Ruggerio I’m itching to smoke so bad that I bounce my leg up and down while one of our contractors is talking with us about a project that we should have already finished weeks ago. It wasn’t enough to have my grandfather talking to me like a kindergartener about the importance of business deals, but I also had my father threatening me to distribute tasks to my younger brother. As if I would care about this. Why not give him everything already? Frank had apparently forgotten to appoint his deputy correctly about an important task that should have been covered while he took a vacation to Paris and, as I wasn’t informed about anything and he was my fucking deputy, the project went south in just a few days, getting us into all sorts of problems. I wouldn’t be as mad, as such things can quickly be corrected. And in the building industry, you have all kind of issues that can happen without expecting them, so we are trained to manage them competently. Also, Frank did the fucking extra mil
Ginevra Not feeling quite ready to face him, I decide to make up an excuse to distance myself from the group composed of my grandfather, my father, my brother as well as our lawyers. As we are walking into the gigantesque skyscraper of the Capolettis, I already feel my heartbeat increasing. My throat gets extremely dry, and I fear that I would empty my stomach on the shiny floor if I wasn’t to get some water soon. At least it wouldn’t take them much to clean it up. As my brother nears the reception desk and asks for Ruggerio Capoletti, I feel like I’m not getting enough air. I try to breathe steadily to calm myself down, but it just increases my feeling of suffocating slowly. Why didn’t I stay at home as I was supposed to? The last days had been exhausting. While I had tried to avoid as many people as possible and even got my grandmother to believe that I was feeling unwell, I had to go on the stupid dates with Tommaso regardless of how I said I was feeling. The evenings with him
Ginevra “You promised.” He hisses. “I did promise not to ghost you again and I didn’t! The rest is nothing you get to control.” A sly smirk appears on his face as he presses his lips to my ear and whispers, “We will see about that.” Grabbing my body as if I was made out of cotton candy, he lifts me off the floor. He presses my back fully into the cold wall once again, standing between my legs and bites into my neck, having me mewl lowly. “What the hell are you doing? The cameras, Ru. The cameras!” I panic, freeing myself from under his teeth. His eyes capture mine as he looks back up at me. “This is my building, remember? The security guards are instructed to delete the tape. And to not call for help for or check on anyone stuck in the elevator.” “Are you crazy?! We will get caught. Let me go!” I hit him with my fist, but he doesn’t move an inch. Again, he just wraps his hand around my wrist, holding my arm to his chest. “Not before you tell me that you want to marry that idio
Ruggerio “My apologies, gentlemen.” I walk into the meeting room with fast steps and sit down. “There was a problem with the elevators.” Ignoring the murmuring of the Monteccos, I take my seat between Frank and Blake. I blend out the reprimanding comment of my father and turn myself to Federico to discuss the last issues on a few clauses. The elders are soon rumbling on the sides while Federico, Frank and I go over the blueprints with our lawyers. After a good hour, I finally put my signature next to Federico’s and offer to celebrate this with a glass of good champagne, but Federico politely declines the offer under the pressure exerted by his kin. Alright for me. While I am about to accompany the men out, I overhear Ginevra’s father talking to Federico in hushed voices. I smirk to myself as he apparently worries about where his daughter might have been the entire time. “She told you, she was feeling u
Ruggerio “Is everything alright? What happened?” Frank shifts to prevent the papers on his arms from falling as we step out of the elevator. Gesturing to my office, I already begin walking down the long hallway. “Everything is alright. He wants to review the plans real quick.” Reaching the glassed door of my office, Frank scurries inside and starts laying out the papers on a table standing before the large window front. I gesture to Federico, inviting him in. Frank turns around and looks between the two of us confused. “Erm… So, what do you want to look at?” “It’s OK, Frank. I got it from here, thank you.” He nods slowly, and I can clearly see when it dawns on him. “Oh, sure. I’ll be in my office if you need me.” Frank walks out of my office with quick steps and I close the door behind him. “Please, take a seat.” Federico opens the button of his black jacket and sits down into a chair sitting in front of my desk while I stand behind it. “I’ll get straight to the point, as I’m
Ginevra“I- I just want you.” I stand rooted in my spot as my life flashes before my eyes at the sequence of the surveillance camera playing on my phone. I stare at my screen incredulously, my hand covering my mouth, a small sob stuck in my throat. Only as someone bumps into me, do I get dragged out of my panicky episode. I realize that I’m standing in a busy street with people streaming past me. I can hear them cussing me out as my AirPods are not playing my sultry whisper anymore. Taking another breath, I try to move from the spot I have been frozen to, but there is no avail.I’m so dead. I close my eyes and the message of Ruggerio that accompanied the video appears before my inner eye.“You promised! Now, I’m coming to get you.”Feeling myself nearing a panic attack, I start taking slow breaths. But my blood pumps so loudly through my body that it
