Back & Forth | Book 1 of Back & Forth Series
Thirty Four: Absurd

“I heard you, Luciano.” I said. He only stares at me in confusion with his eyebrows knitted together.

“I didn’t say anything.” Luciano refuted.

“You said something to me earlier. Telepathically.” I said. If he keeps telling me the opposite, then I might have to read his mind to replace the truth. This didn’t happen once. I think I’ve heard him saying something in my head a few times before. So, he must’ve had said something his head but he told me that telepathically on accident.

“Isn’t that impossible? Your cousins and nonna told you I can’t do that. It has to be one of you who starts the communication. You do remember that we’ve tried it before and you couldn’t hear me, didn’t you?” Luciano asked.

Oh right. I forgot about that. Luciano tried to talk to me telepathically on that day Alessandro told the truth about me and the family. It didn’t work then but could it be now? I don’t know. I don’t feel like I’m having an auditory hallucination earlier.

“But I heard you clearly earlier. You were saying “what about me?” after I said I’m going to sleep with Fluffles.” I explained. Luciano’s eyes widen as he stares back at me.

Gotcha, Luciano. That’s it. He definitely said that in his mind.

“Don’t even try to lie again. I can read your mind to replace the truth about that.” I warned.

“Okay. I did said that in my head but I didn’t mean to say it to you.” Luciano said. Embarrassment shows on his face after his confession.

Luciano did say those words. I’m not imagining it. How did he do that? Why did he said that?

“Interesting. I think I actually heard you said something in my head a few times before as well.” I said. Luciano face turns red after hearing what I said.

“Like what?” Luciano asked with hesitation. Why does he look so scared? What is he hiding? I’m not going to read his mind about that. Maybe he’ll say something about it later.

“I forgot. It’s just a few words.” I said, shrugging as I keep my cautious gaze on Luciano.

“How could this happen? Did I accidentally reading your mind? Or is it actually that you can start a telepathic conversation with me?” I asked, more to myself as I stare at my bed.

“Based on what your cousins and nonna have told me before, the only logical answer to that is that you accidentally reading my mind.” Luciano said. He’s probably right but I never even focused my mind on Luciano when it happened. I refuse to believe that it’s me accidentally reading his mind each time it happened.

“Maybe.” I said with uncertainty.

“If you want to make sure if I can actually initiate the telepathic communication first, I can try to say something in your head again.” Luciano suggested. That’s probably the only way to replace out about it. Let’s see who’s right. Is it Luciano or me?

“Okay. Do it.” I said.

“Maybe try to focus on something else so we can be sure you’re not reading my mind again.” Luciano said. What should I do? I guess I’m just going to play with my phone.

I grab my phone from the nightstand on my left and play 2048. I keep swiping and swiping on my screen. Oh come on. How did I swipe the wrong way? Oops. I guess I got way too caught up in that game.

I turn to Luciano and he appears to be in daze. What’s going on with him? Looks like his mind is elsewhere right now. I don’t think he has even tried to communicate with me telepathically.

I keep staring at him, and he doesn’t even seem to realise it. He just continues to be in his reverie. Okay. He’s acting really weird right now. He just needs to say hi or hello to me and that’s it. What’s going on in his mind? Is he thinking about something right now?

“Luciano? Hey! Earth to Luciano!” I said. Luciano snaps out of his daze and then stares at me nervously. He quickly hides his feelings and raises his eyebrows. He’s absolutely thinking about something. Ugh. I feel like I want to read his mind but at the same time I don’t want to do it. I want to hear whatever he’s thinking about only through his words. Not from invading the privacy of his mind.

“Yeah? What is it?” Luciano asked. I give him an ‘are you serious’ look and he just continues to look at me like he forgot what he told me earlier.

“Luciano. Seriously? You were the one who suggested that you try to communicate with me telepathically. I’ve focused myself on something else and distract myself from having the slightest thought about you and I found you zoning out. Are you hiding something? You look so nervous right now. I can feel your nervousness. It’s too obvious. Are you hiding something?” I said. My eyes narrow as he averts his gaze from me.

Oh god. Could it be? Could he be one of them? Could he be one of the traitors? I didn’t got his name on the list but could he be working with Federico all this time? He could just pretend to be good and have our morals when in reality he could be just as bad as Federico.

“Are you actually one of the traitors?” I asked. Luciano’s gaze shifts to mine again as he stares at me in disbelief.

