Chapter 25

Chapter 25
25

Jennifer

Two hours. It'd been two hours in the jet and we'd finally reached the grounds of Italy. Like he said to me that we'd be travelling alone. We did travel alone and the fact that I was curved in a ball saved me from those lusty gazes. I sat opposite to him and didn't realise when I dozed off to sleep, but in the end, Luciano's hand in my hair got me up. "Strawberry, we are home," He whispered softly, for a second I smiled at his gentle tone but then I realised who he was. Composing myself, I stood straight and walked to the exit, leaving Luciano to follow me which got me a flattering scoff.

I pulled my coat closer as I stepped out of the jet, welcomed by the windy gusts of the early morning. It was five in the morning. I stepped down and there were three huge SUVs waiting for us, maybe? I walked closer and the bodyguard opened the back door of the car parked in between. I hopped in and Luciano followed me the other way around. Without any word said, the car started moving and most probably it took us where I guessed we're going; The Bernardi Mansion.

The thought of enduring his wife's glare for didn't know how long was tiring me already. I wasn't needed there and the fact the air of the mansion screamed of it urged to jump out of the flashing car. "Luciano?" I softly mumbled his name and he snapped his head at me with an astonishing expression that was morphed into a smile. I did it unintentionally, I swear.

"Yes, my strawberry?" He replied with the same mild tone.

"How long will I stay in that mansion? I don't like to be locked in the room and besides I don't know anyone," I stated gingerly, he passed me a warm smile that did something to my heart. It was a beautiful smile indeed.

"Don't worry about that. As long as you're behaving nicely, no one is holding you back in a room. You can do whatever you want. We have a massive library, a swimming arena, an arcade if you want to play games, golf grounds and much more for your entertainment. You are free to go anywhere. Audrey will guide you..." He stated and I sighed sceptically. "...And as far as nobody knows you, that's not true. My grandmother and sisters are excited to meet and talk to you. Now, for the sake of your reputation, you got to behave nicely with them, okay?" He meant I shouldn't bring up the topic of his cruelty with them, okay. I got it, but someday the truth will prevail.

"Can I ask you another question?" I just registered that I asked for his permission. What the hell was wrong with me? It better blame it on hormones.

He chuckled faintly and nodded, "Ask as many as you want, strawberry," He was looking upfront as he granted me.

"What did you do to my family?" I was sure he didn't see that coming because I was talking all sweet a second ago but this was my main point.

"They are safe in their places," Luciano asserted, tension was visible in his bones.

"My brothers? Where are they?" I could smell the lies miles away. He rather be good at hiding his lies but I was best at spotting them.

"I'm treating them like my own brothers, don't worry, sweetheart," And there. He was lying to me, his eyes screamed that he just regretted what he did to them. I wanted to know the truth.

"Don't bullshit with me, Luciano. Where are they?" I turned toward him, my eyes hard.

"They're with your mother and grandparents. We made a deal they won't tell anyone anything. You always wanted them to study in a top school, I'm helping them to secure seats in one of the top schools in London," What did that all supposed to mean? Did he bribe them with money or power? They were my boys, they could not be sold by money or power shit.

"I don't need your support for them to go to a good school. I'm happy that they're doing hard to get their lives stable. Thank you for the helping gesture," It kind of irritated me. He better stay away from my little boys. They were too innocent to be manipulated by such a person.

"Now, you're being rude. I'm not that bad with kids," As if I forget what he did.

"Yeah, not that bad but enough to punch a kid a thousand times," I backfired, he would pay for what he did to my little one. I was feeling nauseous again.

Our car pulled brakes before the gates and I got to know that we had reached. I realised It was a long ride because now it was seven in the morning. The car moved in as the gates slid apart and stopped as they parked the car in the porch, near the fountain. Luciano stepped out of the car and as I was going to open the door, he opened it and offered me his hand, which I had to take because I wasn't in a good state to walk straight.

As we began to walk inside the mansion. He tried to pull his hand away but I tugged it, earning another astonishing gaze from him. I was giving him many surprises today. We strode to the dining area where everyone was having their breakfast. They were freaking having their breakfast at 7? That was an early start.

They are working people, running businesses of billions. Twenty fours can be less for them. Ah, right. I forgot that. My subconscious was here to remind me very sarcastically.

