now – present

TW// mentions of emotional abuse/trauma

Althea Santos' POV

After I was done with my classes for the week, I made my way back to the apartment to start packing for the weekend shift at Palazzo de Luca.  Despite his abrupt departure without discussing my availability, I did communicate with his secretary, Martina.  Typically, I work on weekends, but there are certain weekdays when I can also work, depending on the circumstances. 

On my way to Palazzo de Luca, I thought to myself.  I left the apartment before heading towards the nearest transit station where I would take an hour-long train ride to Como without any trouble.  After the ride, I step off the train, and since I have at least 30 minutes to spare before my shift starts, I want to make a quick stop at the market that's a 5-minute walk to Palazzo de Luca.  Knowing that I'd be spending my weekend there, I bought the groceries and necessities that I would need.  

Just as I was about to head out, I heard a small voice saying "Mamma, possiamo prendere l'orsacchiotto?"  I looked over and saw a mother and daughter at the farmer's market across, and they were looking over at a window by one of the stores.  Then I heard the mother telling her daughter "No, piccola mia, non possiamo permettercelo. Mi dispiace"

(Mommy, can we get that teddy bear? // No, my little one, we cannot afford it.  I'm sorry. )

While observing the two, I noticed that they had a stall set up, and they were selling handmade jewelry, basketry, and other local goods.  It reminded me of the hardships I had to conquer back home in the Philippines.  I walked over to them and said, "Scusi, vende qualcosa in questo momento?"

(Excuse me, are you selling anything right now?)

The woman who happens to be the mom smiled widely and answered, "Ah yes yes, we are.  We have some jewelry, bags, baskets, all handmade.  I- uh can tell you are Americana though you do speak good Italian.."  

I chuckled softly, "Mucho Grazie.  Thank you.  Umm, how much is for these bags?"  "About €200-300 each.  The jewelry prices do vary, for example, these crafted gold bracelets are about €1,000 to 2,000; However, my daughter got into friendship bracelet making which is rare."  Then the little girl walked up to me, handing me two different kinds: one that had white and red colored beads with the letter beads that spelled "cuore", and the other had black and red beads with the letters spelled "guerriera"

I thanked her and then asked, "I know cuore means 'heart', but what does 'guerriera' mean?"  The mother answered, "It means 'warrior'.  I'm guessing that you have a heart of a warrior."  I smiled and looked over at the little girl once more, "Grazie.  Come ti chiami?"

(Thank you.  What is your name?)

"V-Viviana." "Well, Viviana, I think these bracelets you made are molto bello.  They are very nice.  By the way, mi chiamo Althea, ma puoi chiamarmi Thea"

(...my name is Althea, but you can call me Thea)

"And I'm Evelina or Eve," The mother said as we shook hands.  I smiled at both of them, "Nice to meet you both.  You know, you guys remind me of myself and my mom.  We used to sell stuff like what you're doing right now, but we didn't have a stall like that back in the Philippines."

"Really?  What did you sell?" Viviana asked before I answered, "We used to make and sell jewelry, but the materials we use are different from the ones you have here.  Maybe someday I can teach you how to make the bracelets my mom taught me." "Yes, I would love to."

Then a thought came into mind as I said to Evelina, "You don't mind, do you?  Helping Viviana with her bracelets and potentially selling them?"  Evelina felt hesitant at first, but with a small smile and a nod, she replied, "Of course, Signorina Thea." Then I took out some Euros and handed them to both Evelina and Viviana, "Here.  I'll purchase these lovely baskets you have, so we can store the materials in them for our lessons.  Besides, I know you've been working hard, so treat yourselves with some food or even that special orsacchiotto you saw at the store."

(teddy bear)

"Mio Dio, grazie, signorina Thea!" Evelina smiled widely, thanking me.  I picked out at least three baskets with intricate designs before I was given an Italian charm bracelet.  Evelina said, "Per te. Gratuito."

(My gosh, thank you, Miss Thea! // For you.  Free of charge.)

I tried to decline the gift, but Evelina told me that it was a way to repay me for offering her daughter to help.  I gave them a huge smile before hugging them and waving goodbye, "I better get going.  È stato bello conoscervi entrambi. Ciao!"

(It was nice meeting you both. Bye!)

The two waved back and said their goodbyes as I finally made my way to Palazzo de Luca.  As soon as I got there, I saw Bea, one of the maids who happens to be a fellow Filipina, running out to tell me, "Diyos ko, beshie! Bakit ang tagal mo?"

(Oh my god, bestie!  What took you so long?)

"Sorry, beshie. Nadala ako sa oras. Bumili ako ng mga gamit sa tindahan, ngunit nakita ko ang isang mag-ina na sinusubukang magbenta ng mga gamit sa merkado ng mga magsasaka.  Look I even bought baskets and offer the little girl Viviana some lessons on making the bracelets Nanay taught me."

(I'm sorry, bestie.  I got carried away with the time. I bought stuff at the store, but I saw a mother and daughter trying to sell stuff at the farmers market.)

