𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀 | ✔

• Chapter 9 •

"Of course she'll like it, you put so much hard work in it", Mom smiles at me. I sigh in relief. V, who was sitting next to me leans over.

"Careful, sister. You're starting to sound like a pedophile", he says, smirking. I scowl at him.

"Bugger off, you twat", I hiss at him. He just shrugs in return. I grab him by the back of his neck.

"You might want to sleep with one eye open tonight", I say with a devilish smile. He pales. Looks like he remembers what happened last time. 

Last winter, he had put hair dye in my shampoo and it was itchy as hell. So to pay him back, when our parents weren't at home, I pulled a Lindsay Lohan. I threw him in the pool when he was sleeping. And mind you, the pool wasn't clean and full of nasty stuff at that time. On top of that, it was cold.

 Karma bites back at idiots. It was fun seeing him struggle not to vomit or faint. The end result was, he never messed with me again. 

Don't mess with me, little boy. I'm the queen of pranks.

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Half an hour later, we reach the estate. Through the tinted windows, I see the whole family standing outside to greet us, as well as an additional small figure. The moment the car stops, I throw myself out of the car.

Squealing, I ignore everyone else except the little figure clad in an orange summer dress. 

"Oh my gosh, you are so cute. Wait, I didn't introduce myself, did I?", I ask after my rather abrupt greeting. She stares at me in shock. When I start getting nervous, she breaks out in a beaming smile.

"Chloe", she says giggling. And an arrow goes straight through my heart.

"Call me Unnie", I say with a grin.

"Unnie", she says tilting her head to one side. Another arrow! Then suddenly she is in Adriano's arms.

"We should go inside now", he says, glaring daggers at me. A smirk pulls at my lips. Through the corner of my eyes, I see Sandro give me a warning look, but I ignore him.

"Talia, honey, give me a kiss on the cheek", I say pointing at my cheek.

"Why?", she asks curiously.

"Because you're too cute", I wink. Giggling she leans from Adriano's arms and gives me a kiss. 

"Thank you, love", I say, handing her the gift, "Here's your reward"

Her eyes sparkle when she sees it.

"We'll play it when we get back from dinner", I say

"Yes!", she says throwing her arms up in the air.

Satisfied that she likes the gift, I turn to greet the rest of my cousins, ignoring Adriano, who is practically burning a hole in my head. My parents and V both fawn over Talia and the next second she is in my mom's arm. They both talk animatedly while the rest watch on.

I notice Adriano standing with Sandro, with a stoic look on his face. Grinning, I walk over to both of them.

"I know that look, don't do anything stupid", Lucio says stopping me. I shoot him a mischievous look.

"Hush now, Lucy", I say teasing him with his nickname given by Talia, "I can handle that stone-face easily. Anyhow, when did you get so serious?"

He just looks at Talia laughing at something mom said. A smile blooms on my face.

"She brings out the best in all of us", he says with a fond look. Chuckling, I leave him behind walking towards my two older cousins.

"Hey Adriano, how about I kidnap Talia, she's so cute!", I say with a cheeky grin. Sandro just shoots me a 'Are you crazy?' look and then walks away.

"Chloe....", he growls.

"I'll perhaps become her favorite. After all, we both are girls. How much stuff do you think she can share with you, hmm?", I say. He glowers at me, his fists clenching. The look on his face tells me he is two seconds away from strangling me. 

But he won't. Even I know he has enough self-restraint not to. Though I can't guarantee that the things in his office will remain unbroken.

This is exactly what I live for. Call me a sadist, but seeing him all riled up makes my day.

"Relax bro, I was just messing with you. Your face though", I giggle. He narrows his eyes at me but chuckles later. Grinning, I go ahead and hug him. Although we both hate each other, we love each other just as much.

"How are you?", I ask softly, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

"It's been a bit hectic", he admits, "I heard a boy caused trouble for you in college"

"Nothing escapes you, does it? And don't worry, it's nothing I couldn't handle. Regardless to say, his family jewels are completely destroyed", I smirk.

"You're ruthless", he replies. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Ruthless?", I scoff, "Please, I let him off easy", I say clicking my tongue.

"Anyways, I am going to Talia, to get my fill of hugs. Bye!", I say waving at him. He just shakes his head and I hear him say something in the end, while I skip towards Talia.

"Crazy girl"

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