Sorry for the unusually long chapter today, everyone. I tried to break it up, but the parts ended up being too short :( Feel free to let me know if you don't like this kind of long chapter. I'll try not to repeat it in the future.
“Why do you look like you haven’t slept in days?” Cassidy asked, but the only answer Millicent was able to give her was a long yawn. “How many hours did you guys spend on that date today? Two or three? What could have happened to give you dark circles that big?” “Nothing happened. I just… I couldn’t sleep properly.” Millicent couldn't control another yawn.“If nothing happened, then what exactly kept you awake?” her best friend insisted, even though Cassidy was having to divide her attention between herself and all the reports on the computer screen that Mr. Davis had demanded be reviewed later that day.“I think… It was just because nothing happened.” she admitted with a deep sigh “It was all very… Tense, I guess. I don’t know if I know the right word to describe how I feel around him since that… Kiss.” Millicent mumbled as quietly as she could, “I know I should be happy about this, because it will make our fake affair a lot easier and now I can be sure there's nothing wrong with me
"Ms. Poulin?" Millicent stood up, surprised “It's good to see you, but... I think there may be some mistake in the schedule that may have been passed on to you. The new meeting to discuss the details of the project will only take place in 3 days…”"I know." the old woman snorted, not paying her any attention, while other team members crowded near the door with their expressions full of dread. “But I decided to get ahead of myself and save my time. It's all rubbish. Do it again and, this time, correctly, if you want me to continue with this project.”That disdainful look was powerful enough to make Millicent's blood run cold and, under other circumstances, she would certainly have her head down and totally intimidated by Laura, as well as her colleagues on the outside. It would be much easier to just give in and go through the enormous trouble of doing it all again. It would be Austin's responsibility anyway, since everyone thought he was the sole leader and creator of that project. How
“Oh, Millie, honey. You look so beautiful!” Thea sighed, even needing to pull out another tissue nearby “It always makes me so happy to see you looking stunning like this. Especially knowing you’re about to have the displeasure of enduring the Carnbys for an entire night…”“Thanks, Thea.” Millicent smiled, running her eyes one last time at the sight of herself in that dark green dress in the reflection of the mirror “You and Mom always manage to make me look so much better than I actually do.”“What have I said about commenting on things like that?” her mother sighed, moving nimbly around to straighten every detail of Millicent’s dress, almost as if she herself wasn’t already cramped into a formal gown “I know you don’t care about looking pretty just because Austin is going to be there. I also think it's bullshit to want to show he lost the most beautiful woman in the world. This is already obvious to everyone, after all. But, I'm glad you finally want to highlight your beauty instead
The Carnbys' spring formal seemed more crowded than usual. Evan was the type of businessman who never refused to reach out to anyone as long as the other person offered enough money to do so, so obviously he had more “friends”, partners and clients than his family's huge mansion could support. Even so, they seemed to have squeezed in a hundred more people that year, almost to the point of making it difficult for waiters to move among the guests with trays of drinks and appetizers in their hands.And, even with that crowd divided into several different groups and distracted by several different conversations, almost everyone still turned to see Millicent and Isaac entering the room.“I wish they would at least try to hide it…” Millicent muttered to herself, but Isaac didn't even seem to have to make an effort to listen.“We are their evening's entertainment. They're probably relieved to have something to talk about now, instead of having to keep pretending to like each other.” Isaac c
“What a lovely surprise.” Florence was the first to break the silence between them, plastering her face with a sycophantic smile that Millicent knew very well “When could I have dreamed I would have two of the loveliest young women in High Society grace my ball? Oh, Alessia, darling, it's been so long since we've seen each other. You look stunning, as always.” Austin’s mother approached, running her hand through Alessia’s long and strawberry blond, almost red hair.“Thanks, Florence. It's always great to come here. You throw the best parties.” Alessia laughed “Although, I hear the real action has been happening outside of the galas thanks to your son, right?” “That… It was nothing more than a misunderstanding. It's a shame you heard about that horrible episode from the wrong people, but as soon as I have some free time tonight, I promise I'll tell you what really happened.” Florence forced a smile, clearly eager to end the conversation “Anyway, it's great to have you here, my dear. A
