Hera is meddling with her books near her locker. The thousand dollars her new Guardian gave her weighed heavily in her pocket. She never carried so much money in school in her life. This is the first time. After the way, he explained his intention, and the way he made her feel is making her feel strange. Her reaction toward him is strange. For some weird and unexplainable reason, she is feeling safe with him. Which is ridiculous.
"Earth to Hera. What are you doing here? Don't tell me you are daydreaming now" her best friend from childhood, Olivia said from behind her.
Hera looked at Olivia with a sign.
"Daydreaming? Are you serious?" Hera asked with a smile and closed her locker door.
Both the girls began to walk in the direction of their first class.
"I don't know. You were blankly looking inside your locker. I thought you are daydreaming about your crush " she teased Hera.
Hera laughed and shook her head.
Justin Eastwood is their school's star quarterback. He comes from a rich family and he is handsome too. Hera used to moon over him when she was in her middle school. But when he decided to kiss her behind the bleachers when she clearly was not interested, she is done with him. Her crush died that day and she began to hate Justin from that day. But to her horror, he began to bully her since then. Looks like her slap didn't sit well with his ego.
"Forget about my crush. You will definitely start crushing over my new guardian. Justin is just a boy in front of him. He is really handsome" she shared.
Olivia gave her a curious look.
"A new Guardian? Who is he and when did he come into the picture?" she asked with surprise.
Hera explained everything that happened the previous day.
Olivia felt bad for Hera. She is facing so much at such a young age.
"I am so sorry Hera. I am a very bad friend. I couldn't help you when you needed it. Why didn't you tell me" she asked feeling bad.
Hera smiled sadly. Olivia has her own set of problems to deal with. She lost her mother at a young age and her stepmother hates Olivia.
"Not at all. Your plate is already full. Dealing with your stepmother is enough torture for you for a lifetime. I don't want to burden you with mine as well" she said softly.
Both the girls share a bond like sisters, even though they are just friends.
"So, you got rescued by this handsome Guardian of yours? If he is your mother's friend, then he must be a middle-aged man" Olivia mused out loud.
That's when Hera thought about how young her guardian is.
"No, he must be in his late twenties" she guessed.
Olivia frowned.
"Looks like he is younger than your mother. Must be colleagues at work. That's the only way how she could have befriended him. If he is not your mother's friend, why will he waste so much money on you?" Olivia thought.
Hera thought the same. But a small part at the back of her mind kept nagging that something is not adding up here. She shook her head to get rid of that thought.
'Is he.. No, no.. He doesn't know that we are here. If he finds out, he will come and force me to come with him '
"You are right" she agreed.
Olivia squealed with excitement.
"Hera, I want to see him. I never heard you praising a man's looks after that Justin's episode. If he managed to impress you with his looks, then he must be really handsome" she said excitedly.
"Hey slut, is he your new customer at the bar you work at?" a nasal and annoying voice drawled.
Olivia gritted her teeth and turned to glare at the queen bee of the Oak park high.
Claudia is Justin's girlfriend and the head cheerleader of the cheerleading squad. She is beautiful with a ton of makeup and a very short skirt that barely covers her ass.
"What is it, waitress? Angry that you got caught?" she taunted.
Olivia was about to retort hotly, but Hera pulled her away from there.
"Hera, let me teach that bitch a lesson. She is spreading rumors about us. Someone has to shut that mouth of hers" Olivia fumed.
But Hera pulled her inside their classroom.
"We only have five more months left. Just let them be" she diffused the situation like always.
Olivia gave her a look.
"Hera, why do you always run away from a confrontation? If we don't show them that we are tougher than them, they will never stop" she argued.
Hera smiled at those words.
"Why do you want to prove anything to them? They are not important. Chances are that we might never meet them again after school. So why do you insist on wasting your energy on them?" she said.
Olivia sighed.
This is the same argument they have almost every day. But every time Hera stops Olivia from smashing that queen bee's face.
"I don't know how you stay so calm when they trash talk about us like this" she muttered.
Hera sat on a chair in her classroom. Olivia followed suit.
"We hear so much worst from the customers at the bar. But I never saw you fighting with all of them. So why fight here? To me, their words are nothing but drunk people's nonsense" she explained.
Olivia is quiet. Hera is right. They are forced to work in the bar because they pay more than the rest. If they had another choice, they will never step inside that bar again.
"So, are you quitting?" she asked Hera.
Her guardian told her to stop working. More over, what he said has a point.
'Her mother would never want her to work in that bar '
"Maybe, I don't know" she replied.
