“My mother’s earring?” The words escaped Isaac’s mouth, even though it was a rhetorical question.He would recognize that little pearl anywhere. Especially because it awakened memories in him that Isaac didn't want to remain dormant. "Do you remember?" Millicent let the cat go and the little bastard made a point of standing in front of them, with his face turned away, as if to make it clear that he was ignoring them in protest “That's what you sent me when I asked for something that could help me remember you. You wrote to me that it was something ugly and useless, but it was all you could send me. I never understood why you said something like that. It’s beautiful.” She leaned further against him, almost resting her head on his shoulder.“It’s beautiful now.” He turned the little pearl in his palm, barely able to believe it was shiny and polished again, despite the scratches that appeared under the lights “I can't believe you found someone to clean and renovate that old thing. It was
“What were you guys all alone for until now?” Alessandro’s growl was the first thing Millicent heard when she entered the Dining Room with Isaac, finding her entire family preparing to sit at the perfectly set table. “What did I say about being rude to your sister's guest, Sandro?” Alice scolded him, with an almost exhausted sigh, as she finished placing the silverware on the table “Frankly, I need to talk to your father about encouraging you to imitate his bad habits.” “Well, dad’s not here now, is he?” Millie’s brother grumbled, though his voice was much softer now that he was speaking to their mother’s “I’m the man of the house in his absence and, as such, I can’t allow a stranger to take advantage of my sister under our roof…” “I think you’ve been watching too many medieval series lately, Sandro.” Millie laughed, taking Isaa
“So… the Morellis had children out of wedlock?” Millicent asked, though she couldn’t even bring herself to feel surprised “Well, it’s not like it’s a rare thing. But knowing all the stories about Emma Bianchi and her strict adherence to tradition, I can understand why she wouldn’t let that information get out.” “My grandfather wasn’t exactly a good husband and father.” Dante sighed “When he married my grandmother, it wasn’t a time when most marriages were happy or even consensual. Like many cases back then, their union was planned by their family and neither of them really had positive feelings for each other. It was to be expected that one of them, or even both, would find a lover at some point. But my grandfather was ahead of the curve. When he got married, there was already a maid in the house who had been his lover for some time and,
Millicent was beginning to regret making the mistake of inviting Isaac to her family's reunion. Not because she didn't want him around or because it didn't feel right to have him around while she was celebrating an achievement as extraordinary as that promotion.It was the endless interrogation from her father and grandfather that was making her rethink whether, in fact, it wouldn't have been better to leave her celebration with Isaac away from the eyes of her family.“And when exactly did you two meet?” her grandfather asked, his tone sweet, although clearly he was trying to probe her answers and find some evidence that Isaac had been trying to seduce her from the beginning.“I already told you, Grandpa. We were in the same class for years when we were in school and, after what happened with Austin, it was kind of inevitable that we would get closer.” She shrugged her shoulders “And don't make that face. He's not just a good business partner. He is a good friend.”“Good friends would
If, three months ago, someone had told Millicent she would be that restless just a few hours after retrieving her project, she would have said it was impossible. Yet there she was, staring at her own reflection in her dressing table mirror, while her feet tapped nervously against the floor. She tried to remind herself this was a night of joy and she should be going to sleep peacefully knowing that everything she had worked so hard on was now back in her hands, but…For some reason, the words she had heard from Isaac during dinner seemed to have stuck in her mind like parasites, preventing her from feeling truly happy. Or, at least, in peace. The way he had seemed so determined and resigned to the idea of walking away from her... As if that were a certainty and not a distant possibility... That would probably haunt her for the rest of the morning until the next day, when she could finally question him about it...God, had she really planned on sleeping that night? The idea seemed rid
Millicent’s determination seemed unshakable the entire way to Isaac’s apartment. But the moment she found herself standing in front of the lobby of his building, her courage slipped a little out of reach, leaving her more restless than she should have been. It wasn't like she was going to talk about feelings with Isaac that night. Or any other night, actually. Millie had realized she become too attached to him, but that was enough. She wouldn't overthink it and perhaps discover those feelings had deeper roots than she was prepared to deal with. Before everything between them started, she had made Isaac a promise that she would be the business partner he was looking for: cold and objective. Not a stupid, emotional girl who was blurring the fine line between their friendship and their physical relationship. Isaac would always be important to her, but Millicent needed to stop herself before it went too far.That was why she was there, at that moment. It was her responsibility to curb h
