Chapter 37
Emily
We were seated at a secluded table at the hack of the fancy restaurant where Alessio had taken me
I ate in silence, taking small bites of the seafood in front of me. As another piece led my mouth, I looked up to peek at Alessio, but the moment I caught him staring back, I quickly looked down, falling to hide my laughter.
The situation was funny because, even though I came here with a different mindset tonight, not much had changed. It wasn’t as awkward as before, but we might as well have stayed at the mansion and eaten
dinner with Diego.
“Why are you laughing?” Alessio asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“I’m not laughing.” I was seconds away from cackling.
Alessio rolled his eyes a little. “Then why can I see your teeth?” His serious tone made me laugh out loud. I couldn’t hold it back any longer. He had his way of being funny without even trying, and it was mainly the things he said.
“It’s nothing.”
“Do you like the food?” he switched the conversation, nodding towards my plate. Half of it was Emilypty. and because it was so good, it wouldn’t be long before the other half would too.
“Clearly.” I shrugged. “It’s really good.”
“Good,” Alessio seEmilyed more relaxed now. “Growing up, I used to come here with my dad a lot.”
As he was opening up, I used the opportunity to ask him more questions. “Did you travel with him often?” I was curious about his past.
“Yeah,” he responded with a light chuckle. “My dad walked out the door with his suitcases, and my brothers and I just followed. Always.”
“By choice?”
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“Of course. I loved spending time with him,” Alessio replied confidently, as if his dad was the best person in the entire world. It was hard to imagine anyone willingly wanting to spend time with Fanucci, but if it wasn’t his family–who else would it be?
All I viewed him as was an intimidating man who I didn’t want to get too close to.
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“I think he’s terrifying,” I admitted.
Alessio laughed softly. “If you get to know him, he’s actually a loser.”
Yet it was impossible to imagine him that way.
“How did you handle school with all the traveling?
Alessio frowned his brows for a second, most likely surprised at my attEmilypt to get more questions out of him. “I was homeschooled, then went away for business school,” he explained.
“Business school for that one business or the other… businesses?” I asked, a bit hesitant.
“The vineyard, brewery, our clubs, stores, buildings… what other businesses to we have? his tone shifted slightly. He knew damn well what I was talking about. This time I had taken it too far. Of course, he wouldn’t discuss something like that with me.
I stared down at my plate, hoping I hadn’t screw things up.
“What about you? What was school like?” he recovered himself, trying to brush it off
I chuckled, thinking back at the old days that often felt like a dream. “I was ranked the highest in my class, study body president, captain of cheer squad, most popular girl in high school… and then…”
“You got humbled?”
“Yes, something like that.”
“Or something better came up your path?” Alessio continued, swallowing his food. “Naty?”
My heart skipped a beat, noticing how he never missed to mention her. “You really like her, don’t you?” I asked, smiling warmly.
“I do. How can I not?” he said. “She’s a good kid with a bright future. I’ve seen her drawings.”
“She is talented,” I agreed instantly. Her skills were beyond her age, and it wasn’t only in art that she excelled. Also in other subjects, she was ahead of her peers, and I loved to believe I had given her those
genes.
“There’s this private art school in the city, my sister goes there too,” his tone turned serious. “I think it might be good for Naty. A new environment, children who are just as smart and creative as her-”
“Oh, I know. I tried to get her in. It’s too expensive and the waiting list is long.” I said, feeling Emilybarrassed. When I moved to the city, I was so certain she would get in–but also that experience had humbled me.
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“She can still get in,” Alessio spoke. “The Fanuccis fund that school. I could get her in just like that.”
Alright, so now he had suddenly turned into the godfather of kindergartens. I was taken aback by his words as it let me think about how much power the Fanuccis exactly had. Money aside, Naty was like rank 1100 on that waiting list.
“What do you want in return?” I asked cautiously.
Getting Naty into that school seEmilyed like a dream, but even I wasn’t that naive. There was no way he would give it to me without a favor. Did he want me to swallow drugs? Sell my body? A kidney perhaps?
“All I want is your permission, and your honesty,” he said.
The permission part I could understand, but the part about honesty confused me. It was the way he had said it, like he was calling me out to be a liar–and I knew I was. I only didn’t know what it would be
about.
“Honesty? Sure,” I replied, looking back at his sharp gaze. “What is it you want to know?”
Alessio clenched his jaw and put down his fork. He sighed, reaching out for my hand across the table. He touched it for a split second and then let go as if he were committing a sin. He rolled his head back, and with each passing second, I grew more anxious.
“Jason Falco,” he spoke the name I hated so much. “What is he to you?”
A chill went through my body as I was forced to accept that I couldn’t hide or run from the truth
anymore.
Alessio asked me a question, and by the look on his face, I could tell that we were going to have this conversation, one way or another.
Sapne X
Chapter 39
