Matteo, Leonardo, and Alessandro, the powerful owners of De Angeli Enterprises, are in their early thirties and have built a fearsome reputation worldwide. Known for their ruthlessness and ambition, these men have amassed wealth and influence by tak...
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Leonardo had made the call for them to move to a new house, temporarily relocating the group while security was being reinforced at the main property. The incident with the pizza boy had rattled him even more—security had been too easily breached, and it was clear they couldn't stay in that house until things were sorted. Yulia had overheard Aline mentioning it to Leonardo, and since then, the atmosphere had changed. Though this new house had its charms, particularly the beautiful lake outside, there was a sense of displacement, of unease. The lake was enticing, especially for Yulia, but with the sun sinking lower in the sky, she hesitated to swim.
She stood in the kitchen, the smell of freshly baked croissants filling the air as she prepared dinner. Leonardo sat at the kitchen table, his focus entirely on the laptop in front of him. The room was quiet, the only sound the rhythmic tapping of keys as he worked. The croissants were almost done, golden and flaky in the oven, and the sight of them gave Yulia a small sense of comfort amidst the swirling thoughts in her head.
The tension between her and the men had shifted ever since she'd asked them to stop using nicknames. It wasn't an easy request, but she had felt the need to assert some control over her emotions. Hearing them call her baby or princess while she was grappling with so much uncertainty had started to feel too intimate, too complicated. She needed space to process, and using her name felt like a way to reclaim some of that space.
"Leo," Yulia called softly, breaking the silence in the kitchen. She was standing near the oven, her hands still dusted with flour, the soft heat of baking filling the room. Leonardo lifted his head, dark eyes meeting hers across the room.
"Yes?" he prompted, his voice calm, though his focus seemed split between her and the work on his screen.
"Do I have time to swim in the lake before we leave?" Yulia asked, her voice soft but filled with a kind of hopefulness. The thought of swimming in the peaceful water, even just for a short while, seemed like the perfect escape from the turmoil swirling around them.
Leonardo glanced at his laptop, checking the time briefly before nodding. "Yeah, the jet leaves at four in the afternoon," he replied, his accent thick as the words rolled off his tongue. Yulia smiled, a small flicker of relief passing through her. She'd have time to swim, to clear her head.
But then something shifted in the air. Leonardo paused, his eyes lingering on her in a way that felt different—almost hesitant. "Yulia," he said, the sound of her name coming from him felt foreign, strange even. It wasn't the usual way he spoke to her, and the weight of it hung in the air between them.
She frowned, her brow furrowing at the unfamiliar sound of her own name from his lips. It had been her decision to ask them to use her name, but hearing it now, from Leonardo, made it feel... distant. The intimacy of their nicknames had always been a small comfort, even in moments of tension, and now she realized how much their absence changed the dynamic between them.
