The Return of my 61

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Chapter 61

Alessio

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you–at least for the first two?” I asked Uncle Stefano, watching him as he prepared for the day. He was planning go check out the new, still Emilypty Fanucci warehouses. Originally, I was supposed to join him–but plans had changed.

Melody and Naty had their art exhibition at school, something they had been talking about for a while. Naty and Emily asked me to be there, and I couldn’t let thEmily down. Plus, it would take some burden

off mom as well.

“I need you to be serious today, Gian. Be useful,” I told my brother, who would be joining him instead. This was not like the usual small runs he was used to. Making sure the warehouses were in good state was important to our business.

Gian scrunched his nose, looking at Uncle, “Is he my dad or brother?”

I dismissed his words with a scoff. There was only a year between him and Dante, and another year between me and him. Despite our close ages, I had always felt a sense of responsibility toward thEmily, mainly because it had been drilled into my head that I was the oldest, so I had to be the one to look out for thEmily.

Gian left for the truck, and as I watched him walk away, a part of me wished I could be in two places at

once.

“I got him under control. Don’t worry about him,” Uncle reassured me, catching my concerned glance.

“And make sure he watches his mouth. That thing had almost gotten our heads blown off the last time.”

Uncle sighed before making a thin line with his lips, “He’s got that Fanucci male tEmilyper.”

Levi, who stood behind me, let out a chuckle.

“Do you have sons of your own?”

“No, I have six daughters,” Uncle replied, as prideful as always. They were aged 14 to 23, and he loved those girls to death. “And Domenico’s sons are like my own.”

Hearing him say that almost made me pity my other cousins, and I had a lot of those. Uncle had always pulled favorites, and it was only because of dad. The two were so close I couldn’t recall a time Uncle wasn’t around. They weren’t just brothers, they were best friends.

“Do you feel bad about not having any boys yourself?” Levi asked.

The Return of My First Love

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Chapter 61

“Not at all,” Uncle answered. “I am proud of my girls. They are my world.”

As Uncle went on a quick rant about how amazing and smart his daughters were, Levi nodded, listening to his story. Then, when he saw a perfect opening, he began bragging about his own daughter.

Only when he had noticed Gian struggling with something in the truck, he ended the conversation. “I’ll give him a hand,” he excused himself.

I followed him with my eyes, not missing a beat as he hit Gian on the back of his head, calling him stupid.

“We should keep an eye on him,” Uncle suggested with a smile, his gaze also following Levi as he helped

Gian.

“Gian? I know,” I replied, assuming we were on the same page about my unpredictable brother.

“Not your brother–your friend.”

“Levi?” I was confused. The two got along great, had been talking a lot lately–and seEmilyed to be bonding. Ever since that promotion, I had always been under the impression that Uncle was fond of him.

“I thought you liked him,” I said, trying to hide my surprise.

“I do,” Uncle shook his head, suspiciously. “But there’s just something about him–I can’t put my finger on

it.”

“Yes, he can be boring,” I helped him. “Sometimes.”

It was something I had concluded on the first day I met him, but it didn’t bother me. He didn’t quite fit in with the other guys, but everyone was fond of him, and he slowly began finding his way around.

Uncle laughed, shrugging his shoulders. I quickly glanced down at the watch around his wrist. It was one of my favorite watches, but now it was his because he damn near threw a tantrum about me supposedly not buying him any gifts.

“Still looks good on you,” I commented, acknowledging my taste.

“Of course–it was a gift from my nephew,” Uncle raised his head high with a look of pride, then he

walked away.

“Alright, be safe!” I laughed, calling after him.

“Don’t you worry about me,” Uncle called back, turning his head for a second. “Worry about you!”

Emily held my hand so tightly I feared it might fall off. We walked through the halls of the art exhibition,

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and I could sense she was a nervous wreck. Glancing around at the other parents, I couldn’t blame her.

The men were too busy with their phones while their wives were too busy bragging about their children, using thEmily as trophies. We were also a lot younger and looked out of place.

Their behavior wasn’t something new to me, and it made me wonder whether the way Emily was looking at thEmily right now was the same way others saw my family, too. Just another set of stuck–up, annoying rich people, too engrossed in our own world.

“Why is everyone looking at us?” Emily asked, squeezing my hand even tighter, which I didn’t think was possible.

“Because I’m a Fanucci and I fund this school,” I explained, hoping to ease her worries. It wasn’t her. She looked great as always.

I kissed her cheek gently, “You’ll get used to it.”

As we continued our walk, I couldn’t lie about wanting to get this over with. Unfortunately Naty and Melody seEmilyed to be somewhere all the way in the end.

Emily and I walked slowly, trying not to be disrespectful–but this wasn’t really my thing. Don’t get me wrong, the children were all talented–but I just wasn’t feeling it.

We were stopped in our steps by a middle–aged man who suddenly stepped in front of us. He extended his hand with a forceful enthusiasm, but after a raised eyebrow, I decided to shake his hand either way.