AlessioApologizing to Leonardo Baldini sounded as horrible in my head as I thought it would be. With a deep sigh, I glared at Levi, who was focused on the road, his hands a little too steady on the wheel because he knew I blamed him for this.I had told him multiple times that we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him because he needed to know the facts. He was nervous, I could sense it—but I didn’t set us up, he did."You remember Mena’s ex?" I broke the silence, wanting to get something off my chest.Levi chuckled, for once happy that I spoke about something other than blaming him. “Yes, I do. What about him?”I shook my head, leaning back in my seat. “The way Mena described him…like he is the biggest monster in the universe,” I said. “I was thinking, someone like that wouldn’t back down, would he? It just doesn’t sound right.”“Then what do you think?”“Nothing,” I dismissed the nagging feeling in the back of my head. I didn’t want to look crazy or maybe even fearful because of tha
AlessioWe waited on the plane, killing time before heading to another meeting. I still couldn’t wrap my head around what had just happened at the Baldinis.Leonardo, who was so full of anger to the point that many wouldn’t even talk to him, calmly accepting my apology without calling me out of my name just wasn’t realistic at all."What's up?" Levi asked after observing me for a while."Leonardo was too easy," I told him. "It's not like him to just accept an apology without making clear how much I’ll regret it."Levi shrugged. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to waste his time arguing anymore.”His answer didn’t surprise me since he wasn’t all that familiar with the Baldinis."Maybe," I said, still unconvinced. At that moment, my phone rang, and I picked up seeing it was dad."Did you apologize properly?" he asked without saying as much as a hello."I’m still alive, and I’m doing fine, Dad, thank you," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. It was always like that, and he never learne
MenaIn the past weeks at the Fanucci mansion, I finally began to fit in like I wanted to. Naty enjoyed her new life, and I had seen her relax and breathe in a way she never had.As promised, Donni and Levi hung out with me whenever I was bored and managed to steal them away from their duties. If it wasn’t them, it was Dante or especially Giulia Fanucci, who, to my surprise, took me under her wing.It wouldn’t be too far stretched to call her the mother figure I had wanted my whole life. Sometimes it was a little too much to the point where she had even revamped my wardrobe to her liking.Luckily the transformation to more colorful clothing, and some dresses and heels here and there didn’t bother me at all. Rather than changing me, it felt like she helped me find my style.Alessio had also made an unexpected effort to spend time with Naty and me. He would often take us out for meals, to the movies, and at one point, even to an amusement park Naty had been wanting to visit. Our bond st
MenaWith a wide grin, I pulled out the picture from the booth we had just visited. “Now I hope you can stop crying.” I handed him one of the strips, teasing him.We were at the same diner I had gone to with Donni and Levi.Alessio chuckled. “Now I hope you can throw the other one away.”He wasn’t serious. He just wanted to make me feel special, and he succeeded. Without a doubt, that was also the reason why he had spend his day with me by eating at the diner to challenging me in those stupid little arcade games—but it was undeniably one of the best days I’d had in a long time.“Is there something else you want to do?” Alessio asked.“No.” I responded, but the thought of him getting back to work made me retract my statement. “I mean, yes!”He looked puzzled. “Is it yes or no?”I squinted my eyes, thinking about how I was going to talk myself out of this one. I didn’t want our time together to end just yet. “No, but I like spending time with you,” I admitted, feeling slightly embarrass
MenaAlessio kept his promise by staying with me in bed. He made it clear to everyone in the mansion that he was not to be disturbed, even going as far as turning off his phone.He gave me his full attention as we binged a show. His ability to become completely immersed was unexpected, but watching him get so invested in the plots and characters was adorable.It brought a smile to my face and made me realize that he was just as crazy as everyone else.At one point, we took a break to greet Naty, who had told us all about her day, and after that, we returned to our marathon in the bedroom.By now, it was already midnight, but I didn’t mind."By the way, tomorrow is our monthly Fanucci brunch. Everyone expects you guys there," Alessio mentioned out of nowhere."Who is 'everyone'?" My throat went dry at his late invitation."Grandma, uncle, aunties, cousins, everyone," he said as if it were the most normal thing in the world.I panicked. "And you’re just telling me this now?" Alessio sh
MenaHe lowered his head, flicking his tongue against my clit and this time I moaned loudly, clutching the sheets beneath me. It felt like an out of body experience.Whenever Anson went down on me, I used to pray to god he would just stop and fought myself not to tell him he was only wasting his time.Alessio had barely done anything, and I was close to forgetting my identity. He continued to lick and suck on my nub, his hands holding down my hips to keep me in place. My moans grew louder and more urgent as I felt myself getting closer and closer to an orgasm.Finally, unable to hold back any longer, I trembled as waves of pleasure crashed over me. I cried out, throwing back my head into my pillow.“Wow,” I whispered to myself, coming down from my high.This is what I had been missing all those years.Alessio crawled back up and planted his lips on mine, the taste of my own arousal lingering on his tongue. I moaned into the kiss and pulled away to take off his shirt.I ran my fingers
MenaThe morning light entered the window as it did every morning, and I woke up. Alessio who was still asleep, had his arms around me. It was a first. I had never seen him sleep, better yet, he was never in the room by the time I would wake up.I couldn't help but smile as I studied his peaceful face, listening to his soft snores. He looked so innocent in his sleep, like he couldn’t do any person harm.It was no wonder he was tired. I couldn’t keep counts of the rounds we had throughout out the night. I was certain my whole body ached, but it was worth it.I had no regrets, and it was worth every moment, every touch. Alessio had shown me what it meant to enjoy it. With Anson, I would die inside hoping it would soon be over—but with Alessio, I never wanted it to end.The way he took care of me, made me feel like I was something special and voiced it out loud, did something to me.Not wanting to let go of him, I nuzzled closer and buried my head in his neck. Unfortunately he had sens
MenaThe backyard which was quiet and peaceful just a second ago was now filled with laughs and especially volume.It wasn’t like this the last time. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, but I was sure it had to do with them being curious to meet the reason why Alessio ended his engagement.“It’s better you greet them before they greet you. They talk a lot.”"I didn’t expect anything else," I responded.Alessio called out to Naty and connected his hand with hers. Then he introduced us to his family. The list seemed endless—uncles, aunts, cousins of all degrees—each greeting warmer than the last.At some point Dante and even Gian walked with us to boast about how ‘amazing’ I was. It all sounded super sarcastic by the way, but it made the process of meeting everyone a little less overwhelming.After introducing us to most of his family, Naty ran back to join Melody and the other children.I took a moment to appreciate that his family was so kind to her. None of the children treated her