It was quite ironic that, on the same day Millicent had officially introduced Isaac to her family, she also had the opportunity to meet the only member of his family she had never laid eyes on. However, very different from the warm and welcoming atmosphere of her family's dinner, the room seemed to become almost funereal when Isaac said his uncle's name, almost as if he and Dominic considered Vincent's presence a bad omen. Still, she cleared her throat, smiling as she stepped forward, extending her hand friendly toward Isaac's uncle.“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Carnby. My name is Millicent Bianchi, but I see you already know that.” She remained standing there for some time, pretending to ignore the tension in the air while Vincent just looked deep into her eyes, making no move to accept her greeting.Well, at least now she knew who Isaac had inherited his piercing looks from. In fact, it was now clearer than ever to Millicent that the only trait Isaac had inherited from Evan was
“And, that’s the end of my proposal.” With a smile, Millicent turned off the projector in the middle of the meeting room, causing all the other project leaders to nod at each other, looking pleased with her presentation “I have already commissioned other audience profile surveys for drama and romance films and series, but for now, this is what I bring to you to show this is an excellent niche for us to invest, in the coming years.”She tried to be as discreet as possible as she let out the breath she was holding, while her new co-workers chatted among themselves, with promising expressions on their faces. It wasn't the first time she'd met all those project managers, of course. As Isaac’s supervisor, she had many meetings with them over those two months to receive reports and find out about all the productions that were being made. However, she hadn't been able to
Austin's words left Millicent so shocked she just froze for a second. However, it was still enough time for him to take advantage of her hesitation to play the video, causing the man in the suit on the small screen to start moving.“Very well.” the recording of Austin’s voice said, out of camera range “Start talking.”“Uh… I'm not entirely sure about that, Mr. Carnby…” the man loosened his tie, clearly uncomfortable."I already told you. I'll pay double what he offered you that day. Triple if necessary. You accepted his money quite easily back then for breaking your security procedures, didn't you? Why hesitate now?"“It wasn’t that simple, either…!” the man seemed to try to argue, but, as he looked over the recording, probably where Austin was, he ended up shrinking, almost as if he was trying to conform "Alright... Five months ago, when the rooms and offices of our hotel were reserved by the Bianchi Group, I was responsible for putting together the best possible security arrangement
"We know we look terrible, Millie. You don't have to stare at us like we're two abandoned dogs." Cassidy grumbled, rubbing the deep dark circles under her eyes, while Frankie just continued to sip her coffee as if she were drinking water."It's not that." Millicent lamented "It's just... You don't have to go through this. Let me talk to my father. I know I can get you out of Jasmine and Miles' hands...""You spent months thinking you'd lost your project, but you never thought about talking to your father. And now you want to do this just because we lost a few hours of sleep? That's so... You." Cassidy laughed, without much humor "Look, as much as I would love to change positions and have the freedom to tell that bitch to fuck off, Mr. Davis has already talked to me privately. The only thing that annoys me is it took him giving me pity to actually get me close to the promotion I always wanted. I've worked at this company since college, but Jasmine was more relevant than all the effort
Hello everyone!First of all, I would like to apologize for all these weeks of inactivity. I didn't mean to be away for so long. Thank you very much for all the support and kind words from all of you. My father is okay, but he still needs to do some tests to confirm or deny the doctors' suspicions of prostate cancer.These next few weeks will be quite turbulent for me, but honestly, I want to get through them doing what I love: writing. That's why Millie's story is back and, hopefully, this month we will finish it in the best way possible
“Isaac?” Millicent blinked and, unlikely as it was, he was there when she turned, looking as shocked as she felt to see him standing there in the middle of Evangeline Greco's small garden.“What are you doing here?” he asked again, his voice not only surprised but also alarmed and irritated.However, Millicent didn't need much to realize that, even though he was looking in her direction, strangely that question wasn't directed at her.The person next to Isaac looked young, although he was easily the size of three men. Isaac was already extremely tall, but somehow this stranger seemed built like a wall, even though he was Millicent's age at most. He had brown hair and even darker eyes, making it look like his pupils were just two empty spots on his face. It was quite intimidating, Millie had to admit, but at least it wasn't her that stranger was focused on.“Evangeline.” the man next to Isaac said, his voice hard and demanding “Why is there a Bianchi in the house?”“Because this is my
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