CHAPTER 51
BIANCA’S POV
It had been a smoothly going day for me. To be very honest, I was extremely scared to step out of home but then, I didn’t want to get Manuel more worried. I knew he was putting a lot of efforts to ensure I was safe. I could only show support in my little way.
I looked at Nonno who was giving a closing remark for the meeting, and flashed him a grin. I was so happy and proud to be Nonno’s little pet. It gave me the opportunity to really come across wealthy and affluent people in the country. When we had arrived for the board meeting today, I had expected to be left outside the board room, but was suprised when Nonno took me in with him. The members of the board didn’t even look suprised to see me, like they had already predicted he was gonna bring me along. Nonno made an official introduction between I and the members who already knew who I was. It was a sweeter feeling when they introduced themselves in return, and made it known that they were at my service to help navigate my new duties as CEO much easily.
Seeing my grin, Nonno gave me a boyish wink that got me giggling. I quickly put my palm over my lips when some of the board members looked my way in confusion. I waited patiently for Nonno to be done with the meeting, so we could head back to his penthouse. I was giddy for a particular reason though. He had promised me a present, which I was much eager to see already.
“Ladies, gentlemen, we should call it a day.” Nonno announced, making me very excited. We were leaving already! The rest of the board stood to their feet as Nonno began making his way out of the room, stopping by my side, he stretched out his hand. “Let’s go Nipotina.” I quickly stood with my handbag and held his outstretched hand, before walking out together with him. The moment we stepped out of the doors, the bodyguards stationed there took an active stance. I had been suprised to see how many more men Nonno had added to his retinue this morning. He didn’t have to say it, but I knew it was as a result of the incident yesterday. He was worried about me, so he literally trippled the number of bodyguards today. Sincerely, that action of his, made me feel a lot more safe.
We walked out of the tall office building, and headed straight to Nonno’s penthouse. When we got there, I was suprised to see two unfamiliar faces seated inside and waiting for us to come. Both men looked Asian, and it made me wonder why they were here. There was no need asking who they were because I was sure that Nonno wouldn’t hesitate to introduce them to me.
“My dear,” He looked at me, then back at the men. “I know you’ve been particularly excited to know what suprise this old man has in store for you.” He said, pointing at himself. I chuckled lightly and nodded in agreement. “Your suprise comes in two. Let me introduce you to Yen Wei.” He said pointing at one of the men.
“Hello.” I waved, and the man gave a slight bow.
“Yen Wei here, is a very popular artiste in China. I had him draw a portrait for you.” When Nonno said that, the man walked to the centre table, and that was when I noticed a large frame on the table, wrapped up in a brown paper.
“I hope it is to your pleasure madame.” His english accent was far from being impressive, but I could still make out what he was saying. He carried the frame over to me and Nonno. One look at Nonno and he nodded his head in approval for me to open the frame. With a low sigh of anticipation, I gradually pulled the brown wrap off. When it was completely removed, I looked into the frame and released a low sigh when I saw the painting. They were two women in the painting, who stood closely together. One was clearly me, and the other was a strange woman who looked a whole lot like me. I had never seen her before in my life, making my brain do a quick search. Even after I tried to rack my brain for any memories of the supposed woman, I couldn’t find any. I bent down and decided to pay more attention to the portrait. She had coffee brown hair, pale skin just like mine, and her eyes were….. totally identical to mine. It was then I finally realized who she was. Rosa.
“Rosa.” I muttered, tears clogging my eyes unexpectedly. She was indeed a spitting image of me. When Manuel’s family had talked about how much I looked like their late grandmother, I didn’t really believe until now. I placed my hands on the glass frame and trailed my fingers through her perfectly sculpted face. “Nonna.” I called out.
“You recognize her.” I heard Nonno squatting behind me, and quickly stood up. He wasn’t supposed to be taking such postures, it could be bad for his knees.
“Yes I do.” I held his arms and pulled him up. For the first time since I knew him, he teared up. Before I could even think twice, I hugged him tightly, hoping it was enough to comfort him. Now, I understood why he loved me so much. I finally could see the reason why I was so dear to him. He had truly seen his late wife in me. For some reason, I felt privileged to have identical features as that of the late Madame Rosa Russo.
“Thank you for coming back to me.” He muttered. “Thank you for coming to comfort me in my weak and frail phase of life. I would finally go to meet you, satisfied and contented when the time comes.” He definitely wasn’t talking to me.
I let him hold me in his embrace for as long as possible, before pulling away from him. I couldn’t help but stare at the potrait again. I was completely mesmerized. How? Why?