Ginevra We arrive at the restaurant situated on the top floor of a skyscraper a few minutes later. As we ride up with the elevator, my phone vibrates again, having me wanting to jump out of my skin. I concentrate on the rising numbers while I press my phone to my leg, preventing me from looking at it. After getting out of the elevator, a pretty host dressed elegantly shows us to our table and I take my seat in silence as my mother is chatting with my siblings. As they continue chatting along while eating, I give in to my itching sensation and glance at the screen, only to unlock another wave of anxiety. Ruggiero: The things I want to do to you. Ruggerio: I don’t like being ignored, Ginevra. Ruggerio: If you continue like this, I’ll have to punish you. I take a deep breath, and just as I’m about to turn my screen upside down, I get another text, making me freeze mid-movement. Ruggerio: You look stunning, by the way. It would be a pity for your grey blouse, but maybe someone could
Ginevra It takes me a good while to fall asleep. I keep turning on how good of an idea it was to provoke him. I wrote just one sentence that went with my wet panties. Why does it take you so long to get me? My heart beats faster at the sole thought of it. I thought I was so sexy and that everything would be so prickling. But damn. The fire I was playing with was definitively too hot for me. Startling awake in the middle of the night, I groan, checking the time on my phone. It’s past 3 o’clock in the morning and I let myself slump back into my bed. I must have fallen asleep while overthinking. The moment my brain grasps the situation fully, I notice that there is a reason why I startled awake at this time of night. My breath hitches in my throat as I recognize someone standing in my room, watching me. The panicky feeling doesn’t hold on long as I recognize Ruggerio nearly immediately. “Oh my-. You scared me.” I sit up in my bed, holding my hand to my chest. “How did you get i
My lovely readers I hope you enjoyed my debut novel and the extra chapters. I am very happy to have been able to share this incredible journey with you and am currently looking into the possibility of doing a spin-off about Elisabetta and Alexander. If it will work out, you’ll know :D Be certain to follow me on the socials by finding me with my full name to get all my updates. In the meantime, I will leave that little sneak peek of my planned sequel below. Much love, Shelagh ’s business, the twins want to go to New York and regain the legacy their parents lost by marrying for love. After traveling to New York under false pretenses, they are ready to take what would belong to them as a birthright. But as soon as they find themselves between the Monteccos and Capolettis in the huge metropolis, they find out soon enough about where thei
Federico “Good afternoon, Mr. Montecco. How was your flight?” Alfredo greets me with a smile as he holds open the door of the limousine. “It was alright, Alfredo. Thank you very much.” I take a deep breath as I settle into the backseat, and Alfredo drives off. It’s not that I’m not looking forward to finally seeing my sister again, but work and the planning of my upcoming trip are taking a toll on me, making me want to just drop everything and depart a month prior than scheduled. Locking my phone after answering a few emails I got during the flight, I put it back into my inside pocket and open the newspaper I was trying to read all along. But of course, I don’t get too far as we seem to reach the mansion my sister is living in with her husband at lightning speed. “Thank you, Alfredo,” I say, as he opens the door for me and goes to fetch my luggage. I have barely stepped out of the car as I see the entrance of the beautiful home before me open and my sister steps outside with a s
Elisabetta “What the hell?!” Ginevra says as we drag her into the room with her wedding dress.It had been a struggle to bring her onto a plane, and through New York. I guess that the fact that we had everything private, like the jet and the chauffeurs, saved us from a lot of trouble.We had originally planned to drug her with some light sleep-inducing drug. But suddenly, Nina was against it and made us change our plans. So, we figured out the tactic of telling her that Ruggerio had left, leaving her at the altar, in order to get her onto a plane to New York. But as we started to tell her that she lost it completely.She kept screaming that she didn’t believe us and that she wanted to speak to him.Naturally, we couldn’t have her speak to him.As he was indeed waiting for her at the altar.So, plan C kicked in.Even if it should be called plan P, as it rose from the panic we felt at that moment.We overpowered her, and while our staff took all the packed things we needed to take with
