Sam stared at the file on her hand intently while gripping it with her hand tightly.Thoughts of what transpired between her and Damian came flooding back into her mind as the memory of her insisting on the figures for the ROI surfaced. She recalled the lengths she had to go through for Damian to finally agree.“Who the f8ck are you?!” Lucilla shouted at the bodyguards angrily. She turned to Sam. “Oh, so you now have the arrogance to hire bodyguards to protect you, Sam?! Do you really think you have a lot of threats that you need protecting?! It should be the other way around because they are the ones that needs protection from you!”He’s doing this on purpose, Sam thought wildly, not hearing Lucilla’s continuous rant. Is this the hell that he told me?Unable to control her emotions, Sam felt her body trembling, her knees starting to get weak. The file she held in her hand suddenly dropped to the floor and Noah turned towards her when he felt it.“Madam?” He asked in concern.Sam look
Damien took a drink from his glass as he looked at his watch and saw that there’s still ten minutes more before the clock turns six in the evening. He reached for his phone when a message notified.He read the message from his mother, asking him when he will be coming back to Italy.“We just talked a few days ago, mami,” Damien then said when he placed a call and his mother immediately answered. “I told you that I’m just finishing some works here. I’ll try to make them quicker than what I had told you.”“No, Damien,” Aurora insisted firmly. “I am giving you a week more to come here with Mrs. Cameron. She needs a new environment with her current condition.”Gripping his phone tightly, Damien leaned his elbows on the table.“Who told you?”“Does it matter, Damien?” His mother answered casually. She made some tsking sound at the other end of the line. “Why do sons always underestimate their mothers when they come to a certain age? Most of you prefer that we enjoy our retirement.”“As you
Samantha stood quietly beside Damien after he helped her out of the car when they arrived in his hometown, Bassano del Grappa on a sunny Tuesday morning. She listened as Damien gave instructions to his men and the staff that waited at the entrance of the house.Gunny is also being brought down from the second car and he immediately run to Sam, making sure that she is okay. Sam went down on one knee and rubbed Gunny’s face lovingly before she told him to go with Vivian for his meal.“Mami’s inside,” he said to her gently, helping her up and placed a hand on her back and pushed her lightly to walk with him. He looked down at her and noted her calm expression. “You have nothing to be afraid of.”Upon entering the living area, the room is bright due to the windows immersed with the surrounding greenery. The room designed reflected a perfect combination of rustic/historic finishes and latest generation materials.A tall, white-haired woman with striking, blue eyes was sitting on a comforta
Damien pursed his lips as he knocked on his mother’s room late that night. He waited for her to tell him to come in and did, finding her occupying her favorite chair by the side of the opened glass door leading to the balcony and reading a book.“Close the door and take a seat, Damien,” Aurora said calmly, not taking her eyes off the book. “And get that stern look off your face. You know how much I dislike it especially when you will try to tell me off of what I’m doing.”He sat and remained silent, looking at his mother as she finally closed her book and placed it on the table between them and stared back at him. She took her time as she leaned forward, picking up her cup, sipping her tea slowly.“So?” She asked calmly. “Why are you here?”“You’re supposed to be on my side,” he accused lightly. "Why do I have a feeling that you are making me the enemy in this house?!"Aurora just gave him an amused look.“To which, I am but remember that I am on your side,” she countered gently. She
Damian stared darkly at the contract that he is currently reviewing in his office at his headquarters in Rome. He clutched the edge of the contract angrily, forgetting that Frederick is inside his office, who now stopped speaking when he heard the paper being crumpled.It is a sunny Wednesday morning with the lights streaming inside his office. It has been two weeks since he arrived in Italy and more than a week of him staying in Rome to cater all the work he needed to do.Sam, to his annoyance, was held up by his mother back at Bassano.“I’m sure Sam has been to Rome several times, Damian,” Aurora pointed out frankly. They were having a light dinner at his mother’s insistence since he’ll be leaving early tomorrow. “And, at this time, the tourists will be flocking all over the world. She doesn’t need to be in that environment.”“Do you think I’m not going to do something about it?” Damian asked angrily. He turned to Sam, who is staring at him patiently. “Just pack light. You can enjoy
Sam’s brows furrowed with concentration as she started to knead the dough, she is doing for the pasta that she’s going to make inside the kitchen of Aurora on a Friday late morning.She could hear her mother-in-law’s voice from the dining area, arguing with Damian while speaking with their family doctor. As they were headed towards the popular Ponte Vecchio, a tourist spot in town, Aurora suddenly felt unwell that Damian called the trip off.Despite Aurora’s insistence that she is fine and pushed him to take Sam to the trip, Sam also made the decision to stay. She does not want to put Damian in the middle.“Oh, dear,” Aurora then said after she sat down.“What is it, mami?” Laura asked, whom Sam finally met three days ago after arriving from France, where she was taking up her master’s degree. “Is something the matter?”“I told Maria that I will be doing the pasta for dinner tonight!” Aurora replied miserably. She tried to stand up but Damian pushed her back down gently and gave her a
