Chapter 120 The Note on the Table
POV Maya:
“You squeeze the orange into the glass and drink the juice,” I shrug. “Or are you going to want me to do that too?”
Dominic clenches his jaw. Mikhail holds the orange and the glass in his hand. Sebastian hides a smile. Adrian peels the banana and eats it. And Luca…
“What are you doing?” I ask when I see him at the stove. He looks at me, and I take a step back. He looks really irritated.
“What does it look like? I’m going to make a real breakfast.”
Luca moves quickly around the kitchen while I stand there watching. The brothers work in sync: Dominic makes pancakes, Adrian and Mikhail prepare the juice, Luca fries the bacon, and Sebastian sets the table. With my mouth open, I watch them prepare a breakfast much better than mine. Didn’t Norah say they don’t cook at all?
“Wow, you work well together,” I say, and everyone stops what they’re doing to look at me. “Leave a plate for me, next to a glass of juice.” I look at the pitcher of orange juice and make a face. “I don’t want orange juice. I want strawberry.” They look at me as if a second head has grown out of me. “What?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Adrian asks, with an expression I can’t quite identify at five in the morning.
I don’t have the brainpower for that.
“Of course I’m not,” I say, and he opens his mouth to argue, but I don’t allow it. “And please, don’t sweeten it. I want to maintain my weight.”
I walk over to Dominic and hand Louis to him. “Take the baby to pee,” I say, not waiting for an answer. “His wipes are on the sideboard next to the door. Thank you, you’re amazing.” I blow them a kiss over my shoulder.
I go up to the guest room and sleep until eight o’clock. When I go downstairs to have my breakfast before going to work at the flower shop, I find a glass, five strawberries, and a banana.
How vindictive! That’s just mean.
Maya 2 x Moretti Brothers 2
(...)
POV Mikhail:
The house is silent when I walk in. I don’t see or hear anything that suggests Maya is around. She told us that after waking up from her beauty sleep, she would go to the flower shop; however, she didn’t say whether she’d be back to prepare lunch, which is why I’m here. Maya has no obligation toward us. She may have offered to help, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to take advantage of her. I don’t expect her to act or do things the same way my mother does. Proof of that was the breakfast she made for us—Dominic is still furious about it.
I walk into the kitchen and everything is exactly the same, including the breakfast we left behind as revenge. As I approach the table, I notice a piece of pink paper with beautiful handwriting. I study the paper for several minutes, trying to make sense of anything at all. When I realize I won’t be able to read it, I leave it right where it is. I’ll pretend I didn’t see it, and when one of my brothers arrives, I’ll stand by his side and ask him to read it out loud, so I can find out what Maya wrote.
...
Luca is the first to arrive. By the look on his face, it’s clear he still hasn’t swallowed the whole story about Maya staying at the farm. We’re used to living such a quiet life that we never imagined someone else living with us. Someone who messes with our heads just as much as she drives us insane. Maya is a box of surprises that, to be honest, I’m eager to open. What’s the worst that could happen?
“The crazy woman isn’t here?” Luca asks, holding Louis in his arms.
I raise an eyebrow, looking from him to the dog, who’s wearing a pink tie covered in stars. Luca snorts and turns his back on me, taking the dog outside—probably so he can do his business. Which is strange, because why didn’t Maya take him?
I pick up the small piece of paper again, trying one more time to make sense of the jumbled letters. I strain my eyes, trying repeatedly to read at least something. Frustrated and irritated, I leave the paper where it was and head toward the stove to see what I can make for us to eat.
As soon as Luca comes back, he puts Louis down on the floor and places the little pouch with the dog’s wipes on the table. My brother notices the pink paper, and I breathe a sigh of relief because I’ll finally know what she wrote. I keep my expression neutral, not wanting Luca to notice how much not knowing what’s written is bothering me.
“She has to be joking,” he says, throwing the paper onto the table. “I’m going to kill that bitch.”
“What happened?” I ask, watching my brother point at the paper.
“You didn’t read it?” I swallow hard.
“No, I didn’t even see that paper,” I avert my gaze. “Can you read it to me? I’m busy here,” I lie.
Luca is so distracted by his anger that he doesn’t even notice my discomfort, which is good for me. I swore no one would ever find out about my condition—no one besides my parents and Adrian. I’m good at hiding it, and when I can’t, Adrian is perfect at covering for me.
“The shameless bitch wrote, quote: ‘I went to work, I’ll be back in the afternoon. I’m not taking the baby, take care of him for me. As for lunch, you’ll have to fight it out yourselves to make it. I’m upset that you didn’t eat my breakfast, so don’t even think about leaving me without lunch. P.S.: Luca, Louis peed and pooped on your boot. Don’t scold him, he’s been very sensitive these past few days. Since I didn’t know what to do with it, I threw it away, but don’t worry, I’ll buy you a more fashionable one. Kisses.’ End quote. Can you believe this son of a bitch?”
I shake my head in disbelief. Maya must be missing a screw in that pretty head of hers. Luca looks at Louis, who lowers his head—the poor thing looks guilty. My brother doesn’t help at all, shooting him murderous looks.
“Luca, the dog isn’t to blame. He doesn’t understand,” I defend him.
“He doesn’t understand?” Luca crouches down and picks the dog up, forcing the poor thing to look him in the eyes. “If you come anywhere near my boots again, I’m going to piss on your ridiculous little outfits. Do you hear me? I’m going to piss on everything.” The dog lowers his head and whimpers. “I think he understood.”
“Help me with lunch. The others will be here soon.”
Luca puts the dog down, and he runs as if his life depends on it. My brother washes his hands and helps me prepare the only thing I know how to make… pasta.
...
We’re gathered in the living room, talking about which movie we’re going to watch. It’s already past eight at night. Maya still hasn’t returned since she left in the morning, and I’m worried something might have happened to her. I even told my brothers that maybe we should go look for her in town, but they said there’s nothing to worry about. Louis has already cried at the door several times, wanting his owner. Dominic and Luca have taken him for walks; even Adrian and I took him out, but nothing seems to distract him.
“We could watch a horror movie,” Luca says, and at that exact moment I hear the sound of a door slamming.
“I think Maya’s here,” I say, making my brothers fall silent, trying to hear something else.
“Oh, you’re very kind, David,” she says, and in the same second we jump up from the couch.
When we step outside, I see Maya holding several shopping bags. Beside her stands a man with his back turned. The moment he turns around, I’m certain that shit could hit the fan at any moment.
What is Maya doing next to fucking David Burt?