Set up

THIRD PERSON'S POV

A few minutes later, Alessandro's cellphone rang; it was Giovanni calling. He picked it up.

"It is done!" Giovanni said the moment the call was picked.

"Send for Marco to cover it up, I don't trust you and Francesco with that," Alessandro replied gruffly.

"I know Boss. I've already sent for him."

Marco was the mafia's fixer—an expert in covering up their tracks and making problems disappear without a trace. That was his specialty.

Alessandro ended the call and turned to leave.

As he left the dimly lit room, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. The reflection staring back at him was that of a man hardened by the cruelties of life, a man who had made tough choices and sacrifices to keep the one thing his Dad treasured the most: the Empire.

His strong jawline and cold, piercing eyes were a testament to the life he led—a life that had made him both feared and respected.

He adjusted his tie and walked out, followed immediately by Leonardo.

As he reached his parked spot, he dismissed Leonardo, entered his car, and drove off. By then, it was already 5:00 pm.

While he drove, he called his mom.

"I'll be coming by 7:00 pm as you asked, but I won't be staying for more than an hour. I've got something important to attend to afterward," he said the moment his mom answered.

"Fine by me, and don't forget to be at your best before you come," his mom replied.

"Let this better be good," he said firmly.

"Of course it is," his mom replied, excited.

He ended the call and drove to his house to have a couple of drinks to cool off before visiting his mom.

CARLY'S POV

After finishing my last class, which luckily didn't end up with me embarrassing myself, I rode my bike back home.

Arriving at my house, feeling so hungry, I ended up eating a large portion of food, and Judy couldn't stop looking at me like I was committing the deadliest crime in the universe. I ignored her and concentrated on my meal. I didn't want anyone ruining my mood before Max came to visit.

I stayed home for the rest of the day, locked inside my room until it was 4:45 pm.

My phone rang, and I looked at the screen; it was Max. I picked it up immediately, unable to stop myself from smiling.

"I'm in front of your gate," he said the moment I picked up.

"Great! I'm coming," I replied as I stood up from my bed and walked to the mirror. I put the phone in my jeans pocket, adjusted my hair and my face, smiled in front of the mirror before finally leaving.

As I walked downstairs, I saw Judy seated on one of the couches in the living room, and I smiled to myself.

"Perfect," I muttered.

I walked past her, and I could feel her gaze on me until I left her sight. I walked out of the gate and saw Max looking so handsome in his black leather jacket and jeans. His motorcycle gleamed under the sunlight, and as I approached, he grinned at me.

"Hey, Carly," he said, his voice sexy and mesmerizing.

"Hey, Max," I replied, trying my best to sound casual even though my heart was racing with excitement, and I knew I was literally blushing.

He parked his bike and walked with me to the sitting room. The moment we entered, Judy saw him, and her eyes lit up, and I felt satisfied.

"Is he your tutor? Because your dumbass definitely needs one," she said.

I glared at her, not surprised those words came out of her mouth, but I quickly had to come up with a comeback.

"And your smartass needs to get a life of her own and stop meddling in mine," I lashed back.

Judy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Like anyone would want to meddle in your pathetic life."

I clenched my fists, trying to contain my anger. How dare she say that to me in front of Max? I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I had to stay calm.

"You know what, for your information, Max is my boyfriend, and the sooner you get that through your thick skull, the better," I said before taking Max's hand and leading him to the other side of the sitting room.

"Are you and your sister always like that?" He asked.

"No, not always," I lied. I didn't want him to see me as some street fighter who fights with her sister all the time.

"She was just looking out for me," I lied again, trying to sound convincing.

"Alright," he replied, looking at my sister who was also observing us like some detective.

Max smiled and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer.

"As long as she's looking out for you, I guess that's fine," he whispered in my ear, giving me a tingling feeling. I couldn't help but blush as I felt the warmth of his touch.

"Yeah, she can be annoying sometimes, though," I said, relaxing against Max's chest.

"I get that; it's common with elder siblings," he replied, then leaned a little and kissed my forehead.

THIRD PERSON'S POV

While Carly and Max talked and laughed, Max kept turning and looking in Judy's direction curiously, and with every look, she would wink at him.

"So tell me, what do you do when you're free?" Max asked.

"I draw," Carly replied smiling.

"You're kidding, right?" Max said, finding it hard to believe.

"No, I'm not. I'm actually quite good at it," Carly responded, laughing.

"You have to show me your work before I believe you," Max said, smiling.

"Of course, I will. If that's what it will take for you to believe, I might even sketch a drawing of you if you want," Carly added as she stood up, smiling.

This would be the first time she showed anyone her work; nobody in her house cared about that hobby of hers. Her Dad called it a complete waste of time, and having someone interested in seeing it got her so excited that she sprinted upstairs to her room to get her sketchbook.

She hadn't drawn in it in a while now, so she was taking longer than expected to find it.

"Found it!" She said out loud the moment she retrieved it. She took it along with a pencil and walked downstairs.

As she reached the last staircase, she saw something that made her freeze.

Judy and Max were standing close to each other, their faces only inches apart, and before Carly could react, they leaned in and kissed.

Her heart sank, and she felt a mix of betrayal, anger, and confusion. She had trusted her sister this one time and had finally let her guard down with Max, only for her to do what she does best—take whatever she has.

Feeling devastated, Carly stormed towards them and slapped Max.

"I expected my sister to stoop this low, but I never expected you to," she lashed out as tears gathered in her eyes.

"Get out!" She yelled at him.

He tried to speak, to explain, but the words caught in his throat.

"Carly, I... It's not what you think," he stammered, trying to find the right words to defend himself.

"You kissing my sister is not what I think. Were you trying to give her CPR, huh? Tell me what else does it mean!" She yelled, and all this while, Judy was seated watching them, satisfied.

"You know what, just leave. This is over; you can continue with my sister. You two deserve each other," she said, her voice shaking with anger and sadness.

"I'm not interested either. I just wanted to show you the type of person you are hanging out with," Judy said and left, heading to her room.

"You are pathetic, Judy!" Carly yelled as Judy went upstairs.

Carly gave Max one last look and left for her room in tears while Max left and headed to where his bike was parked.

Alone in her room, Carly sat on her bed, trying to process everything that had just happened.

"Maybe I should just give up and stop trying to prove I'm better," she said to herself in tears as she turned to the other side of her bed.

ALESSANDRO'S POV

I arrived at my dear Ol' ma's mansion exactly at 7:00 pm. I noticed the number of guards that were supposed to be guarding the mansion had reduced, and it worried me.

I walked straight in, and there she was, smiling at me as she approached.

"Why are the guards fewer than they're supposed to be?" I asked as she got closer.

"I laid them off; I'm good with the ones here." She responded.

"That can be dangerous, Ma, why didn't you inform me first?" I said as we walked to the dining room.

"I can take care of myself, Son. I'm just worried about you, and that's why I've decided to find you a beautiful bride since you don't want to do that," she said as we reached the dining room's entrance.

"Meet Sandra, daughter of Mr. Enzo." She said as Sandra stood up smiling, she is beautiful but getting married is not what I wanted to do with my life.

"You remember Sandra, right?" She added, and it really angered me that the important thing she wanted me to come for was this. But I managed to keep my cool.

She was so bent on seeing me married that she had to arrange an introduction without my fuckin consent.