“I knew Rosa would have loved you, had she been alive.” He sighed, walking to the empty sofa and lowering himself onto it. I quickly joined him there, while the two men just stared away, probably feeling like they were intruding in our private moment. To be very honest, I thought they were. More than anything else, I wasn’t okay with the fact that they saw Nonno tear up. “Now that I think of it, this is all her doing.” He muttered, looking down at my hand and taking it into his. “Manuel was her favourite grandson, you know?” He smiled warmly. “And in extension, he became mine.”
“He was yours?” I asked curiously. “But you both do not really…”
“Flow well?” He asked, and I nodded.
“I have noticed the friction between you both for a while now. And you also had a misunderstanding early this morning.”
“Hmmm…” He gave a tight smile. “He tells you everything now. Heart warming.”
“No Nonno, he said nothing to me. I just figured it out myself. The countenance you both had on your faces this morning was enough to let me know. I had actually tried discussing it with him, but he kept avoiding the topic. It made me feel sad for a moment.” I sighed. Slowly, Nonno’s face spread into a wide smile.
“Oh, my dear. You still love him.” He wasn’t asking, he was stating facts. Shamelessly, I nodded in agreement.
“But he doesn’t really love me….”
“You’re changing him.” He cut me off, then looked up at the men who were still standing. For a moment, I had forgotten they were still here with us. “Please gentlemen, excuse us for a minute.” He gave a small smile, before calling his housekeeper. “Aggie?”
“Yes Sir.” She walked in from the kitchen immediately.
“Please escort these gentlemen to the drawing room. I would be with then shortly.” He said, and she walked up the men.
“Please come with me.” She muttered to them and they followed her behind.
“So back to what we had been talking about.” Nonno smiled at me. “Manuel is changing. I am seeing those changes. His Nonna’s plan was the best after all. You are really the best person to handle him.” In truth, I could also see the changes. It had been gradual at first, but now it had become clearer. He wasn’t the same man I knew in the beginning. But was I truly the one changing him? What if it was just because of our baby? ‘Did he also kiss your neck today, because of your baby?’, my subconscious mocked. “No wonder she had brought you both to that island.” He smiled.
“Manuel said she was buried there.”
“Oh? He told you that much?” He asked in suprise, and I nodded.
“Anazing.” He muttered to himself.
“I really want to know what went wrong between you both yesterday.”
“Did Manuel tell you how his grandmother got buried in Russia?” He asked.
“No.” I shook my head, wondering where all these was leading.
“Then, you should wait for Manuel to tell you about it himself.” Why did I have a feeling that there was a lot more to all of these.
*
*
“Happiest birthday to you Massimo.” I smiled, handing over the freshly baked cake to him. Trust me, I had done a lot of stuffs at Nonno’s place today. It had been so late in the afternoon when I remembered it was Massimo’s birthday today. With the help of Aggie, I was able to do a simple cake for him. It was small, but better than nothing.
“My God.” He whispered, looking at me in disbelief.
“I’m sorry it’s so small. But I just couldn’t stay without doing something for you on such a special day.” I gave a small smile.
“No, it’s not small.” He sighed, looking down at the cake in my hand.
“Take it.”
“Thank you.” He muttered, finally collecting the cake from me. “I think you should take the night off.” I said. “Miguel and Andrew can see me off home safely.” I pointed at the two bodyguards Nonno had newly assigned to me. The stood behind me, watching every corner like hawks. I didn’t blame them, it was night already.
“I’m sorry, but I have to safely see you home Miss B.” I frowned at his words and he released a sigh. “Or I could take you to the Don’s office.” Was Manuel yet to leave work?
“My husband is still at the office?”
“Yes ma.” He nodded. Wow, that was unusual.
“Is all well?”
“He probably just has a lot of work to tend to.” Massimo replied. Suddenly, a better idea struck my mind. How about….
“Okay then.” I grinned. “You can take me to his. We both would go home together.”
“That’s totally fine.” He nodded. We all walked towards the car and I hopped in, Miguel and Andrew following behind in another car. The ride to Manuel’s office had been suprisingly short, and I wasted no time to go into the office building. I made straight for his office and when I got there, I noticed Julia had closed for the day. So should Manuel. I was gonna try to pull him out of whatever work he was doing and if he refused, I would have no choice but to stay back with him, until he was ready to retire.
