"So, tell me. What's one culture shock you've had since you got to Italy?" Madre asked."Uhm…I'll start with the very first one. Too little ice in drinks," Liliana said."Hmm?""Yes, I mean, oh my God. In the US, we are given a truck pile of ice with just a drop of drink. I can't understand."Madre's throaty laugh irritated me. It was funny that someone who'd set strict rules about table etiquette was the same person breaking it. "I've been to the US once, and I must say, I didn't have such experience.""It depends on where you were, Luna. In local shops, you are fed with ice." "You must be glad to be back home." Madre rose her glass to her lips. "Sure thing, Luna." Liliana placed her hand on mine. "Sure thing."I didn't face her nor did I give her a smile. I was done pretending. So done. "Alpha Moreno?" she piped again. Could this girl not give her mouth some time off? "Yes.""I was talking to Vince the other day, expressing how wowed I am with the trees here. The garden is en

VINCENZOSilence bore down on the room. It'd been ages since Madre burst in here, yet, not a word had come out of her. Her venomous eyes rested on me while she wished she'd never fucked Padre that fateful night. Or, she was praying fervently that the moon goodness sucked me to oblivion. I couldn't care less; I busied myself by surfing the net. "Can you tell me what your problem is?"I knew Madre hated being ignored. I should have at least spared her a glance or given an indifferent shrug. But I didn't. And it was too late to regret.She snatched my phone and tossed it away. Or rather, slapped it against the wall. "Now that that's out of the way, you can talk to me." "You should have simply tossed it on the couch or something," I said, my gaze still fixed on my empty hand. "You haven't answered my question. What's all this about? Why didn't you come down for dinner?"Anger set my eyes on fire. I raised my gaze to meet Madre's stoic face. Her chin was high and her arms crossed.I

RINAI was late. Again. Thrice in a row. The reason wasn't far from 'Piccolo Maestro had shoved his disgusting self into my room and droned on about how I was his alone'. Clearly, I shouldn't be jumpy, except that he had been doing this since the night Amato almost assaulted me. To spell it out: four days. It'd been four freaking days since my demon possessed boss wouldn't let me breathe. His routine was: sneaking up on me, caging me in a wall or door and forcing me to stare at him while he talked rubbish. Thankfully, he'd stopped with his advances. Although, the scar he'd imprinted on my heart hurt still. It'd never heal. Honestly, I didn't get it. The whole weirdness he'd been exhibiting. I no longer worked like other maids. Everything I did had to involve him in some way. Mammà was beginning to get suspicious. She'd cornered me yesterday, wondering why I hadn’t been showing up in the assembly ground. What could I tell her? That the Alpha's son was a baby. Or rather, he needed to

VINCENZOLuigi dribbled the three guys surrounding him, each one of them hunched like a predator ready to claim its victim. He outmaneuvered them and tossed the ball to me. The hungry lions drew close, more eager than ever to snatch the ball. I slithered my way towards the basket, and gave a smooth throw. My teammates cheered as the ball slipped into the basket. Luigi, especially, was ecstatic. The dude was a fucking fanatic. We got back to the game and at the end of the day, our team took the lead with four points. My body was on fire. Sweat streamed down, leaving me looking like a snowman in Atacama Desert. I pulled a towel from my backpack and dabbed my face dry. "That was terrific," Luigi's voice drew near. We packed our things and headed out towards the locker room. I didn't think I could make it in there without collapsing. I needed to wet my parched tongue. Luigi carried on while I went to a soda stand. There were many of those here. Not surprising as the sports arena was t

VINCENZOI pulled up in front of the store. A side glance towards Rina revealed her staring out to the window. A strange feeling sat within me. I was oddly pleased knowing she'd shaken off her nervousness and had relaxed. That should explain why her eyes were on the window and not her laps. But then, I couldn't be sure. She hadn't focused on any other object throughout the drive. But then again… Ugh. Too many but's.Somehow, I liked this silent, submissive aspect of her. And I wished she'd be this way whenever I made the move. Her tears and pleas had begun to tear me apart. I was losing it. Madre or those noisy maids—especially, what was her name again? The assistant maid or something. There was something about her that wasn't right. And from all indications, she could employ her rather bulbous nose to good use and sniff out the truth. That'd be the end of me.I sought for my black card in the glove compartment; but on a second thought, decided against it. Reason being that Rina w