“How could you said that? There’s no way I’ll betray your cousins and your family as well as my father’s trust to continue his job. I take my position and role in the famiglia seriously. Even if I’m being threatened to death, I will never betray you and break my promise to the famiglia.” Luciano said. He looks a bit hurt at my accusation and I frown apologetically at him. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m just making stupid assumptions.

“I’m sorry. I’m just spitting out stupid assumptions. If that’s not it, then what are you hiding? You know I can just read your mind if I want to replace out the truth, right?” I said. Luciano seems to start panicking on the inside at the thought of me reading his mind. He shakes his head and stares at me pleadingly.

“No. Please don’t do that. I’ll tell you about it now. I’m going to try to say it telepathically first. Uh, let me know if you hear it.” Luciano said nervously.

“Okay. I’ll wait.” I said.

I keep staring at him, waiting for him to confess his secret. I start to feel my heart beating fast and my hands sweating. Nervousness course through my body but I try to not make any more assumptions about what he’s hiding.

Luciano closes his eyes. He then takes in a deep breath and then exhales slowly as he opens his eyes. The way he’s staring so deep into my eyes only makes me even more nervous. I can practically hear my heart pounding in my ears.

“Allura.” Luciano said.

Oh my god. He did it! He can communicate with me telepathically first. So that means I’m correct. I didn’t read his mind. At least I don’t feel like doing it.

“Yes?” I responded. His eyes widen and then he looks away from me.

“Fuck. You can actually hear me. Uh. Okay. Here we go.” Luciano said. He stares into my eyes again and I prepare myself for whatever he’s going to say as he presses his lips together.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

I feel like my heart just stops for a second at the unexpected question. I expected him to say something bad like he killed someone or something along those lines but not this. What should I do now? Shit. Say something, Allura! Say something to him!

“You don’t have to answer that now. I don’t expect you to do that now. We only know each other for like what? A week?” Luciano said in panic. He then sighs and looks down at his lap.

“I can no longer hide my feelings for you. I’ve fallen in love with you ever since the first time I saw you. I mean since the time we see each other when I came to kidnap you. I can’t deny my attraction towards you anymore so, yeah. Here’s me confessing my feelings.” Luciano said, chuckling nervously. I close my mouth, just realising I’ve been gaping at Luciano for quite a while.

Wow. I never had someone say that word to me. Love. Not even from my own parents. I know they’re two different things but Luciano’s statement means a lot to me. I’m not sure if I’m rushing my own feelings towards Luciano right now but I think I’ve fallen for him as well. The way he treats me, talks to me, and his silly flirting. All of that makes me feel so good and happy. I finally feel like I have someone to live for. I noticed how I’m no longer suicidal anymore. He was a part of my healing. I finally feel loved by someone in a way I’ve been dreaming of. It’s such a relief and blessing that this is finally happening to me. The stars are finally aligning and my life is finally improving.

“Uh I- I-“

Shit. I don’t know what to say. My mind is blank. There’s nothing up there. I can’t gather the words to express what I’m feeling right now.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just want to confess my feelings for you.” Luciano said. Despite the gentle smile on his face, I can see a tinge of disappointment in his eyes.

No. I’ve spent enough time thinking about it. I know my true feelings towards Luciano know. I realise how much I actually like him all this time. The way I feel and act around him is actually pretty self-explanatory enough if he really keeps a close eye on me.

“No. I’m going to say it now. I do have feelings towards you too. I like you, Luciano. The way you act around me and all those things you said only makes me like you even more.” I confessed. The disappointment in his eyes suddenly disappears. Now there’s only hope and happiness behind them.

Damn. I’m actually confessing my feelings towards Luciano right now. What has my life turned into? I never have the courage to talk to someone to lend me their pen in class and now here I am talking about my feelings to my crush.

“You do?” Luciano asked, seemingly quite in disbelief at my answer.

“Yeah.” I said. I move my gaze to my lap. The nervousness I’m feeling right now is overwhelming. Staring at Luciano right now makes me feel like my heart’s about to explode out of happiness.

Shit. Now I’m scared. I’ve never been in a relationship before and I realise how sudden this feels. Just like what he said, we barely know each other. Despite the lack of knowledge we have about each other, I really, really like him. I feel like we’re destined to be with each other. I don’t know about him but that’s how I feel. Gosh. Why am I being so cheesy right now?