I walked towards the connecting door and for a second, I thought I heard the voice of a lady. It seemed Julia was still around after all. With a small push, I opened the door and made my way in. The person I had seen inside with Manuel, was clearly not whom I had expected. What was his ex doing here?
He looked to be in shock as he saw me, and it made me wonder if I disrupted something ‘important’. I begged my brain not to jump into conclusions just yet.
“Bianca.” He muttered, his eyes staring directly into mine.
“Good evening.” I tried my best to put on a bold front. “I thought it would have been nice to have dinner at some fancy restaurant tonight.” I said, walking towards the table where he stood, with Francesca mere inches away from him. ‘Do not jump into conclusions Bianca’, my subconscious reminded me. Right. “Or are you busy?” I asked. Now, it was time for him to prove my thoughts right or wrong.
“Of course not!” He rushed out, before looking at Francesca who just stood like a pillar. “Francesca was just leaving.”
“Was she?” I asked, and he looked at her again.
“Of course.”
Just then Francesca turned and started walking out, brushing my shoulders so roughly as she walked past me. The moment she was out, I turned to Manuel. We stared at each other for a while, not knowing what to say. Eventually, he broke the silence and spoke first.
“It’s not what you think.”
“It sure isn’t.” I chuckled. “It’s so late in the night by the way.” I added, passing my message. What were the both of them doing alone in his office, so late at night? If I hadn’t come, what would have happened?
“I swear, nothing happened.” He walked up to me and held my hands in his. “I would never cheat on you. Please don’t let Francesca ruin what we are trying to build.” Hmmm… Why did his words sound so familiar? ‘It’s because you have said the exact same words to him before, silly!’, my subconscious helped juggle my memory. That was true. The night he had seen me with Anthonio. Slowly, a smile made it’s way to my face and I held onto his tie, pulling his face closer to mine with it.
“I won’t.” I shook my head and he released a low sigh, a smile making it’s way to his face.
“Your presence is such a wonderful suprise.” He muttered.
“Oh, now is it?” I chuckled.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
“Absolutely! What do you have for me?”
“A lot.” I whispered, our faces still very close to each other’s. “A whole lot. But first, you have to sit down.” I slowly pushed him backwards, until the back of his knees hit one of the chairs. “Sit.” I ordered, and he obeyed. His tie slipped away from my hand as he did, and I went on my knees before him. He looked down at me in suprise, wondering what next I was going to do. My hand reached out for his belt and I began unbuckling it. “No doubt that it would be a mouthful, but I’m particularly curious about how good its gonna taste.” I locked eyes with him as I pulled down his zip and took out his hard cock from his boxers. I hope this turned to be as pleasurable as Mila had said.
*
*
The moment I joined him in bed, he pulled me closer to himself and sniffed my neck.
“You always smell so good.” He whispered into my ears.
“Thank you.” I smiled even though he couldn’t see my face in that position. I sighed in exhaustion, waiting for sleep to eventually come. We were both so tired. After the marathon sex we had in his office, we had returned home to still have sex while having our bath together. My thighs ached so badly and my pussy felt sore in a good way. I would gladly be sore everyday, if Manuel was the reason why. Most of all, I was very happy I had satisfied him so well today. I had given him a blowjob and he had groaned so loudly as he released into my mouth. I had not seen it coming, so I swallowed it even before I realized. Now, I understood why Mila said it was pleasurable. I guess it was the feeling that came with giving your partner so much pleasure. His grunts, growls and low sighs had been more than enough to get me wet. It was satisfying indeed.
I listened as his breathing calmed down, and decided it was now or never. I had to talk to him about his strained relationship with Nonno. What intrigued me the most was the fact that he used to be Nonno’s favourite. So how did they come to this? What happened?
“Please…” I exhaled, making him turn me to face him.
“What is it?” He asked, and I blinked furiously.
“I really want to know. Please tell me what happened between you and your grandparents. Nonno said you’d be in the best place to tell me everything.” At my words, he released a low grunt and gently pulled away from me. My face fell in disappointment. He was definitely not going to….
“It’s one of my biggest regrets in life.” He suddenly said, making me look up at him immediately.
“We all have regrets.”
“Trust me, mine is a very unforgettable mistake. I know I delude myself into thinking that I deserve Nonno’s forgiveness but truly, I do not.” He sighed.
“What did you do that could have been so bad?” I frowned, mainly at his unkind words to himself. How could he think he didn’t deserve forgiveness for whatever?
“I killed her.”
“You killed who?” I asked, furrowing my brows in thought of why he could have said such a figurative statement.
“I killed my Nonna. I killed his wife.”