The cozy breeze of La Nostra Terra engulfs us as we step out of the airport. Five years have gone, and these places still have the same familiar looks. Still feels a bit like home.
Aunt Anna had already arranged a ride, but then I got a quick text requesting I head straight to the Galiano corporation.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Anna. But I can't join you both. I need to be at the Galiano corporation." I say apologetically, already flagging down a taxi.
"Please take me with you, Mummy!" Sofia squeals, running to me and grabbing my hand.
"No, baby. You should go home with your Grandma Anna. You need to eat and rest. We just got off a long flight."
"But I'm not tired, Mummy." She says with a pout, hugging me tightly. "Please, take me with you. I promise I won't disturb you or do anything stupid. Please, Mummy."
I glance at Aunt Anna, and she already has her permission written all over her face. She got this weird soft spot for Sofia, making her indulge all of Sofia's whims. She never says no to Sofia. I do, a few times, but it's 'Never' for Aunt Anna.
"Alright, baby. You can tag along. But please, stay close to me, alright?"
"I pinky swear it, Mummy." She giggles, waving goodbye to Aunt Anna.
We board the taxi, and I show the driver the address. Minutes later, we pull up in front of the gigantic building. It has a bold GALIANO written in the middle with exotic fonts.
"Wow…" I hear Sofia gasp as we walk through the revolving door. I have a quick talk with the secretary, and she directs me to the fifth floor, to the CEO's office.
But then, he's in a meeting, and I'll have to wait a little more.
"Thank you." I flash her a warm smile, going to the lobby sofas to get comfortable. Sofia stays so close to me, playing games on my phone.
The wait stretches longer than I expected, and I'm almost dozing off when the secretary calls out to me.
"Hello, Ma'am."
"Yea?" I quickly leap to my feet, pulling Sofia with me.
"Mr. Miguel requests to see you now. You can take the elevator."
Mr. Miguel Galiano. The infamous guru in the business world and the most successful. Back in the years, Father's company used to be at the top. But now, things have changed, and Miguel now rules the business world.
I don't know what rank Father's company is right now. I try not to do any research or read any articles about him and his business. But something tells me they are not doing so great anymore. Because why else will the Galianos take over?
"Mummy, I'm feeling a bit hungry. Can I go get some cookies?"
"Sure, baby." I hand her a few dollar notes. "There's a vending machine down that hall. Do grab something there and come sit here. I'll be back."
"Okay, Mummy." She follows my direction while I turn to the secretary.
"Would you please keep an eye on her for me? I won't be long. I promise." I say hurriedly.
"Sure, Ma'am."
"Thank you." I feel a bit of relief as I find my way inside the elevator, pressing the button to the fifth floor.
Mr. Miguel Galiano turns out to be every bit of the man the media portrays him to be. Tall, lean, handsome, precise. Intense. And a bit aloof.
The meeting takes a longer route as he questions my background, and I try to make him understand that it's personal and has nothing to do with the business.
"Don't get me wrong, Miss Irene," He chuckles, leaning back on his swivel chair. "I just find you a bit intriguing and familiar too. You sure we haven't ever met?"
"I'd know if we did," I reply brusquely, getting slightly irritated by his prying. And nervous too. His smiles are the coldest I've ever seen.
"Right. Right." He mutters, still watching me keenly. His hawk eyes hover around me, like in search of something. If I didn't know better, I'd think he recognizes me to be Irene Dante.
It's a good thing I changed the color of my hair to a brunette. I covered the hereditary glowing brown eyes of the Dantes with blue lenses to match Sofia's. Changed my last name to Ricci, but then again, I've been Irene Ricci ever since Father disowned me. It's good I made these little changes, or he just may have figured it out.
If there's one thing I just learned about my new boss, it has to be the fact that he's obsessed and has an innate hate for father's company. He knows every little detail and hints at them in every conversation.
He stands, adjusting his black tux and stretching his hand for a shake.