If Jasmine's goal was to make an impressive entrance, she certainly succeeded, because many of the guests several feet away from where they stood had turned their necks to look at her. Perhaps not only because no one expected Austin's mistress to attend an important event like that, but also because she hadn't chosen a dress that was the least bit discreet for the occasion, with a long dark red skirt covered in sparkles and a large ruby necklace on her neck that would not let her go unnoticed in any way. On her face, there was a convinced little smile, as if just by being there in front of Millicent she had already won something.However, that confidence only lasted until the moment when Florence seemed to recover from the shock.“What…” she panted, furious “What is this woman doing here, Austin?!”“Mom, I…” Austin stuttered, his gaze at Jasmine not at all soft or romantic “I… I don't know, but I promise I'll sort it out right now.” he growled, lunging at Jasmine to grab her arm. “I
“You look quite adorable, you know?” Isaac murmured in her ear as they danced, making the skin on her neck crawl.“Huh?” she asked, trying again to put her thoughts aside and focus solely on dancing.“The way you look whenever you say something to put Austin, that girl, or anyone else in their place. Your cheeks turn pink and you become lost in thought, as if you were in disbelief at yourself for having managed to do this.” he said, with an amused tone and more detail than she expected “Or… Maybe you were really upset to see your ex-fiance and his mistress still together?” His good-natured expression gradually disappeared after each word.“Of course not!” she growled, disgusted by that thought “I may be far from having forgiven him, but all tha
“Mother…” Dante muttered, clearly surprised that this woman had come to him first.“What a lovely family reunion!” Florence said, either unable to read the tense mood in the air, or just ignoring it so she could focus on gaining Emma's favor “You see, Emma? Your son just wanted to talk to you. Aren't you glad you accepted my invitation? I said that besides talking about the business proposal my husband has for you, we could all get together. The Bianchis are yet to become one family with the Carnbys, I tell you…”"Get out." Emma cut her off, her voice still thin and merciless as Millicent remembered, even though she hadn't seen that woman since she was a toddler.“What…?” Florence stammered, trying to maintain her posture.
Hello everyone. I'm sorry for the last two days without chapters :(As I said before, my father's health has been my priority lately and, unfortunately, he had to go to the hospital this weekend. Because of that, I've had even less time to write, but I promise that I'll use any free time I have to write and I hope that tomorrow or the next day at the latest we can have a new chapter up.Again, I'm really sorry for not being able to write many chapters and have them ready for you in advance. As soon as things calm down, I'll do my best to change that. Thank you to everyone who is still reading this story, despite all the problems I've been having lately. I hope I can continue and finish this story for you in the best way possible and soon!See you all as soon as I can!
“Hello, Miss Bianchi.” the young woman smiled and Millicent’s heart suddenly felt heavy as she realized that this was, in fact, Mrs. Greco “It is a pleasure that you agreed to come to my meeting. Please, sit down. Tea is always better when it is warm and biscuits from Mrs. Crawford, our housekeeper, are the best accompaniment.” Her smile was still gentle and motherly, although now Millie noticed that even half of her mouth had small burn keloids.Millicent had seen worse burn scars, of course. Isaac’s legs had been licked by fire and there wasn’t an inch of his skin below his knees that wasn’t marked in that way. However, Evangeline Greco’s burns were something different. The area around her eyes was completely covered in scars, but the rest of her face had irregular marks, as if the cause had not been fire, but rather something that had splashed onto her skin, like some type of liquid.“Millie, honey. It's so good to see you here. It feels like ages since we last saw each other.” Som
The last few days had been… Quite chaotic for Millicent, to say the least. And, of all the ways she thought this week could end, the last one was at a Greco party, hidden in the middle of their garden, while talking to Cassidy on the phone.“Are you sure you don’t want to talk?” she asked her best friend, for probably the hundredth time in the last three days “I know you're still mad at me for leaving you alone with Dominic after he asked you to, but… I really think you guys needed to talk. There were many years where you were hiding things from each other.” “I’m not mad at you.” Cassie snorted, her voice too surly for anyone who wasn't irritated “And stop talking to me like I'm a child incapable of accepting reality.” She hesitated for a long moment, leaving the line silent. “Now I realize that, perhaps, we both really needed to hear what the other had to say. Like… Two adults. Not two hurt children who were pretending to be adults.”“So… Did the conversation go well?” Millicent trie