“Uh, to be honest, I’m kinda scared about this. I mean, being in a relationship. I only have crushes before and that’s it. I never even come up to my crushes and tell them I like them or something like that. I haven’t even had my first kiss.” I explained. I fiddle with Fluffles hand, avoiding Luciano’s gaze.

“I never had a girlfriend too. Well, unless you think someone that I kissed on the cheek and hugged in kindergarten counts.” Luciano said.

What? He never had a girlfriend before? How could someone as attractive, kind, caring, loving, and flirty like him never have a girlfriend before? He also never had his first kiss? It’s surprising to me because from judging by how he looks, I thought he’d be more like Alessio. You know, do one night stand and never really in a committed relationship. I shouldn’t have judged him like that. His occasional flirting really threw me off. He does it in front of everybody else. In front of my family out of all people. It was pretty embarrassing because I don’t want anyone to make assumptions on our undefined relationship.

About the first kiss, t shouldn’t even be this surprising that he never kissed someone before. I mean I haven’t done it as well. He’s probably waiting for the right one. Just like me? Nah. I never really kiss someone because I have no one to do that with. How depressing.

“Of course that doesn’t count.” I said, rolling my eyes at Luciano. He chuckles at my response.

“That’s what I thought.” Luciano said.

Silence stretches between us. Not a single word comes from one of us. My gaze is fixed on Fluffles’s fur. Fiddling with it is the only thing I can do now to ease my nervousness. I better say something. This silence is kinda killing me. I need to answer Luciano’s question now. I want him to get his answer. I know he might now what my answer would be from what I said earlier but I want to say my direct answer to his question.

“Uhm, so …” I wavered. I take in a deep breath in hope of soothing my nerves. Courage is the last thing I need to say the words in my head. Come on, Allura. Just say it. Don’t overthink it. You know you want this. Stop being scared of what you want.

“Yes?” Luciano said. Curiosity and hope can be heard in his voice. From that alone I know that Luciano is definitely hoping to hear my acceptance to his little proposal. One more deep breath and I’ll be ready to say my answer. Our eyes finally meet again as I exhale.

“Yes. I’d like to be your girlfriend.” I said with a smile.

“Oh my god. You don’t know how happy and relieved I am to hear that.” Luciano said as he pulled me into a tight embrace. I wrap my arms around him and put my head on his shoulder. His hold around me loosens slowly. What’s wrong?

I move away from Luciano and look up at him with confusion. He looks at me for a second before looking over my shoulder again. He looks worried. Why?

I turn around and the sight of the two figures by the door causes my heart to skips a beat. My cousins are standing there, their arms crossed over their chests. If a look could kill, Luciano and I could already be dead by now. Oh no. We’re fucked.

Alessandro and Alessio approach us with an ‘I’m going to kill you’ look still on their faces. They’re seriously freaking me out. They don’t direct their gaze at me though. They’re staring at Luciano dead in the eyes while standing by the foot of the bed.

Are they mad at me and Luciano? Do they not approve of our relationship? Alessandro joked about Luciano and me so why is he angry at us now? This doesn’t make sense. They’re scaring the shit out of me for staring at Luciano like this.

“Were you two talking about dating each other?” Alessandro asked. His eyes narrow as he stares at Luciano and me.

“Yeah.” I said. With my heart pounding in my chest, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay calm for much longer. My hands are sweating and trembling from fear and my stomach is churning from anxiety.

Alessandro shifts his gaze towards Luciano. I can see his jaw ticking from repressed anger. Oh no. Please don’t do anything to Luciano. He didn’t do anything wrong. He just confessed his feelings and asked me to be his girlfriend. Is it bad that we want to be together?

“Are you serious about her?” Alessandro asked. Luciano nods to answer the question. I can feel his nervousness radiating from him. By the look in his eyes, I can also see it clearly that he’s afraid of Alessandro despite trying to mask it. He’s failing greatly from trying to look calm in front of my cousins.

I know that they’ve been best friends since their childhood but Alessandro can literally destroy Luciano. After all, Alessandro is still his boss. If Luciano’s promise to Alessandro or the famiglia is broken or if he does something to awaken the wrath in Alessandro, he might end up dead in a horrible and not so honourable way.

