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Question of the day:

Are you an introvert 🤫 or extrovert 📣?

Enjoy this chapter! ✨

Day three of being married.

It felt just like previous day which I spent in this house - miserable and lonely.

I woke up to an empty bedroom and the sound of the bedroom door closing shut.

It just proved my thoughts exactly. I knew this would turn into a marriage where we never spoke or saw each other and that's already the case.

However, unlike yesterday, the rest of his family were at home - apart from his father.

I got out of bed and brushed my teeth, choosing to throw on some leggings and an oversized sweater for breakfast.

Unfortunately, that proved to be a huge mistake.

In the Darmos household breakfast is a relaxed, family friendly affair.

In the Accardi household it's an entirely glamorous affair.

They were all sitting around the dining table in the kitchen when I walked in. Tristano, Rocco and Costa were all wearing luxury Italian suits. The twins were wearing casual designer clothes and Riviera was wearing a dress. Even her two year old daughter was in a Burberry dress.

And here I was in my leggings and oversized sweater with no make up and my hair in a bun.

As I approached the kitchen in the hallway I could hear laughter, bickering and lots of talking.

"Hell no."

"Oh, come on. Just let me try, Costa. Just once."

"You won't be able to do it and someone is going to end up dead." My husband's velvety accent stood out among all the voices. Even his voice was so distinct, commanding all the authority in the conversation.

"Would that really be a bad thing?" Rocco questioned. "I mean, if Aidan accidentally kills anyone, most likely it will be Giovanni and Lord knows we could do with getting rid of him."

"Hey!" Giovanni's outburst was quickly drowned out by a round of laughter in the kitchen.

But that laughter died out the moment I rounded the corner into the kitchen.

For a fleeting second I came to a slow stop, not expecting their expressions to fall so dramatically at my entry.

Sure they didn't like me, but they were looking at me like I just dragged in the dead body of one of their family members to eat for breakfast.

The twins scowled at me in annoyance while Tristano and Rocco showed nothing but disdain. Riviera looked disgusted by either my presence or my appearance - most likely both. Her daughter, Elena, looked curious.

Costa looked pissed.

"Mi sono dimenticato di lei." (I forgot about her) Giovanni muttered, stabbing his fork into his eggs.

"È stato bello finché è durato." (It was good while it lasted) Aidan sighed, eyeing his three cousins who were still staring at me.

"Cosa era?" (What was?) Riviera aimed her question at the twins with a raised brow.

"Il loro buon umore. Ogni volta che questa stronza è in giro, o qualcuno la menziona, si arrabbiano." (Their good mood. Whenever this bitch is around, or anyone even mentions her, they get angry.)

Whatever the twins were saying had Riviera glancing in my direction.

"Non durerà, non preoccuparti. Non le ci vorrà molto per confondersi con lo sfondo come uno scarafaggio morto." (It won't last, dont worry. It won't take long for her to blend into the background like a dead cockroach)

Riviera's words were so clearly directed at me, even though I had no clue what she was saying. Her eyes remained locked on mine even when Rocco choked on a laugh and Tristano flashed her a look.

"Forse qualcuno può semplicemente schiacciarla come uno scarafaggio e potremo tornare alla normalità." (Maybe someone can just crush her like a cockroach and we can get back to normal)
Rocco smirked in my direction, sipping on his orange juice.

"Lo faremo." (We'll do it) Aidan and Gio pointed to themselves, much to Rocco's amusement.

I tried to ignore their whispers and stares as I crossed the kitchen, heading over to the breakfast bar. That was much easier said than done with the awkward tension filling the room to the brim.

"Sei sicura che sia considerata una principessa greca? Sembra che appartenga a un negozio all'angolo che impila gli scaffali." (Are you sure she's considered to be a Greek princess? She looks like she belongs at a corner shop stacking shelves.)

That was Riviera speaking again.

"È abbastanza." (That's enough.) Costantino finally speaking had my head turning in his direction. He was sipping on his coffee, his attention now focused on his family again. "Non vale il mio tempo, né il tuo. Ignorala e basta. Voglio finire la colazione in pace." (She's not worth my time, or yours. Just ignore her. I want to finish my breakfast in peace.)

