Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 142640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 713(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 475(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 713(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 475(@300wpm)
The mood is heavy, and Lorenzo is somber as we wait for her return.
She reappears and sits down with her laptop and opens it up and we all watch on in silence. As she reads, her eyes well with tears.
“What is it?” Andrea asks.
“Giuliano is a Ferrara,” she whispers, her eyes rise to mine and she smiles through tears. “Lorenzo is your biological father, Francesca.”
Lorenzo gasps as my eyes widen.
He takes the computer from her as if not believing it, he reads the email and tears begin to roll down his cheeks. “Thank you, my God,” he whispers. “Thank you.”
He stands in a rush and takes me into his arms, he openly weeps.
“I prayed for this day, my darling daughter. I prayed for this. Thank you, God.” He sobs into my neck. “Thank you.”
The drive home from my mother’s house is strange, yet surreal.
Giuliano is driving and, with my hand on his thigh, we are both silent, lost deep in our own thoughts.
“Have you heard from Antonio?” he asks me.
“No, why?”
“We can’t reach him.”
“Why, where is he?” I frown.
“He took a few days off to go home and hasn’t returned.”
“That’s strange.”
He shrugs. “He’ll be around. Maybe they got his return date wrong.”
“Probably.” We fall deep back into thought once more.
This afternoon, my mother is announcing to the world that Lorenzo is my biological father.
In doing that, Giuliano and I are finally free.
“I have a surprise for you,” Giuliano says as his eyes flick over to me.
“Haven’t we had enough surprises lately?”
“This is a good one.”
I smile over at him.
“But we have to go away to get it.”
I frown, puzzled. “Well, that’s probably a good idea anyway. I don’t want to be around for the circus that’s about to erupt.”
He picks up my hand and kisses my fingertips. “I love you.”
My heart swells and I smile through tears, and there it is.
My reason.
“And I love you, my darling,” I whisper. “So much.”
“After all we’ve been through to be together.” He smiles softly. “Our new life starts today, baby.”
Hope runs through my veins, everything is finally falling into place. We won’t have to hide anymore. “I know.”
Six hours later we drive into the night, and Giuliano shuffles around in his pocket and pulls out an eye mask. “Put this on.”
I frown. “What?”
“Put this on, I told you it was a surprise.”
I giggle. “Now?” I look around at our surroundings. “We’re on the freeway, my surprise is on the freeway?”
“Don’t ask questions, just do it.” He smiles and raises his eyebrow, I can tell he’s excited to give me whatever this is.
“Okay. Okay.” I slip the mask on and am brought into darkness. “Now what?”
“Now you reach over and take my dick in your hand….”
I burst out laughing. “This is my surprise?”
He laughs too. “This is my surprise.”
“Because I can’t see your dick?”
“Precisely.”
We laugh and he brings my fingers to his lips and kisses them tenderly, this isn’t about his dick at all.
Oh…I love this man.
We drive in silence and I hear the car phone ring, Bruno from the car behind us answers. “Hey, boss.”
“Hi, when we get there you all stay out on the road, please.”
“Okay. Got you.” He hangs up.
I put my hands up and feel the mask over my eyes. “Do they know about us?”
“They have their suspicions.”
“How do you know?”
“Because the rumor mill has been circulating for weeks.”
I frown, shit. I didn’t even realize.
“Don’t worry, in about two hours they’re about to find out that we’re not brother and sister. That you are Lorenzo’s daughter.”
“How do you think that’s going to go down?”
“A lot better than if I wasn’t a Ferrara, that’s for sure.”
I smile goofily under my mask and feel the car turn off the road. “Where are we?” I ask as we seem to drive down a second road
“Somewhere I hope that you like.”
“What happens if I don’t?” I tease.
“Then this was a really fucking expensive mistake.”
I giggle, excitement bubbles in my stomach and I bounce in my seat. “Hurry up.”
We keep driving and driving and then finally he stops the car. “Stay there.”
“Hurry,” I gasp. “The suspense is killing me.”
He comes around and opens my door and helps me out of the car, he turns me away from him and I hear him let out a deep breath as if nervous.
What is this?
“Okay, you can take the mask off.”
I slowly slide the mask off and frown, we are at a house. Scratch that, a mansion. There’s a huge red bow on the door and I frown as I look around. The house is huge with large sandstone steps leading up to the double front doors. It looks like a library or something stately. Perfectly manicured gardens, huge trees lit up with fairy lights, my eyes roam around the surroundings and then meet Giuliano’s.
“Where are we?” I ask.