The Water's Edge At Giovanni's Novels & Stories

And now the daylight was trying to drag me back to reality. “Good morning, Miss Nella.” The voice was polite, professional, and feminine. I squinted, fluttering my eyes open, trying to bring the figure into focus. “Point of correction,” came that unmistakable husky timbre from somewhere close. “Mrs, not Miss.” My eyes snapped wide. Giovanni sat at the edge of the bed, one hip on the mattress, close enough that I could feel the dip of the bed under his weight. His black shirt was fresh, sleeves rolled again, revealing those hot tattooed forearms.

"And this one is for the hand you stabbed through." Giovanna's vision went dark, and she passed out completely. Fabrizio frowned slightly and said to his men, "Throw some cold water on her. Don't let her die yet. The real show hasn't even started." A man immediately brought over a basin of cold water and dumped it hard onto Giovanna's face. She jolted awake, her eyes unfocused as she stubbornly muttered, "Fabrizio… You'll regret this. My father won't let you get away with it…"

That was when I remembered I was still shirtless. Fuck. "No. I think I'm good." I groaned out, moving towards the settee. His living room was sparkling clean and nothing seemed to be out of place. "Good for you. I will be back." Giovanni said, he hung his jacket over a rail before walking to the bar. I watched his retreating back as he stopped by the bar and took out a glass. Giovanni filled the glass with clear liquid from an expensive looking bottle that was different from not-too-expensive drinks we served at Great Fisher.

I sighed but reached in for the grapes that she was eating and popped one in my mouth. "You can have some water too," Leonardo said as he pointed to a big jug of water. Can someone poison water? I don't think so. I reached for it and poured some water into a glass before I gulped down that water. I'd been thirsty the entire day and I was now coming down from that unexplainable high. "You must've been thirsty," he said and I looked at him before I nodded, swallowing and blinking several times. I turned to look at his daughter and she was stumbling towards her father...wait does this man have twins? Because I'm seeing two of his daughter.

"How do you like the view? It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I chose this place because it offers an unbroken panorama of the ocean,” Giovanni said, his voice smooth, almost too casual, as he strolled into the grand, opulent room. The mansion, perched precariously on the edge of a dramatic cliff, seemed to mirror Aleah’s own sense of vulnerability. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks far below served as a haunting backdrop to the unsettling atmosphere. Giovanni’s presence only magnified Aleah’s unease.

One down, two more to go. Giovanni’s villa sat on the edge of Lake Como. With floodlights, armed guards, and music drifting from the open terrace doors. He was throwing a party, celebrating his sudden inheritance. Believing I was ash. We parked half a kilometer out and walked the rest. I moved through the trees like smoke while Matteo flanked me. We didn’t say a word to each other. When we reached the perimeter fence I cut the power to the cameras and slipped through the service gate.

He sensed she wouldn't want it if she knew. “Okay, give me a little, but with lots of ice.” Giovanni prepared the drinks and placed one with a yellow and cold liquid on the table in front of Brenda. Afterwards, he sat on the couch a little further back, from where he could see her silhouette outlined against the night sky, with the moon in the background, and he, who didn't consider himself a romantic at all, thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and that it was worth painting.

I really like cold showers, it refreshes both my body and mind. It's been 15 minutes and the shower is still on, pouring the cold content on my naked skin. It's becoming too cold but I'm feeling numb. It shouldn't affect me, Gabriel and I aren't close to begin with. But I can't console myself enough. The fact that he made me realize I will never be a part of them is what eating me out. I let the tears cascade down my cheeks as the water drops on to my skin. The silent sobs of mine get unheard by everyone like it always has been.

Giorgio said calmly. I blinked as I stepped out of the car and onto the white sand. Adjusting my eyes to the evening sun, I noticed that there was a clear blue water ahead of me. It took me a minute to realise we were at a bitch. There was some little stores with inbuilt things around. Fuck! Did Giorgio literally to pay so we can have this place to ourselves? It was too good to be true. But, then again, he was a billionaire’s son. I turned to him, and he had not turned off the music. He was rolling from one side to the other, and I could see the polaroid camera in his hands. It was the most amazing thing that I had seen in a long while.

She opened her eyes and tried to keep them open, but failed woefully as her eyes shut again. “Hey. do you need a glass of water?” Giovanni asked gently, standing by her side. She nodded and he went to the dining room and returned with a bottle of cold water. He handed it to her and she uncapped it, drinking more than half of its content before setting it down. “Thank you very much,” she muttered lowly and he nodded, sitting on the hand of the couch. “I could have asked you how you're doing, but it's obvious you aren't okay,” Giovanni spoke with a little smile.