I have a feeling whatever he said wasn't in my favour.

The worst part was I didn't know what they were actually saying so I couldn't call them out on it. I mean, I'm 99% sure they were talking about me. But if I said anything, they could easily pretend they weren't just to embarrass me further. So I left it.

"Ciao, cara. What would you like today?" (Hi, dear) Agata gave me a soft smile as she approached, sympathy shining in her eyes.

The sound of a scoff had both of us looking in the direction of the dining table where all the food was laid out for breakfast.

There were a few spare seats, two notably right next to my husband on either side of him. But only a fool would go and sit at a table where she was clearly enemy number one.

"The same as yesterday please, Agata. And a cappuccino." I forced a small smile even though I could still feel his intense glare burning into the side of my head.

"Sure. Do you want to eat here or..." She seemed hesitant to ask, but it was kind of obvious I wouldn't be eating in the kitchen with everyone else.

"No, I'll eat in the dining room. Thank you." I wanted to smile but I couldn't bring myself to.

"The dining room is for family only. So is this table." Riviera's bitchy tone caused my body to tense, but I refused to turn around and face her.

I needed my morning coffee first.

"This house is for family only." Rocco added, his tone utterly sour. This time I did turn my head to give him a glare of my own.

In that moment Costantino's phone started ringing. He released a frustrated huff, pushing back his chair. "Lasciala da sola. Ho già abbastanza cose da fare, non ho bisogno che anche lei si lamenti." (Leave her alone. I already have enough shit going on - I don't need her complaining too)

He didn't acknowledge me again as he left the kitchen to answer his phone.

"Cara? You still want to sit in the dining room?" (Dear?) Agata took my attention away from the rest of his family still glaring at me. They were determined to ice me out by even stopping me from eating in the dining room.

"I'll just eat at the bar here, I suppose."

"No. Let her eat in the dining room." Aidan jumped in, suddenly pushing his chair back. "At least she'll be away from you guys, right?"

He tapped Gio on the shoulder while he was busy trying to stuff a pastry into his mouth. "Andiamo." (Let's go)

"Dove?" (Where?) Gio frowned with a mouthful of pastry.

"Ho appena pensato ad un'altra povera vittima di un preservativo ad acqua." (I just thought of another poor victim of a water condom) Aidan's boyish grin had Gio jumping from his seat while Tristano shook his head in amusement.

"Un preservativo ad acqua?" (A water condom?) Riviera looked to her own twin with a frown.

"Aspetta." (Just wait)

"Go and sit down then, Cara. Greta has made your coffee." On cue, Greta placed a cappuccino in front of me with a bright smile. "Enjoy."

"Thank you." I smiled.

I couldn't get out of that kitchen faster. I released the biggest sigh of relief once I got into the dining room, closing the door behind myself.

I only waited a few minutes and then Greta came in with my food. She insisted I just leave the plates there when I finished, which I think was her way of protecting from going back into the kitchen again.

Once was enough for me.

I took my time eating my breakfast, enjoying a TikTok visit to take my mind off everything going on in my reality.

TikTok is a black hole. Once you go in, you're not coming out - at least for the foreseeable future.

Well, unless you get a call from your cousin which forces you to stop watching videos of people throwing glass bottles down the stairs.

"Hello?"

"Mildred!" I never thought hearing someone call me Mildred could warm my heart the way it did.

"Are you drunk, Damian?" I laughed through a mouthful of porridge.

"Well, I asked you to stop me from drinking so much but you didn't do a good job." I could imagine him giving me that accusatory look.

"I'm not actually there, that's why." I pointed out.

"Exactly!" He slurred. "You're the worst cousin. You left me."

"You drank yourself into oblivion because of me?" I frowned, putting my spoon in my empty bowl.

Was he struggling as much as I was? I mean, I hadn't broken down crying yet, but I knew it was coming. I guess I was still in shock, or just denial. The feelings of missing my family and my home hadn't really kicked in properly yet.

"No. Actually, I got into a drinking competition with some bitch when I went to a club opening with Julius. I think it was Julius. He looked like Julius. You remember Julius, right?"

