Ginevra “Ellie,” I gulp, “you have to calm down because I’m freaking out over here.” I must be tripping as I am not really staring at a painting of myself. Am I?! I remember the old witch telling me about a painting, but after all that happened, I thought she had been lying. Like all of them. As I am staring at the replication of myself, I feel the last string of sanity slipping from me. In the portrait, I’m sitting on a bed, wrapped in a gray bedsheet as I look slightly over my shoulder, showing my bare back to the spectator. I cover my naked front with the blanket, looking incredibly alluring. I feel like blushing as I remember the sheets, the bed, even the moment. Damn it. Even though the colors are rather dark, it feels vibrant. It feels like it is screaming something at me, wanting to whisper an uncomfortable truth. But the thing that might hurts the most is that I can feel the passion it holds. The passion of the artist for his muse. My hand snaps to my mouth as I f
Elisabetta I’m concentrating on a drawn line that just doesn’t want to get like I imagined it as Amber smacks a kiss on my cheek. “We are heading out. Are you sure you wanna stay, girl?” Without even looking up, I wave at her. “Yeah, yeah. I want to finish that first. My driver will pick me up in a few minutes anyway.” Amber and Jennifer make a lot of noise, telling me goodbye while leaving our atelier and I shake my head with a smile. I just get to concentrate on my stupid line for what feels like a second as I’m interrupted again. “Day 32 of convincing my sister to talk to me again.” I look up to my brother shortly before lowering my head back to my design. “Argh, what are you doing here?” “I’m picking you up.” I roll my eyes, erasing the line with a deep sigh. Ruggerio steps behind me, looking over my shoulder, and I can sense his smirk without even looking at him. I should be happy to see it as it happens very rarely lately. Actually, only if he is alone with me. “Need s
Elisabetta As I’m getting driven home, I concentrate on my phone. While I’m scrolling through social media, my brother is babbling along annoyingly. I kind of like the fact that he just talks about random stuff to get me back talking to him, but I’m still angry about what he did to Ginevra in complicity with my family. And furthermore, that he is lying to me. Even while on the phone with Ginevra, I could see it in his eyes that he was elated to hear her voice. He could frown all he wanted. I could still tell. I’m the genius little sister after all. As he stops the car, our staff is at the car in a minute to open the door for me and to take Ruggerio’s keys to park the car into the garage. “Want to have a sleepover tonight? Like when we were kids. I’ll make you a hot chocolate, and we could look for shooting stars?” I laugh as he grins at me. “You must have bumped your head.” “At least I got a few more words from you.” We are still laughing as we enter our home. I can see his
Ginevra “I- I can’t breathe.” “I’m sorry, my dear. Try to breathe more superficially, rather than taking deep breaths.” Anna Rita’s remark nearly seems like a motherly advice if it wasn’t that she was still tugging at my corset like a lunatic. “Hmmm…” Tommaso is leaning against the wall of our room watching his mother struggle to make my body morph into something it is definitely not. “If you would just eat after the nutrition plan, I composed, as you said you would, we wouldn’t be here, would we?” I feel Anna Rita pull once more and lay my hand on my stomach, closing my eyes. Unfortunately, my plan didn’t quite work out. Tommaso had a high at my conducting like a happy wife who is in love for about two days before he fell into his usual pattern of the abusive creep. Hence, my experience of being tied up in this suffocating piece of clothing is more painful than it should probably be. Also, I really don’t know how much good this compression will do to my partially fractured ribs.
Ginevra The Capoletti men congratulate their business partner as I stand next to him with a shy smile. Fortunately, Elisabetta comes over to me, taking my hands in hers to express her wishes for me as well. Like me, she is a nice actress too, as I know that she doesn’t mean any of this. Seeing Elena wanting to congratulate herself with me as well, I lay my hand on Tommaso’s arm gently. “Would it be alright if I introduced Ellie to Alexandre real quick?” “Of course, go ahead.” “Gentlemen.” I do a little courtesy, avoiding Ruggerio’s burning gaze and taking Elisabetta’s hand to drag her through the crowd that is being excessively touchy. Normally, I wouldn’t mind, but everyone just seems to reach another bruise, making me nearly tear up in pain. It takes us longer than expected to pass the hall of the venue as I keep being held back by people wanting to compliment me or express their congratulations. I must really be a beauty, getting compliments wearing this ugly dress. As we f
Ginevra From the moment Tommaso left for his business trip, I was finally able to breathe. Literally. As he doesn’t get to badger me anymore, my bruises start to fade, my ribs heal and breathing gets easier. I’m actually astonished by the fact that as soon as Tommaso is gone, my mother-in-law starts baking cakes for me and impresses me with meals with opulent and creamy gravy that make my heart sing. She tries to sell me this behavior as a cake tasting or a taste of what they should do at the wedding, but as she isn’t some poor trailer mom and the wedding won’t be held in her garden, it doesn’t make quiet sense. Also, because we will have a large staff for those things. But it’s nice to have something nice to eat anyway. The lock of the door opening that tears me out of my train of thoughts has my heartbeat skyrocket and I reposition in my chair, straightening my spine. Ruggerio takes one last step, stopping in the middle of the room and puts his hands into his pockets. Biting
Ginevra Gulping, I hate the fact that my brain goes into a frenzy, suddenly wanting nothing more than him claiming my lips. “Stop playing with me!” I say, wanting to sound full of resolve, but it comes out in a whisper. “I’m playing with you?! Why did you come here, Ginevra?” He asks, moving even closer. “Your card… I had to return it in person.” I push out, trying to fight against his hold. “Bullshit.” He whispers with a smirk, his husky voice raising goose bumps on my skin. “How can you ask me to be truthful, if you lie to me as well.” I gulp, clenching my hands more tightly on his shirt. “Ru, let me go.” “Tell me the truth, and we can both go our ways!” “You asked me to-” I gasp as he interrupts me by pressing his lips on mine. He takes advantage of it, invading my mouth with his tongue, giving me the chance to fill my lounges with his scent. He lets go of me, wrapping his arms around me as I melt into him, tightening my hold even more before my hands travel up into his hai
Ginevra The upbeat music vibrates through my skin as I finally get some champagne traveling smoothly down my throat. “I know it’s the show of a Capoletti, but I freaking love it here.” My sister says all hyped up, making me giggle. The large room, all in white, is disrupted by a huge, x-formed stage and long displays designed to look like covers of magazines reaching the high ceiling. We push along the sides of the stage to get to our seats and as soon as I spot ours, I must be going pale in the truest sense of the word as my sister passes me while continuing chatting. She sits down still talking about her son’s new milestone and I sit down next to her, trying to avoid Elena’s gaze, eyeing me up from behind my sister. Unfortunately, even with my sister turning her back on her, shielding me from her, she doesn’t get quite the hint. “Erm… Ginevra, right?” My sister turns to her with her nose scrunched up in disgust as I act nice. “Oh, hey. Hi, Elena. Ah, that’s my sister, Roberta
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