One year later...Matteo and Hera are blessed with a baby boy. Lizzy is happy thinking that her husband Emanuel is reborn. She is pampering the little boy so much. Unlike what Hera thought, Lizzy is taking full care of the little munchkin. Hera is continuing her classes. Lizzy came as a blessing to Hera. Matteo took Hera to the island. She loved the place so much. "Wow, this place is beautiful" she whispered with awe.Matteo is watching her with a soft smile. This is the house they grew up in. He shares a lot of memories with Kyle in here. He saw his mother locking herself inside her room for weeks. That was a dark phase. She stopped doing that when she realized that she is making everyone sad. Matteo used to feel lonely until Kyle came. After that, they became close."Ya, it is" he agreed.This house sits on one of the so many beaches on this island. Marco still lives here, but Lizzy shifted back to the house where she used to live with her husband. But after Matteo's son is born,
Hera is standing in front of the mirror, looking at how gorgeous she is. Her dress has a sweetheart neckline that hugs her frame to her hips before flaring down her hips and touching the floor. The fabric is Organza. The front of the dress has expensive crystals embedded in it, which are shining whenever she is moving. The dress has full sleeves, finishing the outfit with a sheer organza veil. Her hair is pulled up into a bun which is adorned with stones and a white rose on one side. She is holding a white rose bouquet. She is looking like an angel who came down from heaven. She is happy that she is going to marry Matteo today. But there is a small dissatisfaction in her heart. She is going to walk down the aisle alone. The decor is grand, Mia, Olivia, and Chloe along with their daughters are her bridesmaids. They are wearing sky-blue matching fishtail dresses that are hugging their frames. Their little girls look super cute in this dress.Just then Mia, Chloe, and Olivia walked insi
"Congratulations, she is pregnant, " the good doctor who examined Hera told Matteo who is looking at Hera worriedly.Matteo froze with surprise. Out of all the things his mind was making up, this definitely didn't cross his mind. Nova escorted the doctor out, leaving the expecting parents alone. Here is shocked. She is too young to become a mother. She has ambitions and plans for her career. She never expected to marry anyone at such a young age. But she is eager to marry Matteo. She knows that he would always support her in everything she does. But a baby in the picture will complicate everything."Matt? Say something?" she asked him, unable to decide anything about this new unexpected turn in their life.When Matteo heard her voice, he snapped out of his head and looked at her with mixed emotions. He was not expecting to become a father so soon, but still, he is really happy to hear this news. But when he noticed the panic in her eyes, he understood that she was scared. He sat bes
The next morning In the Gonsalves villa, Lizzy is showing Hera some dates for their wedding. "I think this date would be perfect. Within one and a half months, you will finish your exams and you will have your semester break. You can have a good time without worrying about your classes. What do you think?" Lizzy asked Hera.Hera gave her a soft smile. If it is up to Hera, she wants to elope with Matteo and marry him in Vegas as soon as she can. But that will make Lizzy sad. She is very excited about their upcoming wedding. She is planning everything by herself, which Hera doesn't mind at all. As Hera doesn't have a family, she is relieved that Lizzy is helping with everything."I think it will be perfect" Hera replied softly.Lizzy clapped her hands excitedly with happiness. "Now that the date is set, we should think about the venue. I need to search for a good place" Lizzy said while simultaneously searching on her phone for a good place. But Hera already has a place in mind."Lizz
In the Gonsalves basement, the Rossi brothers are being surrounded by Matteo's men who are pointing their loaded guns at them. No one is speaking anything, but their aggressive stance is saying more than what their words are saying. None of them like the Rossi brothers. First Andre and Sergie tried to hurt Hera. So they have half a mind to fire their guns and hurt those brothers for what they did. Sergei is scared. He tried to kill Hera, which is a crime deemed to be a death sentence. Hera is the person whom Matteo loves more than himself. Sergei tried to kill that girl, so he is scared to face Matteo's wrath. He knows Matteo will not leave him without any punishment. He is scared to see what it is and how brutal it is going to be. He is not even sure if he is going to be alive or not. But Andre is not as scared as his brother. He is anxious for sure, but not scared for his life. If Matteo wanted to kill him, then he would have done it the moment he found out about what Sergie is p
"I saw your brother's body outside the Gonsalves villa" Those words are ringing loudly in Sergie's ears. He remembered how much he used to pamper Andre and how his brother used to live like a prince. But now, he came here for a woman and lost his life for the said woman. "Andre, you used to hate hot weather. Tue weather is hot here when compared to Russia. How can they just let your body stay outside their home like that? How can you do that to my brother, Matteo? Is this retribution for what I tried to do to your mate? You are dangling my brother's body in front of me like a carrot. If you think that you can make me weak by doing this, then you are wrong. I will come there, collect my brother's body and start a bloody blood bath. I am coming to Matteo Gonsalves. I am coming to take revenge. I don't care if I live or die. I want to avenge my brother's death" he said out loud with a lot of pain. Sergei is still under the Impression that Andre is dead. He hid guns under his shirt a