"Yes, he's my brother. Of course I remember." I laughed, leaning back in my seat.

"Yeah, he's a nice guy. Anyway, I couldn't find you at the club." And he was back to accusing me again like I skipped out on an invitation.

"Because I'm in Sicily."

"Well, come back. You're my drinking buddy. My bestfriend. O synergátis mou sto énklima." (My partner in crime) Damian fell silent before laughing a second later. "That's funny because I'm a real criminal."

"Damy, you need to go sleep." My voice softened as I glanced at the time. "Isn't it like 3am in New York?"

"Naí. Píga ómos sto domátió sou gia na daneistó to paráxeno laderó pou évales sto prósopó mou kai den to vríka." (Yes. But I went to your room to borrow the weird oily thing you put on my face and I couldn't find it.)

"My cleansing balm? I brought it with me." Damian loved having a pamper session after a long night at the club.

We'd come home and do face masks or sometimes just a good skincare session before going to sleep. It made sure we woke up with fresh skin, even if we were hungover.

"I know! You're not listening, Mildew. It's gone. Someone took all your things."

"I did." And he helped me to pack them all, which he clearly doesn't remember.

"Well put them back!" He slurred again and I heard something crash in the background. My heart hurt at the thought of him all confused, lost and drunk, roaming around the house at 3am. We used to do that together, now he's doing it all alone.

"Damian, please just-"

"Wana watch High School Musical?" He cut me off, sounding more dreary as time went on.

"Damian, I-"

"We can watch number two again. It's your favourite."

And just like that my eyes welled up with tears for the first time since the wedding.

"Troy Bolton is hotter in that one too. Oh shit." I heard another crash, but that didn't seem to be his concern. "Was he over 18 when they filmed it? I'm not a perv, Mildred, I promise."

"I don't know." It took everything in me to keep my voice from breaking as the first tears leaked out my eyes.

"We'll check. Just come to your room now. I'll put it on."

"You're in my room?" My heart broke all over again at the thought of the bedroom I left behind. It was my happy place. I'd had the same one since I was a little girl, it just changed over the years.

"Mhm. On your bed, but it's empty. Your bed smells like you. Where are you? Are you coming?"

"I..."

"I even took my shoes off, Millie." He called me Millie. "It was hard because the laces got stuck and I'm drunk as hell, but I did it. I'm starting the movie now, you're missing it."

A few moments passed while I struggled to keep my sobs contained. Then I heard the unmistakable music of my favourite movie starting in the background.

Damian and I must have watched it at least one hundred times since it first came on TV when I was 10 years old. We knew all the songs and we sang them every single time.

Through the tears I just listened to the soft opening music before the scene in Mrs Darbus's classroom started.

Instead of sitting in the unfamiliar dining room belonging to the Accardi family, I imagined myself cuddled up in my bed next to Damian watching my favourite movie with him.

I imagined myself at home.

"So, what was your favourite summer memory, Mrs Darbus?" Usually Damian and I giggled when the rest of the class groaned at Jason's question. But this time it was just silent until he eventually spoke.

"I miss you, Millie." Sadness was so prevalent in his tone and Damian was never someone who got sad.

"I lied. I did get drunk because I miss you." His words were still slurred, but not as much. Once he calmed down and got into bed, he usually sobered up quite quickly. "I didn't go to a club with Julius, I don't even know where he is. He left as soon as we got home from the airport yesterday. I just...we don't know what to do without you."

Tears were falling uncontrollably from my eyes while I held a hand over my mouth to muffle the sob threatening to escape.

"Come back."

"I can't." I managed to whisper, my voice coming out hoarse and strained. "I wish I could, but I can't yet."

Maybe sometime soon, but not yet.

"You belong here at home with everyone who loves you...with me. Not with them."

The looks and whispers in the kitchen came back to my mind when he said that. Damian warned me the Accardi family didn't like outsiders and they didn't respect anyone who wasn't blood.

He couldn't have been more right.

"I'm tired now, Mildred." He murmured, his voice becoming thicker. "I love you."