I showed Bea the baskets and the bracelets before the latter said, "Beshie, you better get started because I was informed that Sir Franco's in a bad mood today."  I nodded before heading to the maid's quarters to drop off my duffle bag and change into my uniform, which is a long-sleeved, knee-length black dress with a white apron and white sneakers.  I put my hair up in a ponytail before adding a white ribbon around the base;  I double-checked myself in the mirror to make sure everything was good.

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Well, the shift started on a bad note.  Not only I was 30 minutes late, but I accidentally broke a few dishes when I was tasked to wash them;  One of the maids was rude and purposefully bumped me by the elbow, which resulted in me being blamed for the broken dishes.

Just when I thought my day could get any worse, I wasn't paying attention to where I was heading, accidentally bumping into someone.

I looked over to see an angry Franco, who had a half-empty glass of whiskey in his hand, which I might have caused to spill on his shirt.  "Sir Franco, I am so so so sorry.  I- Let me go get a towel and clean it up..."

"Why can't you do it right, huh?!  You better clean this up, you weak bitch!!"  As soon as he raised his hand and was about to strike a slap, I flinched and held my arms up in defense, "S-sir, please don't hurt me... please don't..."  I can feel tears are about to come out.  I turned my head to see Franco's face change from anger to fear before looking away when a tear escaped from my eye.  That's when he stepped back and walked away to his office.

After he had stormed off, I started breathing heavily and shaking in agitation, which could mean one thing:  his sudden outburst had triggered my childhood trauma.  The painful memories started flooding my head, including when my father would say hurtful things to me and Maymay.

"Hey hey, you okay?  Do you need water or something, Thea?"  Gio hurried over to help me calm down during a rare panic attack. He noticed my ragged breathing and how I was clutching onto myself and shaking, something he knew could happen during these episodes.  "Oh shoot, Thea, Thea.. take a deep breath, I know it's hard."

I tried to follow what Gio said, taking a deep breath before exhaling it.  On the second attempt, I told him, "I- I can't do it.." "Yes, you can.  Just close your eyes and inhale." I nodded slowly as I deeply inhaled before exhaling.  I repeated the same steps before I knew that I was back in my normal calm state.

"Now, do you need some water?"  Gio asked, to which I only nodded as a response.  Afterward, he guided me to the kitchen, where I sat on the bar stool.  He kindly fetched a glass of water for me.  I thanked him after he passed me the drink, which I only took a few sips.  He sat next to me and then asked, "So tell me what's wrong and how come you had this attack."

I took a deep breath before explaining to Gio, "Sir Franco, your brother, came home fuming mad, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was heading.  So I accidentally bumped into him and got whiskey all over his shirt.  He started to shout out mean things to me, like how I was just a weak little bitch and how I wasn't doing my job properly.  He almost attempted to strike me with his hand, and.. and.."  I couldn't bring myself to say the words because I felt they were too personal to share.

Gio offered me comfort by gently rubbing my shoulders, in a brotherly manner, "It's okay, you don't have to explain.  Look, I know he can have those days, but he shouldn't do that to his employees, especially to those who are female.  I'd better go have a chat with him.  Are you feeling better now, Thea?"

I nodded, giving him a small smile and a hug "Yeah, grazie Gio" He smiled back, "Nessun problema, piccola Thea"

(No problem, little Thea)

Although Gio is equally handsome as Franco, I viewed the former as an older brother that I've never had.  I always appreciate how caring he was to the workers as if they're like family to him and Franco.

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Franco De Luca's POV

Today was just not one of those days.  There were issues with the process of this major business deal, which led to the result that we got scammed by our rivals who wanted to see our downfall.  I let my anger get the best of me and took out my frustrations by yelling at my workers.

"Franco, perché hai urlato contro una delle nostre cameriere?"  I heard Gio bursting into my study room.  "Soprattutto urlando a Thea. È una cazzata, lo sai!"

(Franco, why did you yell at one of our maids? // Especially yelling at Thea. That's fucked up, you know!)

"Cosa intendi?  I didn't-  Oh shit, Ho fatto una cazzata"

(What do you mean? // I fucked up)

After recalling what happened, I realized that I'd unintentionally hurt Althea by verbally taking my frustrations on her.

"You know what's also fucked up, bro?  She had a panic attack and you cause it!  May I suggest that you go apologize to her for what you have done?"

"Ma come posso farlo? Probabilmente adesso ha paura di me e pensa che io sia un mostro per lei."

(But how can I do that? She's probably scared of me now and thinks I'm a monster to her.) 

Gio walked over to the couch, sitting down next to me as he said, "No, non credo. Vai da lei e chiedile scusa, fratello..."  I nodded my head and got up, "Va bene, andrò a scusarmi con lei. Sai dov'è adesso?" "Ha detto che sarebbe andata nel giardino fuori." He pointed out to the window where I can see Althea making her way there and sitting down on a bench

(Nah, I don't think so.  Just go to her and apologize, bro... // Alright, I'll go and apologize to her.  Do you know where she is right now? // She said that she'll be in the garden outside )

I've decided to make my move by heading outside and planning to tell Althea how sorry I was for earlier.  I hope that she'll forgive me...

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a/n:  I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!  I apologize for the late update though because a lot of things have been happening in my personal life, plus I was having writer's block while writing and brainstorming.  You know I'm trying my best here!