Gianna
"You don't rescue the wounded by becoming wounded yourself, but sometimes, the only way to reach them… is to bleed beside them."
I read this quote somewhere a long time ago, and in this moment, as I held this broken, fragile man in my arms, I truly believed in it. Because I would bleed beside him if it were the only way to heal his scars.
That’s how much I loved him.
We were both breathless, both panting as Nico pulled away and gazed back at me. His chest rose and fell as he struggled to catch his breath, his eyes dark and haunted, like desire and grief had fused into one.
“What are you doing to me?” he whispered, looking torn and the most vulnerable I have seen so far.
“Trying to be what no one ever was for you…” I answered with a smile. “So you know you are no longer alone.”
GiannaThe club was dark and elegant, with deep red walls and golden lights that gave everything a soft, rich glow. The floors were black marble, and the music made the ground feel like it was pulsing. A long bar with glowing shelves held rows of expensive liquor, and everything smelled like perfume, money, and danger. There was also media there, and as I gazed up at Nico, I realized he kind of looked proud.“Gi!” I turned around, and Teresa waved at me from the bar. She grabbed whatever she was drinking and trotted over to me, looking smug. And drunk.And holy fuck…she looked smoking hot.“Hey!” I smiled, hugging her and then added in her ear, “Nice dress, girl.” She wore a silver-halter neck dress that made mine look like a ball gown.“I am going to leave that bastard with blue balls tonight,” she smirked. “Watch me. Well, hello, Nicholas.”“Nice to see you again, Teresa,” Nico said politely.I don’t know why I watched him closely, maybe female instincts, but his eyes never strayed
GiannaI cannot explain how good it felt to sort things out with Nico finally. I hated the last three days, but I was glad we managed to sort things out, even if I don’t remember what I said to him in my batshit drunken state.But I made a promise to myself, and that was not to dig into Nico’s past anymore. Whatever it is, just let it be. I love him nevertheless. And if he is willing to take time to talk about our future, then he must feel something too. And with the way he handled things this time, it just made me even more sure that things have changedbetween us. He has changed. If anything, the toe-curling sex we had after breakfast was proof enough.I grinned and then focused back at my iPad, staring at the first batch of designs I prepared for Maximus to take a look at. He has been a tad silent lately, but then we weren’t friendly enough to chitchat beyond work. My thoughts were distracted by the text on my phone’s screen, my brows furrowing together as my eyes scanned it.Nico:
Nico “Is there any progress on the Moles?” Gianna asked, once she was finally full with her breakfast of frittata with veggies, two slices of bread, fresh figs and another cup of coffee. It actually made me smile when she almost licked her plate clean.“Caelian is looking into it. So far, we have five suspects,” I answered, looking around to make sure Mirella wasn’t around. She left after whipping up a quick breakfast.“Five?” Gianna exclaimed, looking surprised.“Still suspect,” I assured and hope to God that Guilio won’t be one of them. It would break Caelian’s heart. He was the one who found him, trained him and then took him as his right hand.He was a trustworthy man.“What happens to them if…if it’s confirmed that they are the one?” she inquired. I gazed out at th
Nico“A total of five suspects have been marked out,” Caelian muttered, his face hard as he held out a file for me. “You will find all the names in this file. All five of them have questionable histories and are potential suspects.” I grabbed the file from Caelian and scanned through the pages.“Are you sure?” I demanded. “Because as important as this is, I don’t want any innocents hurt.”“I am, but I will re-check,” Caelian answered.“Be fast…we don’t have time to waste,” I ordered.“And what if I am right and these are the Moles we are looking for?” he muttered. I shut the file and shrugged.“Then we follow the protocol,” I said flatly. “Just like it’s…” I paused because of the shuffling footsteps by
GiannaBy the time I reached home, I was inevitably drunk. To the point that I could barely see my fingers. I should have never gone on a drinking spree with Teresa. She had super control. I sucked.“Signora, should I help you inside?” my driver asked. I could barely see his face, but I could sense he was worried.“No…th…that wo…won’t be necessa….” I gave him a wave and climbed out of the car, struggling to stay upright on my two feet. The floor seemed to be rising up to my chin as I stumbled inside.Goddamn it. I have to climb up the bloody stairs.I sighed and dragged myself towards the staircase one step at a time. But my feet wobbled and I gasped as my heel twisted, taking my ankle with it.“Fuck…” I cursed, grabbing onto the railing as pain shot through my ankle.“You’re drunk,” I blinked and then gazed up, my heart stopping instantly.Crap.He looked blurred but I didn’t need to see the reaction on his face to realize he was pissed. His voice said enough. Nico stood on the stairs
Gianna“I had a call with Bellavanti’s marketing team this morning,” Teresa said, clicking through her slides. “They’re aligning their campaign timeline with the launch so we can cross-promote in both markets. PR’s drafting your feature pitch for Vogue Italia and possibly Elle US. Maximus is really going all out.”I nodded faintly, my eyes fixed on the screen but seeing none of it.“They’re also pushing for a soft launch event in Florence next month. We’ll need to finalize your collection samples by the twentieth if we want them included in the press kits.”“Right,” I murmured, though I couldn’t have repeated a word of what she’d just said.All I could hear were his words.“This is who I am. And if I don’t fit your standards of perfection then maybe…maybe you need to rethink this marriage and decide what you want once again.”Teresa stopped. I didn’t notice until the silence pressed in.“Gi,” she said, frowning. “What’s going on with you? You haven’t said a word.” I blinked, forcing