"Again, it's a pleasure to have you on board, Miss Irene. I hope we get to come up with crazy-ass strategies and completely kick out the Dantes from the business world."
My hands are trembling as I join them with his, and we shake. "Kick out the Dantes from business?" I repeat, feeling a bit daunted by his words.
"Yeah. Why do you think I'll be paying you so much? Certainly not to sit around and look pretty." He snorts, withdrawing his hand and stuffing them into his pockets.
I'm too fazed to make a comeback, so I swallow past his rude remark and grab my bag. Kick Father out of business. Is it something I'd gladly do, regardless of the money?
"If you stick around a little longer, you'll meet a good friend of mine. He's a major shareholder and just as important as I am in this company."
I turn and try to give a warm smile. "Should I?"
"Yes, you should. He'll be here in–" He checks his wristwatch– "...a few minutes."
"Alright, Sir. I'll wait. But I need to go check something downstairs." I barely end my words when a knock comes on the door.
"Come right in." He says with a hint of irritation.
A young lady walks in with her head lowered. "I'm sorry, Sir. But I'm here to get Miss Irene. There's a little Sofia downstairs, and she seems to have caused a bit of confusion."
"What?" I run out of the office but freeze outside the door as a group of black-suited men with tinted glasses marches towards me. To my dismay, they have Sofia, and she's wearing the most sheepish grin. What's going on?
"I hope she's not your daughter, Miss Irene." The croaky voice of my boss resounds behind me.
"Yes, she is, Sir. Why do you ask?" I retort, hating just how cold he sounds when referring to my daughter.
"Children aren't allowed on the premises. So I'm afraid you can't bring her around here anymore."
His words barely sink in before Sofia breaks away from the hold of the men and run to me.
"Baby, what have you done?" I ask worriedly, squatting in front of her and checking her body for any bruises.
"Mummy, I just saw Daddy downstairs! He came back for us!" Sofia squeals with delight.
The sick idea of visiting La Nostra Terra again has been hell from the very start — the only available private plane that can bring me down here suddenly develops a major fault, so I have to board a flight at the airport. The female flight attendants won't stop trying to get my attention, making the 2-hours flight super irritating. I got swarmed at the airport by the paparazzi, and now the traffic won't let us get through. Can it get any worse than it already has?"I'm sorry, boss. I didn't know the streets could get this busy…" Marcelo sighs, glancing at me. He's my best friend and my underboss. He's also the only reason I haven't shot at anyone yet, despite how badly they've been getting under my skin."Remind me again why I decided to come to this crappy city," I snort, swallowing past a wave of aggressiveness. "Well, for starters, you have to meet Leonardo Dante for whatever business offer he has for you.""Believe me. I didn't take this unpleasant visit for him. I'm the least in
Irene"What do you mean you saw your daddy?" I questioned Sofia, squirting to her size but her smile was beeming with excitement making me doubt if it was an imagination of her's."Yes I saw him and he told me he would be back, he just had to make an important call." Sofia said to me with excitement, I looked up at the CEO who was clearly angry at the little trouble Sofia was staring at and she doesn't even seem to care about any of that."Stop saying that, how can you just assume your father was her when you have never seen him before?" I questioned again, trying my best to keep my voice down so the CEO behind me won't hear."It doesn't matter mommy, it was him. I know it was him." She insisted." Can you please take her out of here already?" The CEO said." You heard what the boss just said, we need to leave." I said to her but Sofia who smiles back," That's better, that way we would get the chance to see daddy outside. If we stay here we won't be able to see him". Sofia responded
My mind was filled with worry and confusion as I paced back and forth in our small apartment. The stranger's promise to Sofia had caught me off guard, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. How could he make such a promise when he knew nothing about us? What if he never showed up again? Sofia's hopes would be shattered, and my heart would break along with hers.I couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in my gut that something wasn't right. How could Sofia be so sure that he was her father? I had always told her that her father was on a business trip, but now doubts began to creep into my mind. What if I had been lied to all these years? What if Sofia's real father was out there somewhere?As I continued to worry, Sofia came running into the room, a big smile on her face. She had a way of bringing light into even the darkest moments."Mama, did you see how much daddy loves me?" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with e
Benjamin —I watched as Irene took Sofia away with her, I don't know what had suddenly gotten into me I can't even let go of Sofia for a second, like she is already a part of me and it hasn't even been up to a day."Boss, Miguel is ready to see you". One of my guard said clearly surprised to see me in the building kitchen."Tell him to come and meet me here." I instructed still trying my best to get the image of Sofia out of my mind."Sir, here in the kitchen?""Do I need to repeat myself?" I asked making the guard rush out. I need to see Sofia again atleast that would be the only way I would be in my right state of mind.Few minutes after continuously thinking about the little angel that just walked into my life.When Miguel walked also a bit stunned to see my waiting in this area of the building."
