The Return of My First Love novel Chapter 97

Emily

I poked at my salad and cleared my throat, still exhausted from last night. Originally, I thought I had lost my voice due to the lack of sleep, but when I woke up with strained muscles, I concluded that it might've been because of Alessio.

We wouldn't see each other for two weeks, and he had unloaded all his energy for the missing time. Literally.

Pilar yawned, catching my gaze. Both of us were in our bathrobes, both exhausted and lost in our own thoughts.

"Now that Giulia is back, we can go out again sometime," I suggested.

With Giulia's return, I had some time to breathe. She had offered to take over the role of head of the house for the time being and took care of the kids. She had promised to take thEmily to school, their activities, outings with her circle of posh friends—and I wasn't complaining.

"Yeah, sounds good," Pilar agreed, though the enthusiasm wasn't really there in the room with us.

We shared a look and yawned at the same time, then burst into laughter. "Yes, we're boring," I admitted before she could say something.

"It's because we're tired," Pilar desperately searched for any reason to deny that she was, in fact, not boring. I knew she thought I was boring.

"I know why I'm tired, but why are you tired?"

Pilar snorted shyly, covering her mouth. "What?" I asked, eager to hear her reasoning.

"Donni," she spoke. "I stayed in his room for two nights in a row."

"Donni?" I pulled a disgusted face, absolutely repulsed by the name that had left her mouth. He was not the one I was rooting for. I was rooting for Gian. Yes, the one who called me a dumb brainless bitch.

He had redeEmilyed himself lately, and it was hard to ignore what he had going on with Pilar. I was the only one who could see it, and I knew I wasn't going crazy.

"So, you and Donni?" I vowed to get to the bottom of it. "Is it going to be a thing?"

"No, of course not. He's gone anyway," Pilar quickly dismissed the idea. "No, I mean—when he gets back."

Pilar's response was an outburst of laughter, so loud that it made me sound ridiculous. "Jesus, no!" she clarified between fits of laughter.

"Finally, some good news today," I murmured.

"We both agreed it would be a one-time thing," Pilar was kind enough to give me an explanation I never asked for. No was good enough. "He told me he doesn't do the same woman two nights in a row, but he made an exception for me because I'm here anyway."

"What an asshole," I spat, bothered by Donni's disgusting rule and the way Pilar seEmilyed to accept it.

"Meh, I don't care. I wasn't planning on doing the same guy twice in a row either," Pilar shrugged, dismissing it.

How could I feel good when Stefano had died? No, that wasn't it.

How could I feel good when the maid quarters hadn't been finalized?

No, that couldn't be it because it was.

How could I feel good when I—

Fuck. I gasped as my heart sank with the realization of why she found it impossible for me to feel ‘good'.

"Oh my God, I didn't have any time to read your letter—but I will get to it today," it suddenly crossed my mind that the envelope was still in my purse, closed and untouched. "I'm so sorry."

I wasn't usually like this, but a lot had been happening in the past few days. I had to prepare for Domenico and Giulia's return, take care of the girls, worry about Alessio, and go through many more letters with all sorts of requests.

Liza swallowed her breath. "I suggest you read it as soon as possible," she spoke in an urgent tone.

As quickly as she said it, she exited the room with the plates in her hand. Whatever was in that letter was clearly of importance to her, and I couldn't let my busy schedule be an excuse for neglecting her feelings.

That's why I made a mental note, a promise to myself, to read the letter at any cost.