Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Olivia
Ten days after Bianca got thrown out, life finally seemed to settle into some kind of peace.
Ezio kept his word. After that day, nobody in the manor mentioned her name again. Her room got cleaned out, every piece of clothing removed, even the locks changed. Elsa told me Ezio had ordered it himself, "Don't leave any trace behind."
His decisiveness made me feel better.
Maybe we really could move past everything. Maybe we could have a fresh start.
I woke earlier than usual this morning.
The curtains weren't fully drawn. A thin strip of light leaked through the gap, slanting across the floor. I lay there for a while, listening to the sounds in the hallway—footsteps and laughter tangled together, mixed with Juliet's hushed voice. "Keep it down! Vivi's still sleeping!"
"But it's licking my feet!" Leo's voice was completely out of control, high and piercing. "It tickles!"
"Then stop moving! I'll get your socks."
"But it licked me again!"
I sat up in bed, sleep still clinging to me, but my lips were already curving up.
Outside the door came the sound of paws scratching, then Leo's yelp. "It got in!"
The door burst open a crack, and a gray furball squeezed through, its four stubby legs skidding on the floor before it charged straight for my bed.
"Macy!" I called out. The French bulldog puppy had already jumped onto the bed, burying its wet nose in my neck, tail wagging like a helicopter rotor.
Ezio had brought this puppy home a week ago to burn off the kids' energy.
Looked like it was burning through the adults' energy too.
Leo chased in, one foot bare, hair a mess like a bird's nest, holding up a tiny sock. When he saw Macy already sprawled on me, his expression mixed frustration with laughter. "Macy! You're cheating!"
Juliet followed behind, hands on her hips, playing the little adult, but the corners of her mouth were turning up too. "Leo, I told you to put your shoes on first."
"But I did! Macy stole my sock!"
"Then why is your other foot bare. too?"
Leo looked down at his two bare feet, froze for a second, then said matter-of-factly, "Because it stole the other sock too."
Juliet rolled her eyes, the expression exactly like Ezio's. Sometimes I'd get this flash of confusion, feeling like this kid had a miniature, blonde version of Ezio living inside her—that matter-of-fact coldness, that look of wanting to laugh but holding it in, identical to her father.
"Alright, alright," I peeled Macy off me and pulled my robe together. "Come here, both of you."
Leo immediately pounced, like a little cannonball diving into my arms. His pajamas were wrinkled, his hair smelled like toothpaste—clearly he'd brushed his teeth himself.
Juliet was more reserved, coming over to lean against my shoulder.
She didn't throw herself on me like Leo, but her little hand quietly grabbed my sleeve.
Macy circled twice on the blanket, finally found a satisfactory spot, flopped down on Leo's legs, and let out a contented sigh.
"Vivi," Leo looked up at me, eyes bright. "What are we having for breakfast?"
"What do you want?"
"Chocolate pancakes!" he said immediately, then hesitated. "Can we?"
"Yes," I ruffled his hair. "But you need to comb your hair first and wash your face."
"I can comb my own hair!" Juliet said immediately.
"I know you can," I pinched her nose. "But will you help Leo too?"
Juliet glanced at Leo. "Fine. But Leo, you have to sit still and not move around."
"Okay." Leo drew out his answer.
I watched them run off hand in hand to wash up, Macy jumping off the blanket to follow, four stubby legs running fast.
Outside the window, sunlight had fully brightened, shining on the manor's lawn. The dew hadn't dried yet, reflecting scattered light. Someone was trimming the hedges in the distance, the mower's buzz mixing with birdsong.
I sat on the bed, listening to the water sounds and children's voices from the hallway, suddenly feeling a sense of unreality.
I got this feeling sometimes—whenever life got too good, I couldn't help wondering when it would be taken away.
I shook the thought off and got up to change clothes.
Twenty minutes later, the three of us, plus Macy, appeared in the dining room.
Ezio was already at the table, a newspaper spread before him, a cup of black coffee at his elbow. He wore a dark gray shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms, revealing a stretch of solid wrist. He looked up at the sound, his gaze first pausing on me, then settling on the two children.
"Morning," he said, his voice still carrying a touch of early-morning rasp.
"Morning." I returned the greeting, sitting across from him.
"Daddy!" Juliet ran over, stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Will you come home early today?"
"I'll try," he lifted her onto the chair beside him. "Why?"
"Because Vivi's teaching me a new move, and I want you to see!" Juliet's eyes shone. "It's a turn. Vivi says I'm doing really well."
"Is that so?" Ezio glanced at me, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"She's very talented," I said, accepting the coffee cup the servant handed me. "Great musicality and body coordination."
