I get out of bed rather early this morning. As I had thought, I had barely gotten any sleep last night, but I have managed to get enough. I get dressed and check my phone. It's only nine, so there's probably no one awake.

There's no point in wasting time in bed, so I head to the kitchen. There's bread out on the table, and I grab a roll, then head into the dining room. I'm the only one in here, so I guess I was right to assume that no one else is awake. It's always peaceful in this house, whether everyone is awake, or not. I'm not sure when I'll be leaving today, but I guess I should be ready to go. I don't have a lot of stuff, and I don't have a lot of clothes. Just a couple of old dresses April gave me, and some workout clothing. 

As I'm thinking to myself, Alex's dad walks into the dining room. "Oh, Lelia, how was the rest of your evening?" He asks with a smile. 

Well, it was pretty good, until your son decided that he wanted to grab ahold of my heart. "I slept well. Although I did struggle to fall asleep for a couple of hours, I eventually did."

He nods. "Good, I'm glad. I've only known your grandfather through correspondence through the years, but he is a good man." I nod. "You'll never wish for anything there. He will give you all the luxuries, and love you could ever need."

I have a feeling there's something he can't give me, but I'll just agree with you. "I know he will. I'm glad to be going to live with him. Thank you for helping me out so much. I know there isn't much you can gain from this."

He laughs. "Just seeing your father as anxious as a mouse is enough for me." 

My head tilts to the side. "Why would he be anxious?" I ask, my father gave up on me.

Alex's dad looks at me confused. "Your grandfather is the head of a massive family. Your father is afraid that, since he doesn't have you to protect him anymore, he'll become a target for them, and he probably will. Your grandfather may be affectionate towards you, but he is as cold and hard as your father. Mr. Vittori will not be standing aside anymore, not now that he has you under his protection. Your grandfather will probably ruin your father." My eyes are wide in shock.

"That's not possible, my grandfather couldn't possibly be..." I stare at Alex's dad, completely dumbfounded.

He nods at me. "He is, and you will probably end up being his heir." 

I'm speechless. In no way had my grandfather made me think I'd be an heir to anything. He just seemed to really have missed me. I do know he needed one, but I didn't think he was strong enough to scare the man I used to call father. Gabe walks into the dining room, greeting us with a smile.

"Morning dad, Lelia." He takes a seat at the table and pulls out his phone, failing to realize that his dad just told me something shocking. I know it's written all over my face.

"Good morning, Gabriel. Where is your brother?" His dad asks, taking a seat.

Gabe shrugs. "He grabbed a bread roll and said he was skipping on breakfast. He said something about going for a run." So he's avoiding me, fine, I get it.

Their dad groans. "Just, make sure he's there to say goodbye to Lelia and Mr. Vittori." He says, looking like he's had enough of dealing with Alex's running off.

I hope he doesn't disappoint his dad. They have an odd relationship, but I can tell they're close. Gabe nods, and Alex's dad sends someone to ask my grandfather if he'd join us for breakfast. Shortly after, he walks into the dining room. He looks well groomed, just like yesterday, and he smiles as soon as he sees me. "How did you sleep?" He asks me as he sits down beside me.

I nod at him. "I slept alright, but only for a little while."

He looks worried. "Are you alright? We'll be on a plane shortly, I wouldn't want you getting sick."

"No, I'm fine, I promise." I smile at him. "I'm just excited." His frown turns into a smile. 

My grandfather seems pleased, and our food is brought in. Instead of a light conversation, we all eat in rather comfortable silence. When we finish, Alex's dad speaks. "A car will be here at noon to take the both of you to the airport. If there is anything else I can do, just ask." 

My grandfather smiles at him. "No, I already owe you a debt of gratitude for taking care of my granddaughter so well."

They are just playing who can flatter the other more at this point, a game I've watched men in power play several times before. "You should thank my son. He saved her the night before she was brought here. He took a beating for her too." Why does he look proud to say that?

I watch as my grandfather turns to Gabriel. "Is that true boy? You saved my sweet Lelia?" I blush, nope, wrong son, grandfather.

Gabe looks up, eyes wide. "Oh, no sir, he meant my older brother. Alexander, sir. I didn't meet Lelia until I went to pick them up and bring them here."

My grandfather nods. "I see. The boy who is to take your name, Lorenzo." I never knew his actual name. I guess it's my fault, since I never asked. 

"Yes sir." Lorenzo nods. "He's currently out for a run, but he will be there to see the both of you leave."

My grandfather nods. "He seems to be quite capable. Raise him into a good successor, and I will continue to value your family as an ally." 

Lorenzo bows his head. "Of course, I am doing my best."

They seem so odd right now. A mafioso father, bowing his head to another mafioso father? How powerful is this man sitting beside me?

They both stand, so Gabe and I follow their lead. "Go ahead and say goodbye to anyone you've grown fond of here, I'll be speaking with our family in Italy until we leave, preparing for our return." My grandfather says to me. 

We split up, and Gabe lets out a loud huff. "Whew, he sure is a scary guy. As soon as he turned his eyes on me, I wanted to freeze up." We walk together. "I don't blame him for thinking it was me though. Alex said he wasn't your friend, so why would he have thought it was him?"

I sigh, looking out the window. Gabe and I are sitting in a living room. There's a very comfy couch, and a coffee table, along with a fireplace. "Alex drives me nuts." I say out loud. My head is laying on my arms, as I'm propped up over the back of the couch and on the windowsill.

"I can tell." Gabe says, a hint of a laugh behind his voice. "You've kind of been distracted all morning." He leans back on the couch. "Alex seemed pretty distracted too this morning. What happened between you two?" He asks, looking at me. 

I turn around and lay my head back. "We may have kissed last night."

Gabe doesn't say anything at first. He just looks blankly at me. "Well, I figured that you guys had already kissed. You have to remember how I first met you."

My face heats up, I do remember, How could I forget? "No, last night was the first time we kissed each other." I say, a bit abashed.

We sit in silence for a moment, but Gabe breaks it. "Well that explains his distressed look this morning. He wanted to avoid feeling awkward, so he skipped out on breakfast to avoid seeing you." He looks at me. "Shit, that sucks, Lelia."

I nod, already knowing that's why he didn't come to breakfast. "Yeah, I know."

Gabe stands up. "Well, I have to go and find him and make sure he's there to see you off. My dad would flip on both of us if he doesn't show." He starts to walk away, but then turns back to me. "Don't let him get to you, Lelia. He's still a teenage boy that doesn't understand how he's feeling." He winks at me.

I roll my eyes at him. "You're still a teenage boy too, dummy."

"Yeah, but I'm much more charming!" He runs off to go find Alex, and I get up to go find April.

I've got to at least say goodbye. She's been a good friend to me since I've been here.