“Say it. Don’t just nod.” Alessandro ordered firmly. Shit. This is scaring me. What will happen to Luciano if my cousins decide to do something to him? I don’t want him gone. We literally just officially be in a relationship a few minutes ago. I don’t want my cousins to take Luciano away from me.

“Yes! I am serious about her. I want to be with her.” Luciano said. The same expression still remains on Alessandro and Alessio’s faces. I nervously glance at Luciano and now the calmness on his face has fully disappeared.

“How serious are you to want to be with Allura?” Alessio asked.

“I don’t know how to word this better but I am very very serious. I really want to be with her. I- I’ve fallen in love with Allura.” Luciano said. He looks away from my cousins and stares into my eyes deeply. I can only pout around Luciano.

I really need to say something now. I can’t let Luciano face Alessandro and Alessio alone. Luciano is not the only one who wants to be in this relationship. I want to be with him as well.

“If that’s so, you’re marrying her next week.” Alessandro said.

“WHAT?!” Luciano and I said in unison. I can only stare at Alessandro with my eyes almost falling out of their sockets. My mind goes blank and no words or anything else appears in my head to respond Alessandro’s statement.

Did I hear that correctly? I can’t believe Alessandro just said that. Fuck. I do love Luciano but marrying him next week? This is too much. What’s with the need to marry me to Luciano this fast? No. This doesn’t feel right. There’s no fucking way Alessandro is serious about this. He’s got to be messing with Luciano and me.

Alessandro and Alessio turn to each other. They stare at each other and then their same, hard expression collapses. Loud laughter burst out of them, and now they’re holding onto each other’s shoulders for support. I scowl at them. The annoyance inside of me makes me chuck Fluffles at their way. Alessandro catches the teddy bear and then puts it down on the bed bench, still grinning ear-to-ear as he looks at me. I only give him my deadliest glare with my arms crossed over my chest.

Why the fuck did they pull that stunt on Luciano and me? They’re unbelievable! They’re really cruel for pulling this joke on both of us.

“Your faces. Dio mio.” Alessandro said. He continues to laugh with Alessio as he grabs onto his shoulder.

(Oh my God.)

“You should’ve seen the look on your faces. I can’t believe you two fell for that.” Alessio said. They let out a sigh and then stare at Luciano and me. Their stupid, annoying grins are still on display on their faces.

“We’re just joking. You don’t have to marry each other next week. You can date each other, of course.” Alessandro said, smiling at Luciano and me. I only continue to scowl at Alessandro and Alessio, still angry about their little prank.

Anyways, does this mean that they approve our relationship? He did say that we can date each other but is he actually okay with me dating Luciano? Well, the two of them probably already know we like each other. We just don’t realise it and haven’t confessed our feelings for each other until now. They probably know that we’re good for each other? I don’t know and I’m not going to bother replaceing out about their thoughts on our relationship.

Alessandro’s expression suddenly turns dark and serious again. Luciano is at the receiving end of Alessandro’s threatening stare.

“If you break her heart, I’ll break your fucking bones. That’s a promise. It doesn’t matter that you’re my best friend or second in command. Do you understand?” Alessandro asked.

Is he seriously being overprotective of me right now? I guess this is what people hate about having older brothers. My cousins don’t have to worry about Luciano breaking my heart. They should be worried about me breaking his. I don’t think Luciano will ever do that to me. I’ll probably be the one who does it if that’s ever going to happen.

“Yes, boss.” Luciano said. I turn to him and he still looks nervous because of the prank. I frown at him, not sure of what to say at this moment.

“Good.” Alessandro said, nodding in satisfaction at Luciano’s response. “I still expect the two of you to be married if you’re that serious with each other.” Alessandro continued.

Fuck. This is too much. Luciano and I just know each other for a week and now we are expected to be married despite just being a girlfriend and boyfriend for minutes.

“We’ll think about marriage later. We just know each other for a week.” Luciano said. He’s right. That’s what I’ve been saying to myself. Marriage is no joke. You’re literally committing yourself to someone else for the rest of your life. I want to make sure that Luciano is actually the one who I want to spend the rest of my life with. What I’m feeling right now might be just a crush but I’m still not sure if I can really call this love despite of what I said earlier.

“Luciano is right. I want the two of us to know each other better first.” I said.

With his arms crossed over his chest, Alessio stared at Luciano and me angrily again. For fuck’s same just leave us alone for now.

“That means you’re not that serious with each other. People out there can get to know each other after marriage after knowing only know each other for a week.” Alessio said.

