The Return of My First Love novel Chapter 44

Emily

It seEmilyed like my fingers were working overtime as I was texting back and forth with Pilar. If we weren't texting, we were talking over the phone.

In the span of just a week, we had gone from acquaintances to close friends and I couldn't imagine my life without her. We had bonded over everything, from our shared sense of humor to our late night conversations about unserious things.

'Anyway, how's that fine man of yours doing?' I put down my phone just as quickly as I had read that text.

My gaze drifted toward the closed bathroom door which Alessio was behind, showering.

The fresh mEmilyory of our kiss was still in my mind. He had never addressed it again, just pretended as if it didn't happen. It was good because it wasn't something to discuss, but also horrible because it meant he didn't felt that 'thing' what I felt during the kiss.

It was a strange feeling I had never had before, not with Jason or any other high school flings. And as much as I tried to push that thought aside, I somehow couldn't forget about that kiss.

Our bond had also grown over the past few days. No, we weren't best friends, or spending every moment together. He was too busy with work for that. Alessio wasn't nearly as cold as he used to be, and we got along great. We asked about each other's days, joked around, discussed silly topics and all of that.

I heard the bathroom door open, and immediately grabbed my phone to pretend as if I was doing something.

It was a routine of his to step out shirtless, and it was my routine to stare.

"Got any plans for tomorrow?" he asked, casually.

"No, you?"

"I have a busy day tomorrow," he said.

He settled in his usual spot on the sofa while I laughed at his words. "You always have a busy day," I said, stating the obvious.

Alessio shrugged his shoulders, not saying a word. He had ended the conversation while I was still staring at him as a hopeless fool.

I had intended to allow him on the bed for quite some time now, but I had never had the courage to ask.

However, this time I took a deep breath and decided I would just go for it. "You can sleep on the bed if you want. I don't mind," I finally blurted out, my heart racing at the possibility of rejection.

Alessio turned his head quickly, giving me a shocked look. "That kiss got you acting a little crazy, doesn't it?" He teased, acknowledging what had happened for the first time.

My cheeks flushed with Emilybarrassment. "N-No," I stammered, but failed miserably.

Alessio, who had noticed, luckily decided to let it go, but not without a hint of amusEmilyent in his eyes. "I'm not turning down your offer."

He gathered his things. "Actually, I've been waiting for you to ask me for a while now," he admitted, moving toward the bed.

"Really?" I squinted as he moved beside me, keeping himself at a respectful distance. Giving up his bed and not taking advantage of the situation made me respect him. These were things that should be seen as normal, but to many, they weren't.

That day when we had first met, when he had told Dante to stop bothering me, I thought he only did it to get back at his brother. Now I knew he did that because that's the kind of man he was most likely trying to be.

I stared as he texted on his phone, and it was maybe a bit too obsessive, but it bothered me that I didn't know who he was texting. The curiosity was killing me, and after Gian had painted him as someone who couldn't go a week without sex, I had to know where he was getting it from because I sure as hell wasn't giving it to him.

"I want to thank you again for what you did for Naty, by the way," I began a conversation, hoping he would stop texting. He had gone above and beyond for Naty's schooling, paying her tuition at that private school from kindergarten through high school.

When I told him there was no need for that because we would be leaving one day, he told me it would be enough to transfer to a different private school.

"Don't worry about it," Alessio's eyes were still glued to his phone. "I did it for Naty. I did it from my heart."

I did it for Naty, I did it from my heart.

Her own dad used to blame me for getting pregnant and Naty for being born. Jason had always done things because he had to, and nothing had come from his heart.

One time, he even went as far as telling me that his life would've been better if I had just died in that hospital bed.

I used to beg him to do things from his heart, and this man I hadn't known for long did it because he meant it.

I had concluded he was probably a cold-blooded killer, a criminal, a monster—but not towards me or my daughter. It was a very selfish thought, but as long as he was treating us the way he had been, I was okay with that.

"I have a lot of family, but everyone is just out doing their own stuff." I admitted with pain in my heart. "I didn't grow up like you did, with family around all the time. I don't even have a dad. I envy you."

"There's nothing to envy when everyone always misunderstands you," Alessio responded, opening up about his own struggles.

"What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely curious. He didn't ping me as the type of person to care about what anyone thought of him.

Alessio sighed before explaining his point. "Being a Fanucci means living with people's wrong assumptions about my character," he said. "There's no point in trying to change what they already think of me, so I just go along with however they decide to treat me."

"How do people think about you?" I asked carefully.

"I think you know."

I did know. The Alessio I was getting to know was far from the Emilycing figure I had been warned about. Whether it was customers at the old place I used to work or the people I used to work with—all of thEmily seEmilyed to fear the same thing, the Fanuccis.

My thoughts drifted to the older woman who had also warned me to stay away from thEmily, Mrs. Rodriguez. I had promised to return, and now I had to live with the guilt because I didn't.

I wasn't planning on visiting her either, because after she would learn of this engagEmilyent, she would shut the door in my face immediately.

That was the price of being a Fanucci.

They either respected you, hated you, or feared you.

"I saw you as a weak target in the beginning because you were so scared of us, and I just went with it, making you my fiancee and threatening to kill you if you denied," an unexpected confession left his mouth all at once. "I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"Thanks." I forced a smile, forcing him to bump my fist and he did.

It had crossed my mind that if I had told him the truth about Naty's existence, we wouldn't have ever been here, yet the two of thEmily still got along better than anyone would expect.

"You know, I'm glad you scared the shit out of me," I yawned, turning around to go to sleep. "Because I'm glad to be here."