Francesco “Did you hear from any of them?” Ruggerio asks me for the umpteenth time.“Yes, Ru. Nina just texted me. Your spouse is still alive.” I check my watch before flashing my grumpy best friend a grin.He looks ready to rip my head off my shoulders, but I will let it slip as he is losing his mind at how nervous he is.“Ready, bro?” I ask him, and he closes his eyes while taking a deep breath.“Yes!” He says, clearing his throat.I slap his arms, getting him to pull onto his sleeves again. He clicks his tongue as I chuckle at how cute he is.Wanting to look perfect for his bride.“Let’s go!”With another deep breath, we walk down the stairs and out of the gateway to reach the wedding venue with the hugely built patio where empty chairs and a floral bow are already waiting. It is breathtaking because of the view of a vineyard, but also because of its lovely decorations.It would have been the perfect place for them to get married.My heartbeat skyrockets as I am still unsure how h
ElisabettaRuggerio distorts his face, and again it is Nina who is the first to speak. “I guess they are still convinced that she is pregnant. Or hoping that it is the case by now…”Silence falls upon us as we stare at Hissy and Nina with a shocked expression.“She would lose the baby. Especially, as we are highly superstitious when it comes to these kind of things.” Hissy adds, getting us to stare at the packages gutted.Nina tears herself out of her trance, and whispers. “I have to talk to her.”As she disappears into the house, I turn to my brother who is already clenching his jaw. His stare doesn’t leave the door where Nina just disappeared through, even as I talk to him. “Ruru, don’t worry. We will get rid of them. But you should go now. Don’t let her think that you are worried as she will get more anxious.”By lying my hand on his arm, I lean in to get into his line of sight. He nods slowly, and before he gets steered away by Frank, he reaches into his pocket. Handing me a folde
Elisabetta It is rather comical how they had to tear my brother off that ladder to get him away from Ginevra that we are still laughing about it the next morning.Ginevra wipes the tears from her eyes and sighs. “Giving him a ladder has really been a bad idea.”“Ah, don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it. You had to be dragged in as well.” We laugh as Nina mocks Ginevra jokingly. “You are both so mental. It’s disturbing but also incredibly cute.”Ginevra pulls Nina close, pressing her grinning face against Nina’s cheek.Seeing Ruggerio and the interaction with him must have done her incredibly well. I am glad to see her in an easygoing mood as I had thought a few times that she seemed troubled because she was pale and apparently felt sick.And I guess that two days before your special day, it is just going to be worse.At one point, we even had trouble getting her to eat something, which worried Nina especially. But she kept saying that she was too nervous to eat and that she didn’t want
Fortunately, the next few days are hectic, keeping me from thinking too much about what happened. Or how it broke my heart. As the guests for the wedding start to arrive, we are too busy with the final preparations to even find a moment to talk when we meet at the venue. But he still keeps standing as closely as possible to me. Making me feel the worst pain I have ever experienced before. I guess that rejecting his offer broke my heart much worse than his first rejection as I asked him about what he felt for me on our first date. Or the things he told me in Paris about how we were just compatible when it came to fucking. Taking a deep breath, I follow one of the minions of the wedding planner crew to arrange the flowers on the patio of the rehearsal dinner. We are turning the vases and picking at the flowers without any sense as I hear him clear his throat behind me. He is really getting on my nerves with this quirk of his. “What do you want?” I ask annoyed without even raisin
As soon as I straightened back up again, I get lifted off my feet and carried into the adjoining room with the whirlpool. “What are you doing?!” I squeal, punching his chest. “Let me down.” “I just want a bit of privacy.” He answers with clenched teeth, as he puts me down. He closes the door behind us, and I cross my arms over my chest. “You have some nerves.” “Do I?” He smirks but lifts a brow as he looks behind me. “Why isn’t that thing going?” Shrugging, I look back at the empty tube shortly before turning back to look at him. “We never use this.” He hums, and passes me, starting to fill the whirlpool. “We are going to use it now.” “You are kidding, right?” I ask, clicking my tongue, but he is already undressing. Turning my head away from him, blushing like a little girl, I suddenly feel him tugging at my jersey. “I’d never kid about the possibility of seeing you naked.” “You must have lost your mind!” I say, making him chuckle. “Come on, Annie. I’ll keep my hands to mysel
Turning to Elisabetta and Hissy, I get back into my excitement about the upcoming ceremony.“And the dress?” Hissy asks in a whisper.Elisabetta pouts her lips. “I don’t know if it is going to work, but I managed to book a small room by the venue where we can do the change and all the make-ups.”“Oh, I can’t wait.” Hissy squeals, making me giggle.“She is going to cry so much these days. She is going to love it!” I chime in, and the two women nod with a broad smile.Successfully dodging another attempt from Frank to finally have our “talk”, I walk ahead of the two ladies as they continue to chatter along.As we finally get back to our vacation home, Ginevra is already standing behind the door, looking like she is about to burst.“And how was it?”I hug her, swaying slightly. “Oh, it is perfect. It looks soooo beautiful. The flowers and the view. It’s going to be fantastic.”“For real?” She asks, wiping a small tear from her eye. “I’m so glad. I’m so nervous.”“You look pale, babes. Do