"I love you too, Damian. Go to sleep. Just dream about me and you'll be happy." I smiled through the tears, my heart still feeling like it was breaking.

The breaking hadn't stopped yet.

"Okay, Millie. I'm turning off the movie now. They're singing without you but there's nothing to sing about. I'm sad."

"Don't be sad. You'll be singing again soon, Damy." He loved singing, we both did.

"Hm." That was the last thing I heard before it went quiet.

I hung up the phone and pushed back my chair, hoping I could make it out of the dining room and up to the bedroom before I truly broke down.

But the tears were still falling no matter how many times I wiped my cheeks. I just hoped I could avoid seeing anyone in this state.

It was silent outside in the hallway, so maybe they were all still in the kitchen? Or maybe they'd already gone for the day?

I hesitated by the door, wiping my cheeks one last time. Just keep your head down and go upstairs as fast as possible.

With one last breath I opened the door, stepping out into the quiet hallway.

The moment I took one step, ice cold water came pouring down on top of me. The cold water stung against my skin and it had me shivering almost immediately as it soaked through my sweatshirt.

My involuntary screech was drowned out by the twins cheering across the hallway. I blinked the water out of my eyes just in time to see them high fiving at their little prank. Riviera, Rocco and Tristano were watching next to them, but they didn't seem as excited as the twins.

But the real sucker punch of it all was what I saw when I rushed past them and down the hall towards the stairs.

Costa was standing by the front door, embracing some woman tight in his arms when he heard the commotion. The two of them pulled apart just in time to see me drenched from head to toe.

Costantino frowned at the sight while the woman laughed, still keeping her arms around his waist.

"Is this your wife?" She laughed, taking in my soaking wet appearance.

I barely even paid any attention to the stunning blonde who clearly enjoyed every second of my misery. All I could do was stare at Costa with a false sense of betrayal filling me.

Why did I even feel betrayed? It was stupid. I guess I just thought he'd wait more than three days before falling into the arms of another woman. While I was crumbling on day three of our married life, he was back to his man-whore ways.

He didn't say anything, he just watched me rush past him with that stupid frown on his face as if he had no clue what was going on.

I was just hoping he couldn't tell how much I'd just been crying in the dining room.

I made it to our room just in time for the first sob to burst out. Forgetting about my soaked clothes, I launched myself face first onto the bed to muffle my cries.

I cried harder than I ever thought possible.

I cried for who I was before all of this happened. She was long gone and I didn't know if she was ever coming back.

I cried for the little girl who dreamt that one day she'd marry her king like her father would tell her and she'd live happily ever after.

I cried for my family who I missed so deeply with every passing second and who missed me.

I cried for the life I knew that had now finished and for the new one that had started.

I cried for my future - for my life and for my children who would be part of the Accardi family.

I cried for me.

I just cried.

It was inevitable that it would happen. I just didn't think it would happen so suddenly.

Sure I was sad after the wedding, but I thought I'd just feel sadder over time until I eventually had a break down. I didn't think it would hit me so hard that my whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

I felt so far from home - so far from safety and love and comfort.

I was so hated by Costa and the rest of his family but I never even did anything to them. My only mistake was getting too drunk on my birthday and venturing off unaccompanied. I pissed them off that day with what I said after Rocco pushed me and they'd hated me ever since. Sure I'd reacted along the way, but it all started that moment I bumped into Costa in New York.

My tears felt like they were finally drying up after fifteen minutes of crying uncontrollably into a pillow. When I finally pulled away from the pillow, I let my eyes adjust to the brightness of the room.

Then my vision landed on the little grey cat who was watching me right by my side. She was on the floor, but she was the closest she could be without getting on the bed.

"Have you been here all this time?" I sniffled, shuffling so that I could lift her up onto the bed. She meowed in my arms, coming closer when I put her down on the bed.

"I want to go home, Lula." Another wave of tears came as I lay down next to her. I stroked her fur lazily with my hand. "Will it ever get better?"

Lula only purred, snuggling in closer to me. Even though she was just an innocent cat, I also couldn't help but remember she was Costa's cat.

She belonged to Accardi family and she loved them, even if she sneered at most of the family members.

