The Return of My First Love novel Chapter 30

Emily

"Whatever suits you," I replied, chuckling. I had been observing his personality from the second we had met, and it was mostly because he was interesting. He was mischievous, loud, stubborn, yet kind—and somewhere in between respectful and disrespectful.

Dante piled some food onto his plate, not noticing I was staring at him. Then he snapped his finger, and raised his glass, making a maid rush over to fill his glass with some orange juice.

"Thanks, babe," he smiled at the blushing maid, openly watching her as she walked away. Mind you, I found him to be the most normal of the three brothers.

Dante pushed some food inside his mouth. "Man, those waffles are tasting good today!" he spoke with his mouth full, but I wasn't disgusted. It was actually kind of cute.

"I can tell you were starving," I commented, watching him devour his breakfast.

"Hmm," Dante nodded. "When there's food on the table, I'm going to eat it. What else do you expect me to do with it? Put it in my ass?" he replied with his mouth full, making me burst into laughter again.

"You talk a lot about asses."

"And well, you're engaged to the biggest one," he pointed out as if he had been waiting to tell me that one all along.

While he went back to eating, I went back to just looking at him, this time taking in his handsome features. Dante's hair was slightly brighter than Alessio's and so were his eyes, his most beautiful feature. They were framed by long lashes which many of my friends back in the day would've died for.

He looked soft, shy, innocent—and with his mouth closed, you would've never expect the kind of words that often escaped his lips.

"Is that your natural hair or permed?" I referred to his soft curls. It was one of those things I just had to know, otherwise it would bother me for the rest of my life.

Dante ran a hand through his hair. "Natural. I'm the only sibling with these curls. Alessio and Gian like to joke that I'm adopted."

"What?" I asked, surprised by his words.

"At one point, dad made me do a DNA test to shut up about it. Turns out he's really my dad, and I'm still related to Alessio and the bunch, unfortunately," he explained with a hint of sarcasm.

"Unfortunately?" I repeated, intrigued by his tone.

Dante shrugged. "Yes, unfortunately. You'll find out soon enough why I say that."

I nodded, smiling slightly. There was not much left to find out. It was easy. He was born into this family, and he wished he hadn't. Hearing him opening up, gave me the perfect opportunity to ask about Alessio.

"Tell me something more about your past. What was Alessio like as a child?"

Dante took a moment before answering. "Alessio? Growing up, he was either in a good mood or he was like a worse version of our dad. No in-between."

"And how about now?"

Dante pulled a disgusted face before covering it with a smirk. "You would know. He's very straightforward. Doesn't hide anything, doesn't beat around the bush. If he hates you, he'll tell you, if he loves you... well that's debatable, but if you smell—"

"He'll tell you," we said in unison. "Yeah, I get it. But what do you think? How do you feel about him as a brother?"

Dante paused, and his expression softened. "I think he has his good days and his bad days," he said. "He likes to boss us around, bullies me most of the time—but he makes sure others know only he gets to bully me. He's a good brother. One that would take a bullet for me."

In any other family, I wouldn't have taken it so literally, but considering the Fanuccis?

Their bond was as complex as the family itself.

He loved him, yet he hated him.

"Anyway, I'm glad I finally got you alone," Dante suddenly said.

I gave him a questioning look, wondering what he meant by that. Hopefully it wasn't a sign that he still didn't get the mEmilyo, and was trying to flirt with me.

"I want to say I'm sorry," Dante began. "The way I've been forcing myself onto you was low and disrespectful. If I had known you were Alessio's, I never would've done it," he apologized. "That last part doesn't even matter. It was just wrong, and I'm sorry."

"Pack yours and Naty's suitcases. We'll be leaving tomorrow at six," he instructed me. Both his gaze and his tone were sharp and intimidating.

"Where to?" I asked, curious. 

"Where to?" he furrowed his brow, and tilted his head a little as if no one had ever dared asking him a question. "I need to seal a deal, and I don't want to leave you alone, fucking everything up more than you've already did." he spoke irritated. "Pack your stuff, you're coming with me."

I wanted to ask how long we'd be gone and whether Naty would miss school, but the fear of his reaction kept me silent.

"Have I done something wrong?" I wondered, trying to find out the reason behind his attitude. He wasn't the kindest, I was aware—but this was something else.

"Where's the ring I gave you?" Alessio ignored my question.

"In my pocket—"

"If I wanted to buy you a pocket ring, I would've bought you a pocket ring!" he raised the volume of his voice.

"What?"

Was that what all of this was about?

Because I didn't want to wear that big ridiculous thing in public?

"Look listen," Alessio huffed, calming himself down. "When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it. I gave you that ring, and when I see you again—you better be wearing that ring." he spoke angrily, then he stormed off.

I pulled the disgusted face I wouldn't dare doing in front of him. "I gave you that ring, and when I see you again—you better be wearing that ring," the childishness deep inside of me, had to mimic him. "Asshole," I muttered under my breath.

I knew it would be for the best not to question his orders and just start packing. Whatever his reasons were for taking us along, it was pretty clear to me that questioning him was not up for debate.