenarios of how Ruggerio would recognize me in the crowd and not even one turned out in a good way. It was disastrous. Alway
Ginevra “What does that even mean?” “It means that you are playing with me.” My eyes widen and I push myself out of his hold. Very sublime and not suspicious at all. I am prepared to grab Nina and run off the dance floor but stop as I see her discussing with Mr. Happy-Smile. Just what the fuck is going on? “Nina?!” She holds up her hand to my face, growling. “Not now, Gin. And what makes that a me-problem?” Oops. I turn around as she shouts at him, and he answers her something in a similar manner. Pushing through the crowd panicky, I turn to walk into the small hall where the restrooms are, but just as I’m about to slow down, Ruggerio bumps into me, having me turn around. “What the hell, Ginevra? You know exactly which party I was talking about, don’t you?” With the music fading out due to a thin glass door, his deep voice re-sounds in the confined space, giving me goosebumps. Him using my first name has a devastating effect on me. “Didn’t you say you were waiting for s
Ginevra “Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?” I stand next to my mom shily, waiting for her to turn to me. “Of course, my dear.” My mother is about to arrange a bunch of delivered, freshly cut flowers into crystal vases while maids carry them into the assigned rooms as soon as she finishes a composition. She doesn’t look at me and I play with my fingers nervously before I clear my throat. “I don’t think that the liaison with Tommaso is going to work out, mom.” She halts for a moment but resumes her work nonchalantly. I guess that is the maximum I could get, even with such a statement. My relationship with my mother has always been a bit rocky. While my father was more the spoiling type of person, my mother thought to have to countervail it with a strong hand. If I wanted to talk about my feelings, she would never have the patience to accommodate me and she surely had never had the desire to listen to me longer than it was absolutely necessary. I learned to keep everything to mys
Ruggerio “Mr. Capoletti, Mr. Montecco and his partners are here to see you.” I thank Arabella who announced my long-awaited meeting and stand up, closing the upper button of my jacket. “Let’s keep it clean and simple, son.” I grunt in response to my father, who gets out of the elevator with me, followed by my grandfather and two of our lawyers. Funny for him to say that after all the speeches he gave me about this meeting. Entering the largest meeting room we have a few floors beneath my office, I’m faced with a stunning view. And by that I don’t mean the four tall men, all dressed in tailored suits, but the woman standing in their middle. She is wearing a black etui dress that hugs her curves to perfection and her curled black hair is neatly tightened to the side into a low ponytail. At least I will have something to ogle while my kin fights with hers. I get torn out of my thoughts as my father spits his first snarky remark. My family takes their seats without doing a round of
Ginevra My body goes into fight or flight mode as panic flows through me. Ruggerio, on the other hand, stands in front of me with an evil smile, putting the sole evidence of our dirty little secret back into his shirt. Here he is, standing right before me, the man of my indecent and forbidden dreams. Gloating about the worst possible way he could expose our secret definitely. “Am I allowed to call you by your first name now, your ladyship?” Ruggerio’s smoky voice rolls off him nonchalantly and he doesn’t even make an effort to keep it down. I click my tongue trying to deceive him about how much it actually means to me. “This doesn’t mean anything.” “Does it?” I can hear that his cocky grin is still very present in his voice, but I play it cool. Or at least I do my best to do so. “Yes, we made a deal. And it was to conceal our identities because it meant nothing.” What a fraud. “I hope I can trust your promise of confidentiality to keep this between the two of us while we get