Chapter 61: Goodbyes

"I can't believe you're leaving already," Valeria says with a frown.

"Same. Next time, you can come to my house instead. We'll do so much fun stuff together," I say.

The breakfast is finally over, and now it's my time to say my goodbyes to the Ricci. Despite what's going on between our families under the surface, I've genuinely had so much fun with Valeria and Antonio. If only things are different, I would've enjoyed everything even more.

The house staff helps Dante, Carlo, and me by loading all of our luggage into the car while. Dante and Carlo busy themselves with the car while I stay in front of the house with the Ricci. Before we go, I should put on my last act: being kind and polite to the whole family. I should leave an impression that I'm already under their spells or something like that. I shouldn't let them know I know what they're up to.

"Oh yes. That would be wonderful. Just say the time and I'll be ready," Valeria says with a smile.

"Maybe after you're done with your final project? How about that?" I ask.

"Absolutely! I don't think there's anything better than spending time with you after my final," Valeria says.

In reality, that won't ever happen. If my calculation is right, Valeria's final project is after Antonio's and mine relationship is over. Everything between our families needs to end before our five-months deadline, or else, there might no be escaping for me because by that time, Antonio could've proposed to me. I mean, I could just reject his proposal, but I'd rather done with everything before that happens. It would be embarrassing for both Antonio and me for ending our relationship once he proposed to me.

"Don't hesitate to come back. You're always welcomed here," Fabio says, his smile is gentle, but if all that I know about him, I don't really trust it. A look can be faked without revealing what someone truly has inside of them. He might be saying that now, that I'm welcomed to return here whenever, but there's definitely a hidden motive that comes with it. Well, yes, nothing did happen in the past three days, but what if it's his strategy so I'd let my guard down? Who knows what will happen to me the next time I go back here, only if there's a next time, though.

"Thank you, Mr Ricci. I'll come back when I can," I say.

I turn to the rest of the family again, and then my gaze lands on the oldest son of the Ricci family, Mariano. His dark gaze softens as he smiles at me. In the past three days, I haven't truly got the time to get to know him personally since he's been busy with his job, so I'm not sure what to expect from him. By how he looks at me whenever we pass by one another, all I can sense from him is danger. Because of that, I'd rather put some distance between us rather than trying to get acquainted with him.

"We barely talked, but I'm glad to have you as a part of our family. You're a good one, Alessandra," Mariano says with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. I'm not sure what that mean, but I'll take that as a compliment for now.

"Thank you, Mariano," I say.

Lastly, I turn to Giorgio. Just like Antonio, he has this hint of awkwardness behind his charm and confidence. Despite how confident he tries to look, I can see the hint of nervousness behind his light brown eyes. Could he have the same personality as Antonio? Perhaps. I haven't gotten the chance to know more about him since he's always busy with his classes, so I can only assume based on what I notice on the surface.

"Sorry for not spending time with you. My classes got me so busy," Giorgio says with an apologetic smile.

"It's okay. Your studies are more important. We can hangout someday once you're free with them. We could go somewhere fun if you all want to," I say.

"Ooh an amusement park would be great, don't you think?" Valeria says.

"Good idea," Antonio says.

"Oh, it's definitely great," I say.

"Agreed," Giorgio says.

The thought of going to an amusement park with the Ricci siblings makes it sounds like we're already a part of the same family. I can imagine all of us going on rollercoaster and then take a rest on a carousel after a long, tiring day at the amusement park. Unfortunately, that will never happen. The thought of them being genuinely nice to me all this time scares me because I hate that I'd be hurting them all once my family have figured all things out with the stuff going on between the Ricci and the Romanos.

"Goodbye everyone. I'll see you again soon. I'll get going now," I say.

"Thank you for everything, Mr Ricci," Carlo says.

"And thank you for hosting us," Dante adds.

"You're welcome," Fabio says.

After saying my goodbyes to the Ricci, I get into the car with Dante and Carlo. Rolling my window down, I wave my hand goodbye. A bright smile on my face as the car continues to move further away from the house. When we're far enough, I roll up the window, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Thank god it's finally over," I say.

"Yes, finally. As comfortable as the bed in the Ricci's house, I'd rather sleep in my own bedroom," Carlo says.

"Agreed," Dante says.

Three days. I can't believe I've spend three days with the Ricci. Thank goodness that everything goes smoothly. I already expected the worst to happen, but fortunately for us, nothing in that nature happened. Right now, all I can hope for is for us all to arrive home safely. It would be crazy if they actually tamper with our car while we stay at their house, right? No. I can't think of that. Nothing will happen to us. We'll get back home without a scratch.

Wait. The note! Now that we're out of the house, I need to ask Dante about what he meant. Does what he found is something good or bad for us? Hopefully it's good news and not the other way.

"Anyway, what was yesterday's note about?" I ask.

"About that, I found something in Fabio's," Dante says, pulling his phone out from his pocket.

"You sneaked into his office?!" I ask.

I can't believe he got into Fabio's office. Not only that it's dangerous, it might risk our plan as well. If he got caught, Fabio could've ended him there. That's not something I want to happen. When we're talking about sneaking around the house, I think of doing something more subtle, like eavesdropping the house staff's conversation, not breaking into Fabio's office.

"Yeah. Just take a look," Dante says. He hands his phone to me and I quickly take it. What could be so important in his office to get him to sneak into the room? Let's see what he has.

My eyes widen at the pictures. I turn to Dante who's already staring back at me from the front passenger seat. Oh yes. This is definitely important for us. I'm mad at him for putting himselfe at risk by getting into Fabio's office, but what he got from there is interesting. I can't wait for us to tell my father about this.