Adelina."A teenager in our home for a month? I'm sorry but can't you keep her with mother?" Liam bites his steak angrily."My sister is…" Enzo clears his throat "…scary." Fair point."No." Liam says "And your wife's relatives?"He's overreacting. "I don't think it's a bad idea." I butt him.He looks at me, welcoming my challenge. "You'll take care of her?""Take care? She's a teenager, not a toddler, how hard can it be? Besides, it's only for a month, don't be such a puss." I offer a sweet, sarcastic smile and sip my wine."It's settled then, I am so grateful." Enzo grins."Nothing's settled." Liam is talking to Enzo but his eyes are glued on me. "We have to draw up some terms.""Terms? What do you think this is? Some sort of business contract?" I scoff."If you have a problem…" he turns to his uncle "…then Adelina can stay with her mother's relatives.""No no. They talk too much, I'll just have her in the same situation I'm trying to avoid. I don't want her to be affected by her Ma'
"I have a date planned for you, and you have no choice but to show up." Mother says.She interrupts my afternoon with this disturbing news and my patience is running thin."No, thanks. I won't cheat on my wife.""To hell with that lame excuse." She clicks her foot. "If Serena isn't to your taste, then you'll need someone better.""Given up on your favorite already? Ouch." I biteShe ignores my statement and continues, "Odette Morel, daughter of the French diplomat, is a perfect fit, her father is willing to ignore your careless mistake of a marriage."She has to be kidding me, "Forget it. Don't waste their time further.""This is an opportunity men would kill for. Can't you see the extent to which I am prepared to go? For the sake of this family? For the sake of our stronghold? Can't you see the sacrifices I make?!"Yes, I am well aware of how far you can go. I am constantly reminded of the evil, dirty things you have trampled under your foot, my trauma is built on your 'sacrifices'.
"Don't you have any friends? All you do is mope around and stick your nose in those unrealistic novels, ugh!"I just looked at Adelina, unsure what to say to her, why are kids these days too loud?"And you, do you normally say EVERYTHING on your mind?" I bite back, call me petty, I don't care."It's a talent, I just say what's on everyone's mind, and I also know when to shut up, most people these days don't," she says with so much sass."No, you don't, you're interrupting our quiet time," Liam speaks, looking up from his book."Hmph," she glares at her cousin. "You both are home on the weekend, no friends, doing nothing fun, but reading, you suit each other."I gasp at her outrage and look to Liam for help, they both possess the same trait of stubbornness after all, why do I have to be dragged into this?"You have no friends either, because if you did, then you wouldn't be here bothering us," Liam says.I smile at his response, I'm enjoying this."I DO have friends," she waves her pho
Dinner time is here and Emma still isn't here, could I have gone too far? She left rather abruptly.With one bite, I can't help but look out at the door, now I'm stuck with this gremlin who can't put her phone down for a second.She laughs at TikTok videos and sings along to almost every video that plays, it's annoying.She's too similar to her father, and how I miss my peace."Miss her?" she asks and I turn to her.She has a playful, teasing look on her face and I hate it I'm never having kids."Who?" I play dumb, keeping my expression plain."Who?" she mocks my voice "Who else? Your mom? Emma duh."No one talks to me like that, I don't care if she's a kid, she's too sharp-mouthed."Mind yourself," I warn.She shrugs, "Call her then, she's late after all."Maybe the kid is right, she's a Caruso now, staying out too late may pose some threats to her, and, as her husband there should be some concern from my side.After giving it some thought, I decide not to call her, "Call her yoursel
I'm a tad too excited to meet Natasha, we've been delaying our meeting for weeks now, and I'm itching to hear what she has to say.Maybe that's why I'm here already and I stand up from my seat when I see her approach me."Hey!" she greets, pushing some of her blonde curls out of her face, "Sorry, I kept you waiting," she pants."It's fine, I'm happy you can meet with me.""And," she sits down and places her bag on the table, "I'm sorry we've been delaying this, it's been a rough couple of weeks, Antonio's getting married, and his fiancee wants something a bit grand, it's been a hassle."The big scary guy is getting married? Who's the lady who managed to tame him down?It's like Natasha read my mind because she says, "He's not so scary you know, his fiancee, Gia, she's a sweetheart and he adores her, he can do anything for her."I chuckle nervously and nod, good for them I guess."I hope that after all this, we can reunite, as a proper family and you and Antonio can have a proper intro
"How many times must I visit you Liam?" my mother asks, her legs crossed, hair slicked to the side, and her red bottoms visible.She means business."Till you're tired and give up," I say uninterested, hoping she'd leave."You fucked up your date with Odette, the diplomat is furious," she expresses."He can hop on a plane back to France then, I'm sure there are many monsieurs glad to take her hand," the only way to play against Mother is to beat her at her sass game.It's impossible, but I must try."LIAM MICHAEL CARUSO!" She thunders."I have real work to do, and you're interrupting me Ma," I tell her."I, your mother am not satisfied with the way you've been living lately.""And, what do you mean by that?" I ask, knowing the answer."Liam. Why can't you understand that I only want the best for you? You'll realize it when you start seeing the benefits. A good partner…wife, will open the right doors for you and give you more influence," she sighs."Emma is a good wife," I reply"Oh he
I've been nowhere but home and in the hospital for the past three days, and that doesn't stop these guards Liam stationed. I thought we were past this.I also have texts I haven't from Natasha, and a few missed calls too, she cares more than I expect her to, but now I'm confused.I retrieve my father's diary from my wardrobe, where I had stashed it earlier, maybe here are some things I might have missed out.I run my fingers over his signature on the front page, 'Damien Conte', what kind of man was he truly?He described my uncle, Matteo as a fun older brother, someone he respects and looks up to, someone he wants to make proud, most of the diary mentions Matteo, but the rest just describes some days, nothing special, and some entries talk about Mom, but I'm not sure I want to read those, I don't want a detailed expression of their…intimate life.And then, I saw my name, the only time my father ever wrote about me, he spoke of my hair.He said:"Her soft curls remind me of my mother,
I can't get up from my bed, my head spins, why?I have to leave soon, now in fact. My mouth tastes bitter and I fear a fever coming in, nothing I haven't endured before.But with every attempt I make to stand up, I fall back on my bed, my head is throbbing, and my eyes are watery.Fuck.I try to close my eyes, maybe I just need a little more sleep, but sleep fails me.I pop a few of my pills in my mouth, gulping it down with some water, it helps me sleep a bit.I feel my eyes getting heavy, and soon, it gets dark, I know I'm about to welcome the same nightmare.But this time, she's here…"Emma?" I call.Her hair is down in cascading waves, they shape her face, and her dark brown eyes look down at me worriedly. But, why am I on the floor? Why is the sun…? The sun…I try to block it with my hands, the light is blinding."Liam!" she comes over to me, blocking the light source, I smile with relief."Emma, what am I…? What's going on?" I ask, trying to reach her face.No matter how far I s