CHAPTER 60

“You're certain you saw Sharon Gray”

“Yes”

“That's impossible”

Palmer fished into his pocket, and brought out a bunch of pictures. He placed it on the table in front of him

Donald picked them up, one after the other and examined them

“That's Sharon alright”

He placed them back on the table

“You creep, you actually bought a camera to take pictures of her”

“For evidence”

“These pictures are a little too much for evidence. You just want to take them home, glue them to your walls and fantasize about killing her someday”

“It's a respectable hobby”

Donald sighed

Sometimes I wonder how you ended up working for my grandfather in the first place

But—

Donald took a closer look

She's a catch, I don't blame you

Palmer swiped back the pictures and put them back in his pocket

If she's here, then I'm very certain that Luca's here too

His secretary's alibi makes sense now—

Donald's investigating Blake's parentage, and Mr Hillary Gray's affair brought him to Italy. They wanted to make contact with Giny’s family, and possibly get a testimony from them about her pregnancy and delivery.

But he least expected his brother to be there, with his ‘pretend wife’

What was Luca doing in Italy?

Why didn't he inform their grandfather?

There was one thing Donald knew

They could not, under any circumstance make contact with each other

He would have to be extra careful in avoiding Luca

But still he wondered

What terrible luck could bring such coincidence—

*********************

“Luca—

Don't go

Stay with me—

“I can't Sharon, I can't”

“Please”

He looked into her eyes, and placed a soft kiss to her lips, she deepened the kiss, and ran her hands through his hair

And then she heard singing. At first it sounded like music that was playing for her and Luca to walk down the aisle together

But as the voices became more audible, she could tell that it was in fact—

Children, the lovely melodic voices of children

And she realised that she had been dreaming about him, whilst hugging her pillow

What was worse—

She felt wet down there

And it slightly infuriated her. Of all the things to dream about, it had to be him!

She took a long shower, trying to wash his memory away. It was becoming more difficult, to ignore her feelings. She wondered how long she could pretend that they didn't exist

She wore a teal green top, and loose brown pants. She tied her hair with the same fabric Luca had used before. She was yet to explain why

Almost immediately after, she heard a knock on the door

It was definitely him, like he knew she was trying to get him off her mind

She opened the door

But to her surprise, it was a little boy

The same boy she saw the previous day.

He held a rose in his left hand. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. That was the language they both understood

But Sharon felt a need to learn his language, even a little bit. At least for his sake

He skipped away once he had given her the rose. Sharon held it firmly in her hand. She breathed in the scent

But there was something different about the rose.

The stem felt weird, and she ran her hands through the length

There was a loose flap of paper—

She peeled it away, and her eyes went wide.

It was a note

From Luca

“My baby, come over to my house for breakfast”

She almost tore the paper to bits.

But the next note slightly amused her

“Some of the kids from the orphanage promised to help me make breakfast, and I told them you were coming”

Sharon wanted to drop the rose, but then she read the third note

“Don't believe me? Check your messages”

Sharon picked up her phone, and scrolled through tons of unanswered messages. Then she got to Luca's

It was a picture of two kids, a boy and a girl stirring a bowl of flour. Some of it was stuck to their faces

He wasn't lying—

Sharon knocked on Luca's door. Her heart raced with each passing second. She wasn't meant to go there, but she didn't want to disappoint the children. He probably used his phone to translate and tell them he was cooking for the woman whose house was located after their orphanage

The door opened slightly, and she looked down to see a little girl.

She looed at Sharon closely, and then opened the door

Luca stood right behind the little lady

“Good morning Riann”

“There's nothing good about the morning Luca”

She said, still smiling. She was aware the children couldn't understand a word, stull she tried not to disappoint them by smiling after every word she said

She walked past him and went to the kitchen. She wasn't there to see him—

Funny to think she actually had a wet dream about him that morning

She shivered as the thought raced through her mind.

Immediately the children saw her, they gathered around her. Some had flour stuck to their shirts, some had flour on their faces, and some looked like they had bathed in flour

She turned around to look at Luca sternly and raised a spatula at him

“What made you think you could recruit little kids to cook for you!”

The orphanage usually sends them to help around, when they don't have school—

I don't care, these kids need to watch you, learn, before they are allowed to copy what you do—

She dusted off some flour from a little girl's cheek

“How fast can you order children's clothes and toys?”

“You're kidding”

“No, they deserve some compensation. They worked for you. I would give them all a shower myself, but I think that's against orphanage policy—”

Luca squeezed her palm, and looked intensely into her eyes

“This evening, I'll get toys and clothes for the whole orphanage—”

Sharon nodded

He watched her sit them all down to eat from a distance, as he made a few calls

And instantly , he knew what he wanted. He had never been so sure of something his entire life

This wasn't a fling, it was definitely not a periodic relationship.

And fuck! It wasn't going to end in the next nine months

He didn't just want to love Sharon, and make her love him—

He actually loved her to the extent of wanting to have kids with her.

An idea that had never ever crossed his mind—