A/N: Hey guys, this is a little bit of a filler chapter, I know! I have the following chapter in my drafts and will upload it very soon!
Love you all lots, Ellie :)
I wake up alone the night after. I assume Luca just waited for me to fall back to sleep before heading back to his own room. Despite this, last night was the best night of sleep I have ever had. My nights are usually dreamless, if not consumed by chilling nightmares. The mafia life tends to have this impact on you. But for the first night in three years, I dream.
I slowly sit up in my bed, dragging myself up so I'm leaning against the wooden headboard. I rub my eyes, and adjust my previously bunched up tank top. After a few minutes, I muster up enough energy to get up. I scoot myself to the edge of my bed, letting my feet hit the cool floor before sliding them into my slippers.
I trudge over to my bathroom and surprisingly my hair isn't matted in a knot on one side of my face. While it's still messy, it's proves pretty easy to tame. I brush through the significant knots before pulling my hair into a ponytail. I wash my face before changing into a pair of sweats and slipping a hoodie on.
I make my way downstairs for breakfast, well I guess lunch, and thankfully don't cross paths with Luca, as I'm assuming he'll either pry and bombard me with questions, or not want to talk about any moments of him showing anything but hatred to me. I don't think I want to either, much too confusing.
As I walk into the kitchen, I catch sight of Claire talking to one of our bodyguards, Lucas. They seem pretty entranced in their conversation, and I don't miss the redness on Claire's cheeks. I clear my throat to snap them out of their intense interaction, and Lucas immediately steps away from her once he notices my presence.
I laugh softly at their awkwardness and smirk, looking between two of them. "Hmm." I hum, smiling, trying to suppress a huge grin.
"Uh. Well, I better head back. Bye." Lucas says, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
Once he exits the room, I let the grin out and grab Claire by her pink cheeks. "So you and Lucas huh?" I ask, wriggling my eyebrows at her. She rolls her eye but has a soft smile dancing on her lips when she pries my hands off her face.
"There's nothing going on." She mumbles, looking away from me.
She's clearly lying.
I narrow my eyes at her playfully. "Don't lie to me, C." I say.
She looks back to me and a sheepish smile is plastered on her face. "Fine." She gives in. "We like each other." She admits. "But you can't tell anyone. Your father made it very clear employees can't date. He'd have our heads if he found out." She pleads.
I scrunch my face and furrow my brows upon hearing her repetition of my father's orders, before finally rolling my eyes. "That's a dumb rule. Plus, I could never let anything happen to you." I reassure.
"Please don't say anything, Vee." She begs.
I gently place my hands on her shoulders. "I'm not gonna, C. But if you ever want to go public with him, you have my full support. I can talk to my father." I encourage. She seems to relax at this, as her shoulders lower from their previously hunched and stiff position, and she lets out a big breath. "So what's for lunch?" I ask, changing the subject. She shakes her head at me playfully, smiling.
"You want a sandwich?" She offers, I simply nod in response. "You know you and Luca are the only ones to ever ask me to make lunch." She comments, clearly amused.
I try to play it off by shrugging, but I think she notices me tense at his name. I'm not sure why my body reacts this way, but it does.
"Speaking of Luca," I begin, taking a seat at one of the stools. "Where is he?" I question, attempting to seem casual.
