𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴.
***
Giselle Martin prefers a quiet life, hiding in the shadows, and watching her childhood crush live out his playboy whims.
When she comes back from school...
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CHAPTER 1
"The sensitive suffer more; but they love more, and dream more."
<3
"Giselle please get down from that tree,"
I jumped and hit my head on a branch that was right above me. I looked down at my father who was glaring up at me with his hands on his hips.
"In a little bit,"
Oftentimes people cannot tell when they like someone or if they just want someone to like them. The latter leans towards obsession, infatuation: every thought is filled with them, fantasizing about them liking you, loving you, being as obsessed with you as you are with them.
How do you actually tell the difference between knowing if you love someone or if you just want to be loved?
I have no idea.
I'm the last person to ask.
But I did have an idea of where I fell on the spectrum when it came to Giovanni De Luca. I laid dreamfully in the tree that overlooked the backyard of the De Luca Mansion, trying ignore the branch that was prodding my ribs.
Tonight was Gina De Luca's 60th birthday party. It was the biggest social event of the season for the upper class in Long Island.
While also being her birthday party, it also served as a networking event for the De Luca family business.
Mrs. De Luca has retired for some time now as Vincent De Luca, her oldest son, had immediately taken over twelve years ago when he graduated from Yale. After three years as the CEO and president of the De Luca corporations he had finally turned the 2.3 billion dollar family business into some serious money.
Part of me was genuinely surprised he was still working when he could easily find a replacement and retire. Perhaps he liked his job, though I doubted it. Truthfully, he was stressed because he had to take care of his roles and his younger brother's.
Giovanni hadn't stepped foot into their one-hundred floor office building in the city in ten years.
Giovanni De Luca was not as work savvy as his brother, but perhaps that's why I found him so charming. He was so laid back and at ease, not to mention incredibly handsome with his strong jawline and fair features.
I spotted him gracefully twirl a woman in a cream dress around, amidst the other couples who were dancing. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear and she giggled in response, blushing. Giovanni smiled down at her and I felt my stomach drop.
"Do you think I'm funny?" I asked my dad, looking down at him from my spot in the tree.
"Hilarious, you should have a talk show. Now come down."