But she was the only source of comfort I had so I didn't dwell too much on that.

"I'll give myself a day...or maybe two. But after that, I won't be a weak bitch anymore, Lula." At this she meowed and I took that as her giving me a pep talk. "I'll focus on me and my publishing company. That's all I can do now and then maybe soon I can go and visit my family."

I released a heavy sigh, my body feeling the full effects of the crying I did.

"But I still have two days to be sad. I deserve that at least." And with that I started crying all over again.

"I told you to leave her alone."

"It was just a prank. Relax."

If I thought I was angry before, Aidan telling me to relax only pissed me off more.

"A prank?" I scoffed, slamming the door to my office shut. "She looked fucking traumatised!"

"It's not our fault she can't take a joke. Seriously, who cries over a couple of water condoms?" Gio shook his head, dropping down on the couch in my office.

"Plus, I don't think it was the water condoms that traumatised her. It was seeing you hugging Melina." Aidan somehow had the balls to turn the blame back around on me.

"So hugging my friend is a crime now, idiota?" I shook my head, walking over to Aidan. With a hard shove I pushed him down onto the couch, forcing him to sit next to his twin idiot.

"I've cut you two a lot of slack since your father died, but when I tell you to do something, you damn well listen to me."

"Don't bring him up, Costa." Giovanni narrowed his eyes at me, sitting up straight on the couch.

The twins were usually extremely relaxed, easy going, and arguably, reckless. They also hid their emotions very well.

But mentioning their father to them was the one thing that would bring out the attitude that runs in the Accardi family. I'm exactly the same with my mother so I understood it well.

"Then listen to me when I tell you that Millie is off limits. You don't whisper around her, you don't laugh, you don't do anything to make her feel uncomfortable and you sure as shit don't do anything to upset her."

"Why do you suddenly care? You hate her." Aidan snapped, his own annoyance beginning to show.

"I do, but she doesn't deserve that. She's adjusting to this whole thing as much as I am. The last thing either of us needs is the rest of you idiots making it harder."

I hated Millie and she hated me. Nothing would ever change that and I didn't really want it to change either. But that didn't mean I would allow my family to make her life harder than it already was.

"Okay, fine. We'll leave your stupid new wife alone. But what about your girlfriend? Girlfriends are fair game in the Mafia." Giovanni grinned, referring to the unspoken agreement between organised crime groups.

Wives and children are off limits, but girlfriends aren't.

"What girlfriend?" I frowned, dropping down on an arm chair across from them.

It was only 10am and I was ready to down half a bottle of whiskey.

"He means Melina." Aidan sighed, leaning back into the couch while shooting Gio a look.

Forget the whiskey. I'm ready to shoot myself in the head.

"Melina is my friend. Nothing more."

"I'm sure your precious Millie doesn't think that." Giovanni grinned, suddenly finding himself much closer to the top of my hit list for the day.

"She's not 'my precious Millie'. Look, I've been close with Melina since school and I haven't seen her for a long time so I gave her a hug. Now stop asking me questions like we're friends."

"Just one more." Aidan sat up straight on the couch. "Have you ever screwed her?"

"Get the hell out of my office." The two of them immediately burst into a fit of laughter, completely ignoring the fierce scowl I was sending their way.

"What's so funny?" Rocco and Tristano both chose that moment to walk into the room.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" I rose an eyebrow at my brothers who only shrugged in response.

"Costa won't admit he screwed Melina." Aidan decided to stoke the fire with a suggestive tone.

"Who do you think he lost his virginity to?" Tristano smirked, easily dodging the cushion I launched at him.

"You lost your virginity to that supermodel?" Giovanni stared at me with wide eyes. "Bro, my respect for you just went through the roof."

"Can we not talk about this, please? It was a long time ago and I really don't care for your respect."

"How long ago?" Aidan frowned at me.

"You were 15, right?" Rocco grinned, smartly staying by the door and away from me.

"This is none of your business."

Did they listen? No.

"15, wow. I lost mine when I was 17." Gio shook his head like he was disappointed with himself.

"At least you've lost yours." Rocco scoffed.

