Antonio
Antonio walks out of the coffee shop and tries to stifle a smile. How had this girl grown on him in such a short space of time? The only woman to ever stand up to his brother Luciano, known in their circles as Luciano "Death Wish" Russo. No one would even dare to talk back to him, yet this little five-foot tall, petite girl stood up to him because he offended her patrons.He smiles and shakes his head as he gets into his Emperor, trying to put Amy out of his mind so he could focus on the task at hand. His half-sister, Emily was getting engaged this Saturday to some billionaire in the States. His father, Giovanni, had decided to marry her off as he didn’t see her suited to marry Italian blood. He left Antonio in charge of everything but made it clear that he wished to have the female cellist there.As he drives to his next stop, he could not help but feel excited at the prospect of listening to Emily play her cello again.However, a few days later, Amy sends him a text that made him frown in disappointment.Ͼ Ͼ ϾAmyShe takes a seat and tunes the cello.Arriving at Herr Schmidt’s music store, she didn’t even bother to greet him before heading to the cello section. Herr Schmidt saw her expression and decided to leave her be, for this was a problem only music could solve. Not even 10 minutes later the most heart wrenching music could be heard emanating from the back room.Amy was completely consumed by grief. When she played like this, she wasn’t sure if she was really over her parent’s death. Can one ever get over the death of a parent?She could feel the cello bow trembling in her hands as her playing got to a crescendo and came crashing down along with her tears. She rests the bow down and chokes out a heart-wrenching sob. How long had she been holding it in?“Amy?”
She heard a voice behind her and whirls around, the cello dropping from the space between her legs and fell with a low whine. Her hand goes to her mouth in a gasp when she realizes she’s damaged the expensive instrument, she then scans the space where she heard the voice.
Staring into his olive-green eyes, her eyes widened at Antonio, his expression full of… concern? What was he doing here? More importantly, how did he know she would be here?He takes a cautious step towards her, unconsciously she takes a step back, responding to his predatory aura. “What are you doing here?” She asks him while wiping her tears away and picking up the damaged cello. He frowns in response and cocks his head to the side. “I knew you would be here after receiving your message,” he says, holding up his cell phone. “But what I didn’t know is that I would be intruding on something that felt very personal.”He was referring to the piece she had played. It was nothing from memory, she just sat and started playing by ear.Amy feels a blush creeping up into her neck and looks down at her feet. “It was.” she responds to him, then looks up and looks him dead in the eyes and clears her throat, “I’m afraid I will have to insult your father, Antonio. I cannot play at his function on Saturday, I’m sorry. I’m not ready to play for a crowd and I don’t think I will ever be ready to play again,” she says apologetically.He sighs and nods, “I understand. I will inform my father. But first, you need to do something for me." Antonio replied to her, which had her feeling wary. He smiles warmly and stretches out his hand for her to take. Amy looks at his outstretched hand and wonders if she should take it, deciding against her better judgment to go with him.Suddenly remembering the fallen cello, she pulls her hand back and picks the cello up. "I damaged this, I need to pay for it," she says walking towards Herr Schmidt waiting at the front counter. Antonio follows her out but grabs her hand. She looks back at him questioningly, he shakes his head. "Amy, this is my fault.” He gestures to the broken instrument, “I startled you. I will pay for the damages." He says and takes the cello from her. He was already handing his card over to Herr Schmidt before she realized what he meant."No, Antonio you can't do that!" she says, running to keep up with him, but he had already made up his mind. Herr Schmidt looked at her with concern before putting the payment through, as if to ask her what she thought she was doing with a Russo man.Antonio puts his wallet back into his pocket and holds his hand out for Amy to take yet again. This time she obliged by taking his hand, but keeping her eyes downcast, so she couldn't make eye contact with Herr Schmidt. She could already feel the judgment oozing off of him."Don't take it to heart, he's only worried about you," Antonio says as if he was reading her thoughts. She looks up at him with a frown, and he smiles down at her, "I saw the way he