Damian felt Sam tensed beside him in the dining table as his aunt and uncle’s family each placed a portion of pasta on their plates that night. He glanced down and saw his wife’s hands clenched on her lap underneath the table.“Mmm.. I do miss your pasta, Aurora,” Filomena gushed after sprinkling pepper on top and then bringing her fork to her mouth. “Perhaps you can take a short trip and go back home with me?”“That’s ridiculous,” Marciano interjected gently. “She’s going to have a trip back with her favorite sibling! Me!”Aurora and the others laughed as the two continued to banter.There was silence for a while as they finally tasted the pasta.Damian watched as his uncle and aunt chewed slowly while his wife beside him is already pale and look ready to faint from her worrying. He abruptly reached for Sam’s wine glass and handed it to her.Sam looked at him in surprise.“I’ll drink later,” she murmured as she placed her glass back on the table.“I must say, Aurora,” Marciano starte
Sam carefully zipped up her dress and looked at herself in the mirror in the walk-in closet inside one of the rooms in Damian’s luxurious apartment in Rome on a late Thursday afternoon. She turned sideways to make sure that there are no creases before she finally put on her black pumps and walked back to the bedroom.After staying in Bassano for almost two months in his family home, Damian finally decided to bring Sam to Rome with him. It was an emotional goodbye between Sam and Aurora with Sam crying hard that Damian had to reprimand her gently.“Oh, shush, Damian,” Aurora chided as she hugged Sam tightly, rubbing her back. She kissed Sam on her side of the head. “This just tells you that you should visit me more often.”Sam saw Damian rolling his eyes in amusement.They left Bassano del Grappa with his private plane and Sam was still sobbing. Damian finally told her to take her medication to calm herself down. He knew that she had stopped taking them after that dinner with his relat
Damian thanked Nino, the waiter that Venuti assigned to him after receiving his drink from him. He downed the drink in one go and requested to get him another one.“You really should take it slow,” Vincent muttered dryly.“Now I know why Venuti insisted that we come here,” Damian said darkly as he nodded at Nino. He lowered his hand that is holding his new drink and scowled when he saw Omar and Vittoria in his line of sight. “Never thought the old man can be quite scheming.”“Thank God that my wife doesn’t like Vittoria,” Vincent commented in a low voice.Damian nodded, thankful that Vincent’s wife, Katherine is with him. She immediately took Sam with her, making sure that their paths won’t crossed with the newly engaged couple.He saw the way Sam’s face clouded with anxiety that Damian was ready to leave the party just to protect her.“You’re not going anywhere, Damian. So’s your wife,” a voice said behind and when he turned, he saw Katherine, wrapping an arm around Vincent’s waist.
Sam leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh after finally finalizing the contract deal of an existing building that Damian had been eyeing and negotiating for quite a while on a Friday afternoon, few hours before office for the day ends. She felt the cool breeze of the AC in one of the vacant offices in his company on the same floor with his, making her sleepy.For the past two weeks, she had been going with Damian to his office, helping him with the files that has something to do with Cameron. Without waiting for his permission, she immediately took the files from Frederick and started on it.By end of the first week, she was able to accomplished more than half of the documents that had been pending for quite a while. Her mind became hungry to work and she started automatically.Sam was more than happy to help, knowing that Damian had been sacrificing some work time to accommodate her since she started getting sick. She also felt a little guilty since he
Damian waited as Sam finally bade goodbye to SJ and Elli later that night when the event was finally over. He stood a few feet away as Sam turned down SJ’s invitation to visit him and Elli at Chatsworth House, citing some work she needed to attend to.“When you have the time, don’t hesitate to call,” Elli added warmly. “I’ll introduce you to my father.”Sam nodded with a smile.“Good to meet you, McLaren,” SJ said, holding out one hand to Damian. They shook hands firmly and then SJ looked at them with an amused smile on his face. “Hoping for a good turnout from both of you.”“What do you mean?” Sam inquired that SJ only laughed in return.“Take the win of the jewelry, Sammie,” SJ retorted. He pulled Elli closer to his side. “I’ll nurse my wife over the loss of it.”“SJ,” Elli hissed shyly.“Car’s here,” Damian informed to Sam and he gently assisted her down the last few steps. When Sam is finally inside the car, he turned back to SJ and Elli. “I’ll call you once we have the time to tr
