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
Ginevra “Oh, I’m so exciteeed!” Nina stomps her feet repeatedly, making our driver look back at us amused. “Thank you for coming with me!” “But of course, babes! I’m still angry at Tommaso for having me stripped off my title, but I will be damned if I don’t get to tell you how ugly your wedding dress is going to be.” I laugh, looking out of the window as she snorts. “And unfortunately, it’s not Ellie’s fault.” Arrived at Elisabetta’s atelier, we see my abomination of a dress as soon as we get in. “Wow!” I breathe out, getting the eyes of the women, who are currently designing and sewing, on me. “Yeah. It might be the most beautiful cruelty I’ve ever done.” The white dress, worn by a bust, has long sleeves and a high turtleneck, just like I wanted it. Or rather had to want it. “It’s going to be like I’m getting married in a sweater!” I laugh with the girls as I step closer to the dress to touch the materials. “I love the glitter though.” I say as I trace the incorporated glitte
Ginevra I was cooling my black eye with a bag of frozen peas, as I experience the shock of my life. I can’t even feel the stinging pain on the side of my face or my hand throbbing painfully as my eyes stay glued on the flickering screen. I go totally numb while reading the headline about the fiancée of the Capoletti heir and successful young CEO expecting. At least he got his heir apparent. My mom turns around to look at me as the bag slips out of my hand and hits the floor with a light rustling thud. I can hear her talking, but she seems too far away for me to get what she is saying. As if I would care. Only as she shakes me gently, trying to get my attention with a worried expression, I return to the real world and with it all the pain. While blinking, I notice that my tears are already streaming down my face freely. “Ginevra, what’s wrong?” Now you want to know, huh?! Suddenly, I feel dizzy. A wave of nausea washes over me, having my legs buckle. I faintly hear her calli
Ruggerio Darkness. That’s all I can think of lately. The last ray of light was taken the day I saw the love of my life spitting venom at my date for the evening. She looked as fucked up as I did. But in comparison with me, she didn’t seem to care. She fed of that poison our families had me inject her with. This is what brought my blood to boil, disintegrating my being entirely. I wouldn’t even be bothered by the muffled screams coming from the lowlife that I’m dragging through the exposed walls of one of our building sites. The night I spent with Ginevra a few weeks ago was the wake-up call I needed. But seeing her covered in bruises surely had me feel so much rage that I’m not sure what I had done, if there wouldn’t have been an ocean dividing me from that bastard. I had been ready to give her up the night my grandmother found her at my apartment. My plan, my happiness, the future I had designed, everything was pressed through the garbage disposal by my own stupidity. Not bloc
GinevraI wake up from my short rest due to another wave of pain.The painkillers must have worn out. Pushing myself up into a sitting position, groaning as the pain in my left side intensifies.I sigh in relief as I see that Tommaso didn’t come home last night.The mornings were beginning to get much worse than the nights.Talk about fetish. Dressing myself slowly to activate as less pain as possible, I brace myself for another day as a soft knock resounds at my door.Anna Rita pops her head in my room with a smile. I had loved that motherly smile, but as she was just accepting what her son did under her roof, it got sickening to me.“Good morning, mom.”“Good morning, Ginevra. I hope you slept well. I’m sorry to rush you, but there is a car waiting for you outside, so if you would pack your things real quick. I’ll send a maid in, if that’s OK with you.”I look at her more confused than I must ever have looked. “Sure, send her in.”She nods, still wearing the smile, and proceeds to
Ginevra Slamming car doors wake me from my nightmarish dream and I get up with a groan, my gaze directed to the front door. It has already gotten dark, and I ponder over how long I was actually out. My heartbeat picks up its pace as I hear someone walk towards the door and up the wooden stairs. The front door gets opened slowly, getting my heart to stop as I finally get a good look at my new house guest. “What are YOU doing here?” I try to get up to get away from him but let myself fall back onto the couch as pain washes over me. Damn painkillers wearing off again at the stupidest moment. Ruggerio is next to me in a blink of an eye, and I hate how my body reacts to him immediately. I clench my teeth, pushing myself up again to scoot away as much as I can as I try to convince my brain to feel disgusted by his vicinity. “Stay away from me!” He puts his hands up in defense, looking at me worried. “Please, I know I’m the last person you want to see now. But let me help you.”
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