looked at you. He cares for you and is worried about you going off with me." he says, chuckling. Suddenly Amy started getting worried herself, she was leaving with Antonio again, just because he asked. "Why would he be worried about me going off with you?" she asked him, she understood that his family was quite powerful and wealthy, but that didn't warrant Herr Schmidt's worry.He opens the door to his Emperor for her and gestures at her to get in. She walks towards the car hesitantly, and as she was about to get in, he grabs her by the waist and pulls her close, their lips almost touching, "Because I'm not a good guy, Amy. But I'll leave you to figure that out for yourself." he says and lowers her back into the car.Amy's heart was beating so fast, she could feel it in her ears. He pulled her so close she thought he was about to kiss her! Her face was flushed when Antonio got in next to her. What did he mean by "figure that out for yourself?"He looks over at her and she finds herself turning her head to face him and caught the smug look on his face. He was enjoying making her feel uncomfortable! Feeling silly for acting like a high school girl, she puts her hands in her lap and clears her throat. "Where are you taking me, Antonio?" she asks. This man was an enigma, how could he possibly know she was at the music store? No one knew that was her safe space, not even those close to her. But he figured it out after one conversation with her.He starts up the car and drives off, then turns to catch her gaze. "I'm taking you back to where your dream died." that is all he answers, and she suddenly starts feeling incredibly nervous.She watches the surrounding area for familiar landmarks while they were driving, and she found herself knowing exactly where he was headed but dreading it. "No..." she said softly as Antonio kills the ignition. Looking up at him with tears in her eyes, she felt utter sadness settle in her heart. "How could you bring me here?" she breathes out as she looks up at the building.Olivewood Opera House, the last place she played music.Antonio watched her cry in the passenger seat next to him. He knew she would react this way, but if she didn't face her trauma now, she would never be able to move on with her life. Her life would be paused on the night her parents died.She looked over at him with hurt clear in her eyes, which left him with a pang of guilt in his chest. "Why did you bring me here, Antonio?" She breathes out, tears streaming down her face. Antonio cocks his head to the side and takes her face in his hand. "Your life was put on hold on the night your parents passed away, Amy. If you do not face your demons now, you will be dragged down by them." He answers her and proceeds to get out of the car.He walks over to her side and opens the door, but she was staring straight ahead with no intention of getting out. Antonio sighs and gets down on his haunches, "Amy..." he trails off and she turns her head to look at him, trying to hide her anger after wiping her tears away. "Why do you care
Amy was watching Serena with a lump in her throat. She needed to tell her friend what had happened, but she was not sure where to start. Antonio had kissed her yesterday and she wasn’t sure what to make of it, or what exactly she was feeling for him. He was nice to her, for no apparent reason. And he valued her music. Everyone had always tip toed around her when it came to her parents' death, but Antonio was blunt about things. Although it was frustrating at times, it was what she needed to hear. Everything he said made sense after she mulled it over in her head.Amy was daydreaming so much, that she didn't even see Serena was storming over to her. She stood in front of Amy, hands on her hips and with a pout playing on her lips. "Okay that's enough, spit it out," she said to Amy, which earned her a frown from the latter."What do you-""You either want to ask or tell me something, I can tell from the way you've been not so subtly staring at me. Now com
Serena takes Amy’s hand in her own and tried to comfort her. The scene outside Bailey’s window had sent her off the edge. Someone had been watching her sister, and quite possibly for a while now. “We need to contact the police when we get back, Amy. This could end really bad.” Serena tells her and she nods. Amy had already called Julie with the news and advised her not to go home today, who knows when the culprit will strike.Amy looks ahead and notices Antonio watching her in the rear-view mirror with the same concerned expression he had when they were alone in the opera house. She nods at Serena, “I know. I should have listened to Bailey in the beginning, Serena. She would never make up a lie like someone standing at the window.” Amy responds and as usual, blames herself for what had happened. Serena shakes her head, “There’s no way you could have known that the monster at her window was an actual person, Amy. And from w