“Watching your wife like a hawk, McLaren?”Damian turned his head away from where Sam is and glared at SJ Kincaid, who is enjoying his glass of whiskey. After hearing his name, Damian immediately knew who he is.He was surprised that Sam is good friends with him, knowing that their companies are each other’s top competitors in the country. Much more so that SJ is a minority holder of some stocks at Cameron.“Ah.. just like me when I was first with my wife,” SJ added. “Perhaps you and I have something in common. Both of our wives are pretty much younger than us. But, it took a while for me to realize she’s the one.”“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Damian snapped.SJ chuckled.“Oh, I think you do but you just refused to admit it,” he countered in amusement as he signaled to the bartender for another drink. “Trust me, McLaren. It’s only going to get worst overtime.”Damian turned his full attention to SJ.“Do tell me about it since you’re knowledgeable on that subject,” he said
Sam carefully zipped up her dress and looked at herself in the mirror in the walk-in closet inside one of the rooms in Damian’s luxurious apartment in Rome on a late Thursday afternoon. She turned sideways to make sure that there are no creases before she finally put on her black pumps and walked back to the bedroom.After staying in Bassano for almost two months in his family home, Damian finally decided to bring Sam to Rome with him. It was an emotional goodbye between Sam and Aurora with Sam crying hard that Damian had to reprimand her gently.“Oh, shush, Damian,” Aurora chided as she hugged Sam tightly, rubbing her back. She kissed Sam on her side of the head. “This just tells you that you should visit me more often.”Sam saw Damian rolling his eyes in amusement.They left Bassano del Grappa with his private plane and Sam was still sobbing. Damian finally told her to take her medication to calm herself down. He knew that she had stopped taking them after that dinner with his relat
Damian felt Sam tensed beside him in the dining table as his aunt and uncle’s family each placed a portion of pasta on their plates that night. He glanced down and saw his wife’s hands clenched on her lap underneath the table.“Mmm.. I do miss your pasta, Aurora,” Filomena gushed after sprinkling pepper on top and then bringing her fork to her mouth. “Perhaps you can take a short trip and go back home with me?”“That’s ridiculous,” Marciano interjected gently. “She’s going to have a trip back with her favorite sibling! Me!”Aurora and the others laughed as the two continued to banter.There was silence for a while as they finally tasted the pasta.Damian watched as his uncle and aunt chewed slowly while his wife beside him is already pale and look ready to faint from her worrying. He abruptly reached for Sam’s wine glass and handed it to her.Sam looked at him in surprise.“I’ll drink later,” she murmured as she placed her glass back on the table.“I must say, Aurora,” Marciano starte
Sam’s brows furrowed with concentration as she started to knead the dough, she is doing for the pasta that she’s going to make inside the kitchen of Aurora on a Friday late morning.She could hear her mother-in-law’s voice from the dining area, arguing with Damian while speaking with their family doctor. As they were headed towards the popular Ponte Vecchio, a tourist spot in town, Aurora suddenly felt unwell that Damian called the trip off.Despite Aurora’s insistence that she is fine and pushed him to take Sam to the trip, Sam also made the decision to stay. She does not want to put Damian in the middle.“Oh, dear,” Aurora then said after she sat down.“What is it, mami?” Laura asked, whom Sam finally met three days ago after arriving from France, where she was taking up her master’s degree. “Is something the matter?”“I told Maria that I will be doing the pasta for dinner tonight!” Aurora replied miserably. She tried to stand up but Damian pushed her back down gently and gave her a
Damian stared darkly at the contract that he is currently reviewing in his office at his headquarters in Rome. He clutched the edge of the contract angrily, forgetting that Frederick is inside his office, who now stopped speaking when he heard the paper being crumpled.It is a sunny Wednesday morning with the lights streaming inside his office. It has been two weeks since he arrived in Italy and more than a week of him staying in Rome to cater all the work he needed to do.Sam, to his annoyance, was held up by his mother back at Bassano.“I’m sure Sam has been to Rome several times, Damian,” Aurora pointed out frankly. They were having a light dinner at his mother’s insistence since he’ll be leaving early tomorrow. “And, at this time, the tourists will be flocking all over the world. She doesn’t need to be in that environment.”“Do you think I’m not going to do something about it?” Damian asked angrily. He turned to Sam, who is staring at him patiently. “Just pack light. You can enjoy
Damien pursed his lips as he knocked on his mother’s room late that night. He waited for her to tell him to come in and did, finding her occupying her favorite chair by the side of the opened glass door leading to the balcony and reading a book.“Close the door and take a seat, Damien,” Aurora said calmly, not taking her eyes off the book. “And get that stern look off your face. You know how much I dislike it especially when you will try to tell me off of what I’m doing.”He sat and remained silent, looking at his mother as she finally closed her book and placed it on the table between them and stared back at him. She took her time as she leaned forward, picking up her cup, sipping her tea slowly.“So?” She asked calmly. “Why are you here?”“You’re supposed to be on my side,” he accused lightly. "Why do I have a feeling that you are making me the enemy in this house?!"Aurora just gave him an amused look.“To which, I am but remember that I am on your side,” she countered gently. She