The room fell silent while Aidan glared at Rocco who didn't seem to care what he'd just done.

"Wait, I thought you said you lost it." Gio turned to look at his twin on the couch with a level of shock that was extremely unnecessary.

"I never...I didn't say it in those exact words." He murmured, shifting uncontrollably on the couch.

"Bro!" Gio exclaimed, again, extremely unnecessarily.

"It's not that big of a deal! So I haven't had sex? I'm waiting for the right girl." He shrugged, shuffling away from Gio on the couch.

"The right girl? Really? You sound like a pussy." Rocco laughed forcing Aidan to avert his gaze to the floor by his feet.

Aidan was doing his best to hide how he felt, but I could read him pretty easily. He was embarrassed, but he had no reason to be.

"Hey." I nudged his leg with mine to get his attention. "There's nothing wrong with it."

"There isn't?" His eyes shone with a vulnerability that sent a pang through my heart.

Sometimes it's easy to forget they're just teenagers. They're still navigating their way through normal life and then all this shit that comes with the Mafia too.

"No, of course not. He would screw anything that moves and your brother is not far behind." I gestured towards Rocco who nodded in agreement with a smirk. At least he was self aware while he led Giovanni down the same path.

"That doesn't mean you have to be the same, Aidan. You can do whatever you want."

Despite the pressures in this family to conform to a certain way of life, he didn't actually have to be like that. He had the choice to do whatever he wanted and be whoever he wanted.

"I can? And you wouldn't look at me different, Costa?"

"No. You're my cousin. Nothing you do or don't do would change our relationship or how I look at you."

"What if he dropped another water condom on your wife?" Giovanni added his input, earning glares from the rest of us.

"Shut up." My harsh tone had Aidan chuckling while Giovanni muttered something stupid to himself.

"I mean it, Aidan. Anything that's on your mind, you can tell me."

They needed someone to look up to as they grew up. Both their parents were dead and they didn't have any other siblings. They needed us and as much as they pissed me off sometimes, they were still my family.

"Can...can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I...well...there's a girl I like, but I don't know how to tell her." A light pink tint formed on his cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck. Tristano made an 'awww' sound only to make the whole thing worse for the poor kid.

"Who, bro?" Gio suddenly smacked Aidan's shoulder. Clearly he's never heard of tact in his 18 years on this planet.

"Bianca." Aidan sheepishly admitted.

"Who the hell is Bianca?" Twin number two frowned, trying to use his last brain cell to remember who this girl was.

"Bianca Ricci...our bestfriend's sister." Aidan spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, shit. That Briana."

"Bianca." Aidan sighed.

"That Bianca." Giovanni nodded, this time getting the name right.

No wonder Aidan never told him about his little crush on Bianca.

"Look, I've got some work I need to do now. But later we can go for a drink and I'll give you some tips."

That's a nice thing to do, right?

I just hope being nice doesn't come back to bite me in the ass.

"Yeah." Aidan smiled, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Can I come? Aidan and I are a package deal, bro." Gio slung his arm around his twin brother's shoulders for emphasis.

"Only if you get out of my office now. You've ruined my morning."

"Well, that means my work here is done, so sure." Gio grinned, jumping up off the couch.

"See you for drinks, Costa." Aidan smiled with a wave.

I think I'm going to regret letting Gio come, or maybe even inviting Aidan in the first place.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<<

"You shouldn't have let him drink so much."

"I didn't!"

"You were the only one with him." I shoved Giovanni forward causing him to stumble unceremoniously into the entry hall, along with Aidan.

Being a good twin brother was biting him in the ass now.

"No, Rocco came with us." Aidan tried to defend himself as he struggled to keep his twin upright.

His very drunk twin.

"And when has Rocco ever been responsible?" I scoffed, watching the two of them stumble across the marble tiles.

I wasn't about to help. I already did my job by driving Gio's drunk ass home.

"He said he was going to come with us to give me tips on how to get Bianca to go on a date with me. Then he just disappeared."

"Because Rocco doesn't do anything nice for anyone, Aidan. You should know that by now." I love my brother, but it's the truth. He had the roughest personality and the least amount of kindness.