“You son of a bitch!” Cassie hissed, but remained on the floor, fidgeting between cardboard boxes as if straightening her clothes, before finally standing up. “You did that on purpose!”“I told you, love. Neither of them are blind… At least not in the way you’re thinking.” Dominic snorted and, in the next instant, he too crawled out of the destroyed boxes, although he seemed far less concerned than Cassidy with looking decent, still shirtless and with the top button on his pants undone. he glared at his cousin mockingly. “So, how's your game going, Mr. Heartless? For someone who always takes whatever he wants, you seem to be acting like a shy 15 year old, don't you think? ‘It’s not a waste when it comes to you.’ Really? Have you ever thought about writing a book of poems, Shakespeare?”“Well, I'd rather be sensible and act like a shy teenager, as you say, than be treated like someone's shameful secret.” Isaac shot back, “Or do you think your sweet girlfriend brought you here because sh
“Now we just need to strap this to your wrist and… It’s done.” Millicent smiled in relief when she saw Isaac's hands now completely clean and covered in bandages “You have to change these bandages every 6 hours, okay? The skin on your wrist is kinda torn apart. It will take a few days to heal completely. Are you sure you are not feeling pain in any bones? You may have displaced something…”“I’m fine, really. I know how to identify when something in my body is out of place and, believe me, I feel great.” There was a smile on his face, but Isaac purposely seemed to be avoiding her gaze, staying focused only on his bandage “How many times have you been forced to bandage me since we met? You could be as good a nurse as your mother, you know?” “You say that because you've never seen Matteo in action. He is the true future nurse among us. Mother usually only finds out that he hurt himself by falling from somewhere when his injuries are almost healed.” She tried to keep the mood as mild as
“Unhand me, you bitch!” Jasmine screamed, but could do nothing but walk crookedly as Sage held her arms firmly behind her back.“She’s not scratching you, is she?” Millicent sighed, feeling the small scratches Jasmine had made on her wrists burn. “I can hold her for a bit, if you want.”“And let that crazy bitch try to get her claws into you again? No thanks." Sage huffed, pretending not to notice everyone's attention on them as the three of them walked down the halls towards Mr. Davis's office. “Are you sure we shouldn't throw her out a window? There's a trash can right under the waiting room on the sixth floor. It’s the quickest way to get her where she belongs…”“You think you’re going to get away with this, you whore?!” Jasmine screamed, still flailing like a fish in Sage’s arms, even though it clearly wasn’t having any effect. “I’m going to get you fired for this! I will sue you for assault and take every penny you have…!”“Good luck firing my bodyguard when she doesn’t even work
“Does Massimo’s security team know you’re here?” Isaac snorted, only turning to go back to his desk as that bastard stormed into his office. “Or were they stupid enough to let you stop by their office and grab some personal belongings, before being banned from this building forever? I should make a complaint about this, frankly. They seem to be letting any idiot walk around these days, just because Evan’s tantrum is worth the hair of 10 men…”“Do you have any idea what you did?!” Austin growled, his hands slamming against the table, as if he truly believed that his lack of control would be able to intimidate Isaac. “You ruined everything, you piece of shit! And you still think this will give you any advantage?! All our shareholders will want your head on a platter when they find out it was you who made them lose a billion-dollar contract! You shot yourself in the foot, you idiot…!”“I think you’re wrong about something, little brother.” Isaac snorted “I’m not you. I don't need help fro
The Bianchi Group's offices were in chaos that day. Not that Isaac had the right to complain about that, when he was the one who had caused such chaos.Even now, sitting at his desk in that building as he signed the last documents that would completely end the connection between the Bianchis and the Carnbys, he couldn't bring himself to feel regret. From the moment he had made his decision, a part of Isaac had hoped that regret would hit him at some point. But now that Evan and Austin were out there, making a fuss with Massimo's security team to avoid being kicked out of the building, everything seemed... right.And Isaac wasn't blind enough not to admit to himself that everything felt right because of the smile of relief he'd seen on Millicent's face after it was all over.The fucking CEO position could go to hell. That was Vincent's only goal that he had forced into Isaac's mind since his childhood, anyway. After everything he had done to get here, Isaac couldn't care less if Evan's
“Answer the fucking question, Evan!” Massimo growled again, his anger reverberating throughout the silent meeting room. “Why are your dealership's cars in a junkyard?!”Millicent's shock was so great that she was unable to do more than just look around. Most of the executives were clearly confused, certainly having no idea what that document Isaac sent meant for the contract between the Bianchis and the Carnbys. However, a few, like Miles and Mr. Davis, they seemed not only aware of what was about to happen, but also ready to do damage containment.However, when Millicent looked for Isaac, still not understanding why he had done something like that, she found him with his attention focused only on Evan and the expression of pure panic on his face.“This…” Evan’s voice shook, as he nervously slid his finger across the screen of his cell phone, as if his desperation was increasing with each new glimpse of the detailed dossier Isaac had made. “I don’t know what this kid is trying to do,