Amy returns to the courtyard with Antonio’s arm around her waist, hair dishevelled and Antonio grinning like the cat who got the cream. Serena sees this and her eyes widen. Didn’t Amy tell her there was nothing going on between them? She had a lot of explaining to do! As soon as they reach Serena, Antonio plants a kiss on her cheek and whispered something in her ear which made her blush. For some reason this made Serena angry, this girl did not know what she was getting herself into being involved with this family. As soon as Antonio was out of earshot, Serena crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Amy blushes and says, “He said I’m his.” Which causes Serena’s eyes to widen even more. “That sounds awfully possessive, Amy.” She says, worried for her friend.“I know, but I can’t help it, 'Rena. He does things to me and makes me feel light and happy. I can’t help feeling the way I do about him.” Amy a
Amy enters the diner with a smile plastered on her face, she had woken up without a trace of a hangover and felt oddly refreshed. She was opening the diner today while Arianna had her day off, not that she minded at all. Arianna deserved the day off; her arthritis was getting worse by the day. She was busying herself with her morning set up when she heard a familiar groan behind her and stifled a laugh. Serena had arrived and was nursing a wicked hangover by the sounds of things. She walked over to where the coffee was brewing and poured herself and Serena a cup.Walking over to her friend, she pops the cup down quietly next to where Serena was sitting. “Good morning, lovely,” Amy crooned, and Serena looked up, staring daggers at her. “This is all your fault,” she cried, and Amy laughs aloud. “Excuse me? You couldn’t keep your hands off that expensive bubbly, Ms. Manzini. This is not on me.” Amy responds, hand over her mouth as she ch
AntonioThe traitor was lying beneath his feet when he stepped over him. Antonio wipes his knuckles off a cloth handed to him by Luciano, his brother looking wary of him. “You okay, Tony? You nearly killed the guy with only your fists.” Luciano asked him, knowing better than to question his older brother. Luciano looks down at the crumpled-up excuse of a Made Man and spits. Antonio shoots him a look that made him shut up immediately, all questions were forgotten. “I’m done here, give him concrete shoes,” Antonio says and steps out of the warehouse that served as a torture room.Did he know why he was filled with such pent-up rage? Of course, he did and it had a name.Amy.Why had she pulled away from his touch as if she were ashamed to be seen with him? Did being seen with him in public really have such an adverse effect on her? He would have to get to the bottom of it if he were to stay with her, the
Amy sat down across from Dimitri and could not help but laugh at Dimitri and his jokes. He was such a sweet guy and incredibly funny on top of it. He also didn’t make her feel intimidated or made her question her choices when she was around him. “So, I’ve noticed that you don’t have an Italian accent. What brought you to this sleepy town?” Dimitri asked suddenly, interested in her backstory. Amy stiffens at his question. The last person she told this story to had decided to trample all over her feelings.Sighing, she looks at Dimitri, “It’s a long and incredibly sad story. I’ll tell it to you, but you have to promise me you won’t feel pity for me, okay?” she asks him with an eyebrow raised. He chuckles and puts a hand over his heart and says, “Клянусь всем сердцем.” She looks at him confused to which he responds with, “Cross my heart.” And she nods, laughing. “Okay, so a f
AntonioHe watches her leave with the Russian and pushes the whore in his arms away. He could see this hurt and confusion in the whore’s eyes, but the kiss was only a display for Amy. The only reason he was here with her anyway was that she wanted to come shopping, and being the daughter of a politician, he needed to kiss ass for his father. He never expected to run into his Amy here, and to see her with the Russian just sent him off the edge.“Are you done?” he asked her, getting quite impatient with the whole thing now. She looks up at him with flirting eyes and bats her eyelashes, “Oh come on, Tony. We both know you have to be here with me as long as your father requires the support of mine. The least you can do is pretend to like it.” She says to him while running a hand up and down his chest, a bit too confident for his liking. He grabs her by the wrist and brings his face closer to hers, “Listen here, Mari,