"Like her mother," he said, tone flat, but a gleam of pride in his eyes.
"I think so too." I deliberately gave him a look.
He glanced at me without answering, lowered his head back to the newspaper. But I saw that line at the corner of his mouth curve up a bit more.
Leo finally ran in from the doorway then, Macy at his heels, nearly tripping him.
"Ezio!" He ran up to Ezio breathlessly, looking up, completely serious. "I get to eat chocolate pancakes today! Mom promised!"
"Wow, that's amazing!" Ezio said, reaching out to straighten his crooked collar.
"Of course!" Leo said loudly, then climbed onto the chair next to Ezio, short legs dangling in the air. "Ezio, do you want some too? Chocolate pancakes are so good!"
"I don't."
"So good!" Leo emphasized, eyes round. "Really good! A hundred times better than cereal!"
Ezio looked at me, somewhat helpless.
"Fine," he said. "I'll have some."
Leo smiled with satisfaction, turning to tell Juliet, "See, Ezio likes chocolate pancakes too!"
"He always liked sweet things," Juliet said quietly, but her tone full of pride. "One time at midnight, I even saw him eating ice cream."
"Juliet," Ezio's voice deliberately dropped a degree. "When was this?"
"Last week," Juliet blinked innocently. "That pint in your study fridge—you didn't think I didn't know, did you?"
I couldn't help laughing.
Ezio's ears turned slightly red, but he quickly recovered that deliberately calm expression, picking up the newspaper again.
When breakfast arrived, Leo was already impatient. He forked up a piece of pancake and stuffed it in his mouth, cheeks puffed out, chocolate sauce at the corner of his mouth, saying indistinctly, "So good!"
"Slow down," I handed him a napkin. "Don't choke."
"Leo, you eat so fast," Juliet poked at the pancake on her own plate, commenting. "Like Macy."
Macy heard her name and poked her head out from under the table, looking longingly at the food in Leo's hand.
"Macy wants some too!" Leo said, about to toss a piece down.
"No," Ezio and I said simultaneously.
We looked at each other.
"Dogs can't eat chocolate," I said.
"She'll throw up," Ezio said.
Leo looked at both of us, shrank his neck, and stuffed the pancake back in his mouth. "Okay."
Juliet laughed quietly beside him.
The dining room fell quiet for a while, only the sound of forks against plates. Macy circled twice under the table, realized nobody was feeding her, finally gave up, and flopped down by my feet to doze.
"By the way," Ezio suddenly spoke, tone as casual as discussing the weather. "Do you have plans today?"
I looked up at him. "Juliet's ballet class this afternoon. Why?"
"Nothing," he turned a page of the newspaper. "Be home for dinner."
"Okay," I said.
He turned another page, but his gaze looked over the top of the paper, landing on my face, pausing for two seconds. "You have a mark on your cheek."
I instinctively touched my left cheek.
"Must be from the pillow," I said.
He blinked, those deep green eyes staring straight at me. His finger deliberately rubbed slowly on his own cheek a few times, then brought it to his lips, tongue tip flicking out to lick it.
My gaze involuntarily fixed on those seductive eyes, heart pounding like a drum.
Damn. This man was sexy as hell.
Ezio's eyes rested on my flushed face. He smirked, said nothing more, and lowered his head back to the newspaper.
Leo finished his last piece of pancake, pushed the plate aside, and leaned back against the chair with satisfaction. "Mom, can we go see that cat this afternoon? Juliet said the backyard cat had kittens!"
"Yes," I said. "But you need to finish your homework first."
"I already finished it!" Leo puffed out his chest proudly.
"He finished last night," Juliet testified from the side. "And got two problems wrong. I helped him fix them."
"That's because those problems were too hard!" Leo protested.
"How is addition within ten hard?"
"It just is!"
"It's not."
"Is!"
I watched them bicker without interrupting.
Juliet's English was way better than Leo's—she'd grown up here, after all, while Leo had only learned basics in France.
But Leo had a natural stubbornness. The more he couldn't argue, the more he insisted.
And Juliet's mouth didn't give quarter, but every time Leo really got upset, she'd be the first to comfort him.
Like that day Leo fell, Juliet ran over to blow on his knee. She didn't even notice how worried she was.
"Alright," Ezio folded the newspaper, voice not loud, but both children immediately quieted down. "Whoever clears their plate first decides what cartoon we watch this afternoon."
Leo and Juliet looked at each other, then simultaneously started scarfing down the last few bites on their plates, so fast it looked like a race.