"Good morning, everyone," Luciano greeted loudly. My eyes immediately fell on Sofia who turned her head toward us and saw us holding hands, her happy face fell terribly sad. The hurt was so visible that it bothered me for a second. She was his wife, not I. That made me jerk my hand out of his hold but he refused to leave it.

"Oh, my Lucian," An old female figure stood up and Luciano took me to her. She seemed like his mother. No, she didn't have the mother charm. Think further...

Grandmother?

She hugged me gracefully and Luciano left my hand, giving me breath without feeling guilty of his wife. "I'm alright, mother. Look, I have brought her again. Now, you can meet her," Luciano whispered and turned to me, her mother or grandmother following his gaze. Her face instantly got bright and that made me sigh with relief. "Jennifer, come, meet my grandmother I talked to you a lot about," Clearly he was making points because we only talked once about her, just a few minutes ago in the car.

I stepped ahead and hugged her, she smelled so divine, like expensive roses. Ah, I could melt in this embrace. We pulled away and she praised me, saying she was eager to meet me for years and now that I have come. I should become comfortable already. Wait, why did they wait for me when Luciano has married already? I wanted to ask her... but... let's just leave it for now.

She invited us to have breakfast with her. I occupied the seat beside her and Luciano sat next to me. I felt like a couple getting warmly welcomed by my husband's family. I enjoyed this feeling. His sisters were greeting me with full smiles, except one. The laughter uplifted my confidence and I got comfortable. Sofia already left the table and so did Luciano's father. Maybe, they still weren't quite happy with my presence. It was Luciano's choice to stick by me, not mine.

I finished breakfast and Luciano asked his grandmother to take care of me? I could take care of myself. I wasn't a child. We all stood up to leave the dining room. Luciano stood beside me, he bent a little closer to my ear, "Strawberry, I'm leaving for office. I'll be back by five. Until then you can explore around. I hope you will behave like a lovely girl that you are," Just as Luciano whispered in my ear. He placed a kiss on my hair and left after bidding goodbye to his sisters and grandmother. Everyone was in awe of us. I could literally see the puppy eyes they had.

The girls and granny were taking me somewhere. I was in between seven young ladies, there were eight in total but one left. She was team Sofia I could notice. We reached the library which Luciano mentioned. And my God, massive was a small word for it. It was gigantic. The room had a historical theme. Antique vase, wooden shelves, old-style furniture, it all was aesthetical.

Grandmother sat on the single couch and addressed me to sit on the opposite couch to her, which I did. The girls sat on the floor. Fuck, why were they sitting there? They could sit on the sofa and if not, I could give them my seat. Before I could say it loud, grandmother read it on my face. "Don't worry, sweetheart. The girls love to sit on the ground, it's our tradition," I never thought billionaires loved to occupy the cold floor. I was ashamed that I was the only one sitting on the couch and before I could slip to the floor, "Jennifer, honey, you shall remain in your seat. You're new to our family, it will take time," Grandmother added. It was oddly satisfying to hear that they considered me a part of them but I didn't want to come off as Luciano's sideline or his second wife material.

"So, girls, who want to go first?" The grandmother asked, the youngest of them raising her hand.

"Me, granny. I wanna introduce myself to her first," She cheerfully mumbled and I smiled. She was so enthusiastic to introduce herself to me. This girl was probably in her late teens, the innocence on her face told me she didn't know much about her family's dark side.

"Sure, Adelina. Go ahead," She turned to me and smiled innocently, I replied back.

"I'm Adelina Bernardi. Brother Luciano is my cousin. She is sister Natasha and the one you might see at the table was sister Giovanna, they both are his real sister whereas, we all are his cousins..." She kept telling me about each one of them and I tried to learn it carefully, "...It is my first time meeting you and I'm so impatiently waiting for you to be a bride soo..." Before she could finish her introduction, one of the girls tapped her shoulder and stopped her from speaking. My cheeks flushed at the thought of becoming a bride. I never thought that far, but not Luciano's; as they admired me.

"Sorry, my lovely. I hope you can forgive her. My little sister speaks without giving her words a thought," The girl next to her spoke and glared at her like an elder sister would do, her voice was like a bar of melting chocolate, so silky.

