GiovanniI left Emiliana with Vinnie at her apartment while she awaited her surprise. It wasn’t just for her, but for Vinnie, too. Having Ollie around would keep them occupied, keep them happy and hopefully give me enough time to talk business with Massimo.Neither of them had seen Ollie since the wedding, since my incarceration. I was all too aware of how much they both missed him and before this all went down; I wanted to give them something to enjoy.It was much more than Emilio’s death that I had planned.The future of the Magnone’s empire, and the Castellano’s support, was to be aligned in this meeting. Not only did my grandfather want Emilio gone, but Massimo had no qualms about seeing his uncle’s demise. Emilio had done far too much damage, destroying his family and his father’s legacy. It was about time the man served his sentence.Luis drove us through the city, back through the streets I once drove Emiliana. It brought back so many memories. Right from the start, she had cap
Emiliana“I’m fine!” I snapped as Ollie touched up my makeup.We already decided that we would visit my parents tonight, and I wasn’t about to miss out on seeing the look on my father’s face before Giovanni dealt the final blow.“Em.” Giovanni’s stern voice had me spinning around on my stool.“Don’t ‘Em’ me! I’m more than capable of making my own decisions,” I reminded him.He leaned against the door, black shirt stretching across his delicious chest, a sexy smirk spreading his lips. “Always so stubborn,” he tutted, shaking his head.I ignored his comment and turned back around so Ollie could finish my makeup. It was something we both enjoyed, spending time chatting and gossiping while Ollie worked his magic on my face.“Done,” he sang, plopping a brush down on the side. He tugged me by the hands, spinning me around, and the bright blue summer dress floated around my fleet. “Don’t you think she looks gorgeous?” he asked Giovanni.He stepped forward, sliding his arms around my waist. “
Giovanni “Why? What did I do that made you hate me so much?” Emiliana’s voice broke into a million pieces, fragments of her words piercing the much awaited declaration. It was the same question I asked myself and my heart broke as I heard the words leave Emiliana’s mouth. I didn’t think Emiliana had this much strength. Yet again, she astounded me with how strong she really was. I should have never doubted her decision. Emilio stepped forward, his features softening a fraction as he said, “I don’t hate you.” It was a fleeting moment where I saw sympathy pass across Emiliana’s face. It was so quick that I was uncertain I had seen it in the first place. She didn’t believe her father. None of us did. No man could say they loved their daughter, yet put them through so much pain. Only a monster could do such a thing. “Then what is it? Why are you so hellbent on ruining Gio? Ruining our family?” I didn’t miss the way she clutched her belly protectively. Just like me, she was prepared to
EmilianaI could hear the distinct sound of voices traveling through the darkness. Words were mumbled, jumbled into sentences I couldn’t quite make out. It was the wave of nausea that awoke me, dragging me to a conscious state and thrusting me into bright lights and agony.“Em!” Giovanni’s voice called to me, and when I blinked and turned my head, his green eyes brought me down to reality. They were red rimmed and tired, a torrent of emotions played on his face as he leaned forward and kissed my head and in my confused state, I couldn’t understand why.I let my gaze wander. My eyes focused on the minute details around me.A white room. Monitors. The incessant beep. The wires.And all I felt was white hot pain shooting through my stomach.“Gio?”I felt him grip my hand, his face solemn and pained, like he had lost everything in the blink of an eye.I could only vaguely remember what had happened. I remembered seeing my mother. I remembered parts of my conversation with my father, and
EmilianaIt had been five years since I had last seen him. Five years since Giovanni last told me he loved me, kissing me with everything he had.It was hard on both of us, knowing we had to part once more and the more we spoke that night, the harder it became. Neither one of us wanted to leave with bad memories–despite losing Vinnie–so he held me, promising the following two days would be filled with happiness.It was a promise I was all too happy for him to break because I understood why he did it. I respected him even more for leaving in the dead of night, while I fell asleep with our son beside us. It can’t have been easy for him, in fact I knew it wouldn't have been. He had lost so much in one night, and walking away from the only thing he had left would have broken him.I put on a brave face, the same one I had painted on for the last five years, even though it killed me.Five years was a long time to pretend that the father of your child didn’t exist, but the truth was so much
EmilianaTears fell from my eyes as I read the letter word for word. I read it over and over until I had memorised it. I sniffed back the tears that rolled down my cheeks, wiping them with the back of my arm.All my feelings came flooding back to me, just when I thought I was moving on, moving forward with my life, I was knocked backwards.A shadow suddenly cast over me, blocking the sun that beamed overhead. I knew from the shape and the way the figure held himself that it was the last person I wanted to see.I looked up, choking on my tears as the green eyes gazed down at me deeply. He held a hand in front of me, just like he had done so many times before.“Principessa.”
GiovanniIt wasn’t in my nature to walk away from things, especially Emiliana but I had no choice, it was the only way to ensure her safety. Having already snuffed out one Verdi, the Castellano’s wanted them finished. That was my price for Emiliana’s safety and I knew she would be taken care of. My father had assured me of that one thing.Keeping in touch with him over the past two months had made things easier for me, but I knew Emiliana had taken things a lot harder. Every update from my father proved that she hadn’t read my letter, either through sheer stubbornness or for lack of knowing it was there. I didn’t need to ask my father for that confirmation, nor did I want to. She needed to do it on her own, maybe then she would have understood why I didn’t go back with her.
Emiliana I stared up at the oversized house. The house that one could only dream of living in. Solid white rendered walls lined the outside, with beautiful Mediterranean pillars framing the raised platform leading to the doorway. “This is yours?” I asked, astounded by the view in front of me. “Ours,” Giovanni answered effortlessly, lacing my fingers into his. It didn’t matter what I was accustomed to, I still found the beauty in everything. Even the delicate flowers that scattered scantily in small pots at the base of the steps were stunning. Floating gently in the soft breeze that wandered past gracefully. Vinnie opened my door. I could feel his eyes observing me as I took in my surroundings. My feet crunched across the thick gravel like the sound of thick toast crackling.“Things have changed Chiquita,” Vinnie reminded me as he escorted me up the steps. “No kidding.” I let my eyes traverse the simple gold filigree that decorated the se