He’s right. That’s what usually happens with arranged marriages. Two people communicate with each other around their families. After that they decided to marry each other and learn about each other more after marriage. Some end to be happy marriages and some just don’t work out. It’s different with forced marriage, of course. Force marriage is usually an agreement between the parents of the bride and the groom to marry off their children. With arranged marriage, people still have the choice to not get married while forced marriage, people are just forced to marry someone else.

Is that what my cousins want me and Luciano to do? For us to get into an arranged marriage? Damn. I respect that kind of marriage but I don’t think I can do that. I’d rather fall out of love outside marriage than after marriage. Just the thought of handling the paperwork for divorce already makes me dizzy.

Will I even fall out of love with Luciano? If I do end up marrying Luciano, will I divorce him in the end? I don’t want that to happen. I hope that won’t happen. I really wish we’ll live a life with a happy ever after. I know that a relationship won’t always be happy all the time. There will be rainy and stormy days as well, but I do hope that it will always ends with sunshine and rainbows with Luciano.

“I am! I am serious with her. I’ll propose to her.” Luciano said. I whip my head around and stare at Luciano in shock. It seems like he’s under a lot of pressure under my cousins’ scrutinising glare.

Shit. Is this real? Am I awake and not dreaming about this? What in the world is going on in my life right now? This is way too absurd to be true. How did this escalate from Luciano asking me to be his girlfriend into him proposing me just in the span of minutes? My cousins are not even married. Why do they want Luciano and me to be married?

“Dude, we’re just joking. You don’t have to do that.” Alessio said, smiling at Luciano. The serious look on Luciano’s face doesn’t falter for even a bit as he stares at my twin cousins.

“I know, but I am serious about Allura. I want to be with her. If it has to end with a marriage, then so be it.” Luciano said. I can only gape at him over his statement. Speechless. That’s what I’m experiencing right now. It feels like my mind is not working properly right now with all this marriage talk.

Luciano turns to me and he immediately smiles and chuckles after seeing me. He puts a finger under my chin and then pushes it up to close my mouth.

“Please close your mouth. You don’t want to end up like the health inspector in that one SpongeBob episode.” Luciano said. I can only continue to stare at him in disbelief. What we were talking about is a quite hard topic to swallow.

“Are you seriously going to propose to me?” I asked. Luciano nods to me with a gentle smile on his face.

“Yes, Allura.” Luciano answered.

Holy fuck. He means it. It’s happening. I’m actually going to get proposed and then marry Luciano. I guess marrying him soon won’t be that bad after all. Yeah, there’s risk of falling out of love but every relationship does have that risk. I think I’m wiling to take that risk. I don’t plan on divorcing Luciano and I do hope that it will never happen. We could definitely make it work. Besides, if Luciano is bad for me, I don’t think my cousins would even let me date Luciano. They’re the ones who know Luciano better than I am.

Shit. I never thought I’d be married. I do dream of being married to someone I love but with my life condition back then, I never expect it to actually happen. So, marriage was never really on my to do list in life. I always thought that I’d die before this kind of thing happened. That I won’t live this far. I’ve been living a life of dilemma between wanting to die but also scared to die. Now everything has changed. My life no is so much better and different than the one I used to live in. I don’t want to look back at my old life anymore.

“Allura? Are you okay? Do you think I’m rushing this? If you don’t want to marry me then we don’t have to do it. I don’t want to force you.” Luciano said. I snap myself out of my daze and stares back at Luciano.

“Yes but it’s not a bad thing. I promise. It’s just- I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. It’s a lot to take in. To be honest, I never thought I’d live this far so I didn’t think I’ll be witnessing myself marrying someone.” I explained, chuckling to myself.

“Why would you think like that?” Alessio asked. Shit. I shouldn’t have said the last part of my confession. I don’t want to tell them about my depressing life. At least not now. Besides, it doesn’t matter anymore. The past is meant to be left in the past.

“It doesn’t matter. No need to worry about that.” I said with a reassuring smile. The smile I have on my face doesn’t seem to convince Alessio enough to not think about my statement. He probably knows that I’m hiding something but he’s being respectful by not pressing me to talk about the matter.