"But I never got to have drinks with you." Aidan frowned, wobbling under the pressure of Gio's weight.

"We'll try again another day, okay? For now just get your brother sobered up before I kick his ass."

"Hey!" Gio slurred, lifting his gaze to mine. "I'll kick your ass, bitch."

"Yeah, get him out of my sight." I shook my head, watching the two idiots struggling to get up the stairs.

I was supposed to meet them at a bar to spend some time with them and give Aidan some tips on how to land a date with Bianca.

Instead, I turn up to find Giovanni starting a bar fight when he drunkenly kissed a girl who was very much in a relationship. Unsurprisingly, Rocco went with them and then left them to fend for themselves in a bar.

"Need a drink?"

I turned around in the quiet entry hall to see Melina sauntering down the hallway holding a bottle of Campari. She was dressed in a rather see through white T-shirt and a small pair of checkered shorts.

"You're still here?" I frowned, trying not to look at her incredibly long legs.

"Yeah." She stopped in front of me, giving me a weird look. "I told you I was staying here for a couple of weeks."

"You did?"

"When you opened the door for me this morning? Or perhaps you were too busy thinking about your damp wife to listen to me." An edge bit into her tone which I definitely didn't see coming.

She had no reason to hate Millie. But apparently it's just an unspoken fucking rule in this house that everyone needs to hate her.

"Sorry. I asked the twins to leave her alone but they dropped the water on her and-"

"Forget about her." Melina cut me off, quickly grabbing my hand. "Let's go upstairs."

"Why?"

"To drink this." She gave me a 'duh' holding up the bottle of dark red liqueur.

"You know we can just drink downstairs, right? We don't have to hide anymore - I'm 28 years old." I laughed, still allowing her to drag me towards the stairs.

"Oh, hush. Possiamo incontrarci adeguatamente nella tua stanza." (We can catch up properly in your room)

"Uh..." I awkwardly cleared my throat. "My wife is in my room. Let's go to yours."

She gave me a silent nod, releasing her hold on my hand as we headed up the stairs.

We made it to the guest room in the east wing - the opposite side of the house to where Millie was.

I didn't see her again after she went upstairs after breakfast.

I actually wouldn't have known what to say to her, so I figured avoiding her was the better option.

She was crying, but it can't have been over the water condom or seeing Melina. Her eyes were too red and puffy for that. She must have been crying for some time in the dining room before she came out.

"Costa?"

"Hm?" I turned my head to look at Melina who was lying on the bed next to me.

She lay on her side with her head resting on her hand while I lay flat on my back.

"You zoned out again."

"Sorry." I sighed, shifting my gaze to the ceiling. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Well, I've told you all about my modelling work over the last five months. Now it's your turn to tell me what I missed."

She took a large gulp of the Campari, immediately scrunching her nose up at the taste.

"You should really slow down on that. I've already got Gio drunk off his face tonight, we don't need to add you to the list too."

"Then have some." She held the bottle out to me but I declined, again.

"No. I just...I need to keep a clear head." The last thing I needed was to be drunk when I got back to our bedroom.

Millie would probably ignore my presence completely, but at least I wouldn't be buzzed or drunk that I'd say something to her to start another fight.

"Okay, fine. Just tell me how you ended up getting married."

"There's not much to tell." Of course there was, but Melina didn't need to know the details.

She was one of my closest friends, but she wasn't family.

You only trust family.

No one apart from my brothers and the twins knew the truth. We couldn't risk my father finding out the twins were the ones behind screwing up the Greek and Russian alliance. He thinks it was me and so does everyone else. It's safer for the twins if we keep it that way.

My punishment was already irreversible anyway. I couldn't divorce Millie even if he found out the truth. The damage to my life was done, the twins didn't need to suffer a similar fate.

Actually, it would be worse if my father found out we lied to him for months first.

"It's just an alliance? That's it?" She questioned, gulping down another mouthful of Campari.

"Yeah. There's nothing between us. It's just business."

"And that's what you want?" She rose an eyebrow at me, sitting up from her previous position.

"Sì. Lei non significa niente per me." (Yes. She means nothing to me.)