"So tell me princess, what and what did your daddy buy for you?" I asked Sofia the minute we stepped into our apartment but she seemed quiet and walked directly to the sofa."Why can't daddy stay with us?" She asked, staring deep into my eyes with her sparkling deep blue eyes."That wasn't the answer to the question I asked you." I said also avoiding her questions, Sofia might be just 5 years old but she was definitely wiser than I expected."And why would you want him to stay with us don't you know he has other jobs to do than stay here?" I said a few minutes after not getting any response from Sofia."Because he is my daddy and I want to have a happy family like my friend's." She said sniffing quietly,I dropped the luggages in my hands and rushed up to her cleaning the tears on her cheeks."You don't have to cry Sofia, no one is taking your father away from you." I said but she
Irene —"Why would you assume that I was being scolded by my boss?" I asked, feeling the intensity in his eyes as she stared directly into mine with a fierce look. I slowly tried to pull my hands out of his grip but he wasn't letting go and for a split second there I was totally out of breath.Suddenly, he gave out a sheepish smirk."That's better, if he did not scold you in any way then let's go out for lunch like Sofia requested." He said relaxing back on his seat making Sofia jump up in excitement.As Benjamin, Sofia, and I walked out of the building, hand in hand, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. I knew that Miguel's threat still lingered, and his encounter with Benjamin earlier had only heightened my worries.As we stepped outside, the afternoon sun greeted us, casting a warm glow over the busy streets. Sofia's excitement was contagious as she bounced beside
Irene —"Sofia I love you and so does your father." I said slowly cleaning the tears from my cheeks before she notices anything."That's a big lie, because Daddy told me he wasn't sure he was my father."My heart broke into a thousand pieces as Sofia's words echoed in my ears. How could Benjamin say such a thing to her? It felt like a knife to my chest, and I struggled to find the right words to comfort her."Sofia, Daddy loves you more than anything in this world," I said, my voice shaking. "Sometimes, people say things they don't mean when they're angry or upset. It doesn't change the fact that you are his princess, and he loves you unconditionally."Sofia's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at me, searching for reassurance. "But why would Daddy say something like that, Mama? Doesn't he want to be my Daddy anymore?"I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. "Sometimes, adults have their own problems and worries,
Benjamin—---So this is the infamous Leonardo Dante's villa, I can't wait to see his daughters and mostly the one who made him this way. Although I am not sure she still resides here, I just hope Leonardo Dante business offer is worth all this trouble."Sir, Mr Leonardo Dante would be with you soon." One if his servants said before being and then walking away, I stare at the pictures on the table but all I can see is only one daughter, no signs or picture of the other one."Mr Benjamin Ferrari." I heard from behind me as Leonardo descended from the stairs with a wide smile on hus face and his daughter the one on the picture frames.I stood up almost immediately acting like a gentleman as we shaked hands."Mr Dante." I replied taking my seat with him also sitting opposite mine."What would you like to take?" His daughter asked also faking the smile on her face."I am fine," I replied, she nods and sits beside her dad.