“I’m actually really happy about this but yeah, this is just kinda overwhelming. We were just talking about each other and then you said that you’ll propose to me. It feels as if I just got a whiplash.” I said, sighing. I turn to Luciano and see him already frowning at me. He’s probably still thinking about my previous statement. I’ve shown my suicidal side to Luciano ever since the first time we met that afternoon at that parking lot. He’s probably scared about me still being suicidal.

“I’m sorry. I’m definitely rushing this on you. Fuck. I’m just so excited about being in a relationship with you and your cousins pulling their prank on me just made me spiral into thinking about our future. I am serious about proposing and marrying you. It will only happen if you want it. I don’t want to force you into a marriage with me.” Luciano explained softly. I smile and take his hand as I shake my head. I don’t want him to think that I don’t want this. That I don’t want to be in a relationship with him. I actually want to be married with him now. My cousins probably already know how kind, caring, wonderful, loving, and polite Luciano is. The plus side about him is, he’s handsome as fuck. Why wouldn’t I want to see his attractive face everyday when I wake up and going to sleep next to him? Oh god. Now I’m just rambling about him. I’ll stop now.

“No. You’re absolutely not forcing me to be in a relationship with you. I’d love to be married with you one day.” I said, smiling at Luciano.

“Okay. We’re leaving now. We’ll let you talk privately again.” Alessandro said. He turns around and moves towards the door. However, Alessio, who doesn’t seem to take the note, stays behind and stares at Luciano and me with a smile like a proud father.

“I’m not going to leave. This feels like watching a movie. Too good to miss out.” Alessio said.

“Does that mean you like watching romance films?” I asked. Alessio nods.

“How can I not? I’m a hopeless romantic. Kinda, I guess.” Alessio said with a shrug.

Alessio’s words suddenly reminds me of his ex. I really feel bad about him and what happened to him. How could someone be that heartless to someone like Alessio? He gives his all to her and what she did in return was breaking his heart. Alessio doesn’t deserve to go through that. I really wish he’ll get a better girlfriend who appreciates him one day. He deserves so much better than that piece of shit. I really wish she’s suffering wherever the hell she is right now as the consequences of her past actions. Hell, if I can meet her now, I’ll fucking hurt her physically so fucking painfully just so she knows how painful it is to get your heart broken by someone you love and adore.

“You definitely are.” I said, smiling at Alessio.

Now what? Oh right. I haven’t asked them about how Luciano can reach me first telepathically. Do they have the answer to that? I know they said that this can only happen if our family members start the conversation first but I just want to make sure if they have an answer to this or not.

“I want to ask you about something.” I said to Alessio and Alessandro.

“What is it?” Alessandro asked as he approached my bed. Let’s hope that they somehow have the answer and that they just forget about this part. An exception.

“So, Luciano and I just discovered that he can initiate the telepathic communication first with me. I don’t have to be the one who does it first.” I explained. Alessandro puts his fisted hand under his chin. His eyes go back and forth between Luciano and me.

“Interesting. Can you try to do it with us? You know, just in case the rule changes with us too.” Alessandro said.

“Okay. I’ll try.” Luciano said. He stares back at Alessandronand Luciano. Minutes pass by and it doesn’t seem like my cousins get the message Luciano has sent to them. I don’t think it works with them.

“I’ve said something. Did you hear it?” Luciano asked.

“No. I heard nothing.” Alessandro responded, shaking his head.

“I didn’t hear it too.” Alessio said.

Yep. Didn’t work with them. It only works for me. Why though?

“That’s weird.” I said, frowning to them.

“Could it just be you reading Luciano’s mind?” Alessandro asked.

“No. It’s not. It feels different between reading mind and communicating telepathically. I’m sure that Luciano can talk to me first.” I explained.

“I’ll ask mamma or nonna about that later. Or maybe you can ask them yourself. You can either call them or do the long distance telepathy.” Alessandro said. Nah. I’m not going to do that. I think it’ll be rude if I do that. Besides, I don’t want to give nonna a heart attack from communicating telepathically with her.

“Alright then. We’ll invite everyone for a family meeting again after we’re done dealing with Federico, the traitors, and your father.” Alessandro said. That’s more like it.

“Okay.” I said, smiling at him.

Yay! Finally! Another family meeting! I can finally see everyone again including Matteo. I like my little cousin and I really want to spend more time with him. He looked scared to leave me a few days ago. Soon I can finally see him again and let him know that I’m fine. I hope everything goes well tonight so I can see my family sooner rather than later.