"It's already, my dear. I didn't mind," I made a coverup. Although I enjoyed what she said. Again, it was oddly satisfying.

"Actually, we thought we could never see our brother happy. Everyone thought... that brother Luciano doesn't believe in love... but watching him with you, he is a totally different man," She blushed after saying that and to say I was a shy mess was an underestimation. I was beyond modest. Girls started laughing as they saw me blushing hard.

"Shh, girls, don't scare my poor one. She doesn't need to know it now. Why don't we tell her about Luciano's liking so she could know him better, then I'll read her my favourite poem?" I wanted to tell her to skip Luciano's talk because I wasn't much interested in knowing him more, but it seemed like I had no choice but to spend time hearing the girls. I had to listen to them or else that would be rude.

"Yes. Let me tell you a story about my dog. His name is Dody. We found him on a rainy night when my brother Luciano and I were coming home back. I saw him and brother Luciano rescued him and we went to the hospital and saved his life. Since then, Dody has been with me. He is my best friend," Adelina narrated and I praised his kindness.

Then Natasha, his real sister, took the chance to narrate me a story, "Once, I was out with my friends in one of our clubs. My friend Bianca tried to prank brother Lucy by acting sick. She wanted to prove that he liked girls but when Lucy reached there. He asked one of his guards to pick her up and take her to the hospital," She laughed and I tried to laugh too, hoping it wasn't that fake.

So, through her story, I could derive that he never touched a woman in his life and everyone doubted if he wasn't gay. Now, I knew why they were so happy with my presence.

Each one of them shared their selfless experience with Luciano. And it was time to listen to my grandmother's poem. She sent all girls to collect their favourite books from the aisle, leaving me and her alone. She passed me a tender smile and I noticed she wanted to say something to me, which she did.

"I'm happy that he found you. It was late but finally, you are in his life," His grandmother murmured, a wide grin was supporting her stance.

"I'm also happy that I met you," I meant I could learn a lot from her, it's just my heart told me. She was in awe of me now.

The girls came back with a pile of books. For a second, I felt tired already, looking at the stack. God, I didn't want to listen to these books for hours. I was jet-lagged.

Grandmother chose a book from the pile and opened it to read it. I started feeling churns in my stomach, I couldn't understand why. My blood pressure felt like it was rising. I still kept control over it. As she began to recite, the door opened. It was Sofia entering the library. Girls looked at her and some rolled their eyes. An ouch for Sofie.

"What are you all doing here? Don't you have homework to do? Go!" She pretended like she didn't see grandmother sitting on the couch. What an arrogance. Nobody moved from their positions. "Are you all deaf? I said go to your rooms!" She screamed.

"Sofia! I'm still here!" Grandmother shouted back. "You are no one to send them away," That was enough of an insult for her. Her eyes fell on me and the hatred was mutual between us.

"Why is she here? She should be in the cellar," She tried to come near me but Natalia stood up between us.

"Be careful, Sofia. You're not the in-charge here," Another insulting moment. This should be enough for her to turn away, but no. She was from a stubborn bone.

"Do you think it's easy to replace me? Have you forgotten all these years of sisterhood? How could you do this to me, Nat?" Oh, I see. The victim play. Let's see how it will end.

"Since when did you start considering me a sister? It was Giovanna all the way. Watch out for your words. I don't want to remind you of your place in this house," Insult moment 3. I would like to salute her patience or stubbornness. Again, my stomach felt uneasy again.

I stood up and ran for a safe place where I could throw up. The girls followed me and kept asking if I was already. I finally found a door at the end of the aisles and opened it, thank God, it was a bathroom. I immediately ran to the commode and threw up. It was my third vomit this week. Was I sick? Was I pregnant? No, how could I? We had sex a few days ago.

"Are you okay, my dear?" Natalia asked, concern dripping off her voice.

"Yeah, I'm trying to b—be okay," I replied, again I threw up and coughed.

"We need a doctor," One of the girls said.

"No, call, brother Luciano," Someone else replied.

"No, I'm okay, girls. I'm really fine," I said. Adeline passed me a tissue and I took it, cleaning my face. "There's no need to call anyone," I murmured and just as I said, I tripped on my feet, Natalia got me but I lost my balance.

I fainted, the third time in my life.