Melina nodded before shuffling across the bed to put the bottle on the nightstand. I watched her movements as she came back over to me, laying down properly next to me.

"Good because...I wanted to tell you something."

"Hm?"

She placed her hand on my chest, tracing a pattern over the material of my T-shirt.

"When I heard you got married, and you didn't tell me yourself-" She gave me a pointed stare. "-I was really sad."

"Mel, I would have told you but it wasn't exactly something I wanted to celebrate. I wanted it to be-"

"No." She cut me off, coming in even closer to me. "I wasn't sad that you kept it from me. I was sad that you were with someone else."

On instinct I laughed, removing her hand off my chest. "Okay."

"I'm being serious." She frowned, her words becoming a little slurred. The alcohol was starting to take effect.

"Mel, we've been friends for like 15 years. It's not like that." I shook my head, trying to let her down gently.

"Or, maybe it is exactly like that. You said it yourself, you don't feel anything for your wife."

"And that automatically means I have to feel something for you?" I tried to see the humorous side to the situation, but that didn't seem to help her.

"Costa, it's not funny. I was...I felt jealous when I found out. That has to mean something, right?"

"Not necessarily. You can be protective or territorial without having sex with someone."

"It's more than that. Just...let me prove it to you. Spend the night with me."

"No." It was an easy no. There was nothing to consider, at all.

"Please, just one night." She sounded like a child trying to bargain with me.

I don't like whiny women. I like a woman who can confidently take what she wants but knows when to respect herself and cut her losses if she needs to.

"You're drunk. You've had too much and you're not thinking clearly. Just leave it." Deciding it was in both our interests to end this conversation, I made a move to sit up.

Her hand quickly shot out to stop me.

"Just...let me try something." Her voice softened to a whisper as she leaned in, her eyes locked on my lips.

Her lips just grazed mine when I pushed her away, finally being able to sit up.

"No, Melina."

"But we've done it before, Costa."

I really wanted to laugh, but that wouldn't have done me much good.

Thirteen years later and she's still after it.

"Stop, Melina. That was a long time ago. We're just friends." With a sigh I sat up, ignoring her frown as I got off the bed. "Sleep it off. We'll talk in the morning."

"Actually, maybe we can just leave that talk." She forced out a laugh, covering her face with her hands.

"Don't worry. It's not the first time a girl has thrown herself at me." I joked, trying to lighten the tension. She quickly uncovered her face at my teasing tone, allowing herself to see my smirk.

"I didn't throw myself at you!"

"No?" I laughed, edging closer to the door to leave. "That's not what it seemed like to me."

"Ugh." She groaned, burying her face into a pillow. "Just go before I drown myself in Campari."

"Sure." I smiled, opening the door. "Sweet dreams. Try not to dream about me too much."

The last thing I heard was the string of curse words she directed at me as I headed down the hallway back to the west wing.

I got back to the pitch black room to find Millie already in bed.

She didn't say anything about this morning - the scene at breakfast, what made her cry, the water balloons or Melina. Nothing.

She just let it go.

She never brought any of it up. In the days that followed our routine ended up following the same pattern.

We completely ignored the other's existence.

Millie ate breakfast in the dining room away from me and the rest of my family. She didn't join us for dinner, so I assumed she was having her dinner elsewhere.

She spent most of her day in the bedroom working or she'd take her laptop to another room or the garden.

I spent my time with my family, running La Famiglia or with Melina while she was still here. It had been a long time since we were in the same place together at the same time. Even though there were some crossed wires that first night she was back and she got drunk, it never happened again.

Actually, having her around was a good distraction from my wife. I still hated having Millie in my room, but I hated the fact she seemed to be finding it all so easy.

It didn't seem to bother her in the slightest that we weren't talking.

Millie just pretended I wasn't there and I did the same with her. We behaved as if we were completely and utterly alone. But she made it seem so easy and effortless while I was uncomfortable and aggravated by her presence every single time I went into my own damn bedroom.

And that's what pissed me off the most.

Did you need the tissues? 🥺🤧
The scene with Damian on the phone always gets me 🥺

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