ログイン~FIORELLA~Finding Mr. Maxwell's house takes longer than expected.It's tucked away in one of the more exclusive parts of the city, behind a tall stone wall and enormous iron gates.When the gates open, I stare through the window.The property is breathtaking. The house itself looks more like a historic estate than an ordinary residence.Warm lights glow through the windows.A long driveway leads toward the entrance.Lucas whistles softly. "This is a house?"I laugh.“Oh, com'on ... .My dad's houses are way bigger than this. This looks small compared to what my dad's house looks like,” I say.Lucas turns to look at me in stunned disbelief.“Really?? Are you serious right now?” He asks.“Yes,” I tell him.“Wow. He must be fucking rich. Can you tell me more?” He says.“No. Now let's get out of the car,” I say, flashing a smile at him.We step out of the car and walk towards the main door.Before we can knock, the door opens.A woman welcomes us and leads us insi
~FIORELLA~The next morning arrives far too quickly.I barely remember falling asleep. One moment, I was lying against Lucas's chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The next, sunlight was slipping through the curtains and I was waking up with my cheek pressed against his chest and his arm still wrapped comfortably around my waist.For several seconds, I don't move. I simply lie there.His warmth surrounds me, and the faint scent of his cologne clings to the pillow.Then reality hits me.We're supposed to be at the university soon. And I'm in Lucas's bed.I slowly lift my head to see that Lucas is still asleep.His face looks different when he's sleeping....softer, younger, and less guarded.I smile without meaning to.Then I remember myself.Oh God….I was the one that asked to sleep in his bed last night.He's really going to tease me about it this morning.I need to flee from his bed before he wakes up.I carefully remove his arm from around m
~FIORELLA~“Yes, let's really explore” I say excitedly. “Tomorrow can wait.”And that's how our evening begins.We walk even though we don't have a plan or a destination.We simply follow the streets and see where they take us.The further we go, the more beautiful everything becomes.Historic buildings stand beside narrow streets. The lights begin glowing as evening settles in, reflecting against the damp pavement.At one point, we stop near a beautiful old structure, and I stare at it in fascination.“This is gorgeous.”Lucas looks at me instead of the building. “You've said that about everything today.”“Because everything is gorgeous,” I tell him, still staring at the building.“Everything?” he asks.I turn to him. “Yes.”He smiles. “You're easily impressed. You keep staring.”“I'm appreciating things,” I say. “And there's nothing wrong with staring.”“There is when you're staring at me,” he tells me and my cheeks heat.“Well, it's a good thing I wasn't staring
~FIORELLA~The first thing I become aware of when I wake up is the soft gray light filtering through the curtains.For a few seconds, I lie completely still, staring at the ceiling while my sleepy mind tries to remember where I am.Then I remember I'm in Scotland, and I have a presentation at King's university by 2pm today with Lucas.I check the time on my phone and I see it's 10:00am already.Wow! I really slept for long.My eyes immediately drift toward the other side of the room, and I notice his bed is empty.I sit up slowly, pushing my hair away from my face.“Lucas?” I call tentatively.“I'm here,” he replies, and I nearly jump.He steps out of the bathroom, already dressed and looking annoyingly awake for someone who went to bed as late as I did.He's wearing a crisp shirt with dark trousers, his hair slightly damp from his shower.I narrow my eyes at him.“How long have you been awake?”“Long enough to realize you're capable of sleeping through an alarm
~LUCAS~I stare at the bathroom door after Fiorella disappears behind it, and for several seconds, I can't help the grin spreading across my face.Recently, I've been seeing Fiorella really embarrassed, and it's always fun to see.Fiorella Vincenzo—the woman who can walk into a room full of lawyers and make half of them question their life choices—just spent the last few minutes hiding behind a bathroom door because she forgot her toiletries, and then her nightwear.I bite back a laugh.This woman is unbelievable.I glance toward the bathroom again. The water is still running.I shake my head.First, she forgets her soap and sponge. Then she forgets her nightwear. And somehow, despite all of that, she still manages to carry herself like she has everything under control.I find it adorable. More adorable than I should probably admit.Especially after what she said before disappearing into the bathroom.‘Like pulling you over here and kissing you senseless.’My s
~FIORELLA~What the hell did I just say?I stare at myself in the mirror, my eyes wide and my cheeks burning.I actually said that to him….out loud.I drag both hands down my face and groan.“Idiot.”I should have kept my mouth shut.I should have said nothing and walked into the bathroom like a normal person.Instead, I had looked straight into Lucas's eyes and told him I could kiss him senseless.Who says things like that? Apparently, me.I take a deep breath and turn away from the mirror.I refuse to think about it.I came in here to take a bath, and that is exactly what I'm going to do.I walk toward the shower and begin removing my clothes, folding each piece and placing it neatly on the small stool beside the sink. My mind is still embarrassingly stuck on Lucas, but I force myself to concentrate on anything else.The hotel bathroom is beautiful.Too beautiful, actually.The marble tiles gleam beneath the warm lights, the shower enclosure is spotless, and ev
~ELENA~I don't even know when we get home. I just feel someone pulling me out of the car and leading me to my room.I feel numb. My body, my senses, my mind….they all feel numb.The door to my room opens and I am led inside.“Take your bath and rest. We'll come to chec
Alessandro shouldn’t have come. Every instinct tells him to stay away.But curiosity, or maybe something darker…. drives him straight to the masquerade ball party.After what happened yesterday, he couldn’t stop thinking about them.The triplets.So he did what anyone with too much fear, curiosity,
~ELENA~Vincenzo doesn’t take his eyes off me as he shrugs off his jacket, tossing it carelessly onto my couch in the room.“Stand up,” he orders softly, but there’s no room for disobedience in his tone.My legs feel weak, but I obey, standing slowly from the bed.Riccard
~NICO~“Dad, I'm not quitting school. I love it there” I say angrily to my father.Vincenzo, Riccardo and I are in my father's private office and he called us for a meeting because he heard I was at Elena's school yesterday.Yes, I get that father has eyes everywhere but wh







