Ruggerio “If you check the markup, you can see that they changed a few things in the contract we had drafted out as discussed.” Blake Hudson is the type of man you look at and immediately would guess that he works as a lawyer. His light brown hair is slicked back and glasses, sitting on his long nose, frame his dark green eyes. His pointed face often wears a cynical grin, and his thin but lean frame is invariably dressed in a dark tailored suit. I can’t remember one time I haven’t seen him with a tie, and he has been working for us for ages, even in second generation. He is practically part of the family, but still. “I guess Umberto Montecco intervened anyway. It is totally different from what I agreed on with Federico and Ginevra.” Blake hums pensively while tapping his lips with his fingertips touching. “Do you want me to contact their lawyers?” “No, no. I’ll contact Federico and talk to him. At this pace, we can kiss the entire project goodbye.” With a deep sigh, Blake rises

Ginevra  Ruggerio has tried to reach out to me several times, but I stopped replying to his texts and answering his phone calls. I knew it would be tough, but I didn’t actually think it would hurt me physically, too.This is the worst. My mother overheard me talking to someone rather flirtatiously and practically interrogated me about who this Mr. Grumple was to me. And as predicted, my poker face didn’t hold the pressure. She didn’t get out of me who it truly was, but she reprimanded me badly about how I was supposed to behave. After all, I was to be engaged to a good and handsome and rich man soon. I shouldn’t push my luck with him for a nobody that I was fishing myself out of some dirty pond. And also, yeah, the family name.Ooooh, if she knew. I had never been good at lying, as I never stepped out of line until these past weeks, and my stress levels must have been danger

Ginevra  My thoughts circle around the fact that I haven’t set up a written last will yet as I try to dodge the bullet.“Erm… Is he the guy you brought into the shop last month? And then attacked me on the dance floor as we were dancing?”At least my condescending tone gets her off her tracks for a bit. Her happy expression falls slightly, and I see her confusion grow. “Yes. Ruggerio.”I shake my head, trying to build up my non-existent poker face.“I never met him other than in those moments.”She looks at me confused while munching on her lunch. “Huh?!”“Elisabetta, I’m engaged.”She looks at me shocked, the sparkle in her eyes gone. “You two got engaged and he didn’t tell me?” I see sadness taking over and I put my hand on her forearm to soothe her. “No, no, Ellie. Not to your brother

*** Trigger Warning: SA, Abuse *** Ginevra Talking to my brother brought me back to square one.As I’m sitting in front of my fiancé, I’m feeling so numb that I don’t even bother to force a polite smile at the ludicrous things he is saying. At one point, I’m just staring at my food while pinching it as he is chatting along nonchalantly.Idiot. The day after I confessed everything to my brother, I did the worst thing. I complied with my duties and texted Ruggerio that he should stop contacting me.And he did.I got just one last message before I stopped hearing from him.His text asking “why, what happened?” is still left unanswered on my phone. It’s already been two days now and apparently he is respecting my wishes.So stupid. The thing that irks me the most is that I’m now sitting at a table wi

Ruggerio Ginevra: You can act like an idiot all you want, but your smile is still gorgeous. Ginevra: Your file was horrible. But still better than Not-Tommy’s. I suppress a smile at the texts appearing on my screen and concentrate back on the big screen. Frank is holding a beer and is talking to my brother standing beside him. We took him with us to a bar where we wanted to see the game, as my mother was nearly re-staging a classic tragedy at my refusal to take him along. I hate this. Instead of enjoying the game with my best friend like I had intended to, I’m now playing a babysitter for a convicted rapist. Technically speaking, I wouldn’t have to, but I feel myself tense every time he just moves to look at someone other than Frank. Damn it. Suddenly, Frank turns around and puts his beer bottle down. “I have to take a piss.” I just nod and look at him walking away, my brother already turning to me. In such moments, I envy girls that get to go to the toilets in pairs. “So, b