[DISCONTINUED] Don't Forget

Don't Understand

"I'm happy the two of you did that. You have been so good for him, I can see it."

"And he's been good for me..." Him and Emiliano, Simone thought to herself. She knew that Violetta was uncomfortable the fact that Simone was with both men and tried not to bring it up too much with her. She appreciated that Violetta never went as far as shaming them for it, and simply allowed their relationship to exist as it did.

The two of them sipped on their cappuccinos as they leaned against the bar and continued with some small talk before Simone asked a question that had been plaguing her since she and Luca arrived at the orphanage.

"Hey Violetta, that little girl, Bianca. Luca knew her and she said he taught her how to draw, but I know for sure that she wasn't here last time I visited. What happened?"

Violetta's eyes softened and she sighed before answering Simone's question. "Yes, well... Bianca is a special case. Her father was from somewhere in West Africa — I can't remember the exact country — and her mother is Sicilian. Her father wasn't in the picture and Bianca was first left here by her mother when she was a newborn. You see, her mother's family, they..."

Violetta drifted off into a long pause and examined Simone hesitantly.

"They didn't... accept Bianca because she is... Well, she... They refused to see her as one of them."

Simone gulped, feeling a pain in her chest for Bianca, knowing exactly why her mother's family didn't accept the child.

"Her mother promised that she would return for Bianca once she found some work, was on her feet, and less dependent on her family. Finally, when Bianca was five-years-old — just a few months before you visited here for the first time — her mother retrieved her, saying she found some work in Palermo and had her own apartment. Considering the fact her mother dropped her off here when she was two and hadn't made contact since, Bianca was going home with someone who was practically a stranger to her, but still seemed excited about starting a new life."

"Mhm," Simone nodded as she listened attentively.

"Well, about a year ago, Bianca showed up here again, and she wasn't in the best condition... It was clear she'd been through quite a bit of trauma. We still do not know what happened — the child will not talk about it, but we do have her going to the resident therapist regularly."

Simone's mood completely plummeted and she felt her heart physically aching for the girl. "And the mother? Where's she?"

"We're not sure. She showed up a couple months ago looking for Bianca and just the sight of her was triggering for the child. After that incident, we told her to stay away. She threatened to call the police and have Bianca returned to her, but as with everything else, they did nothing. For once we benefited from their laziness."

Simone was seething with anger. She'd only met the girl a few days ago, but immediately felt a protectiveness over her and noticed that Bianca seemed intrigued with her as well.

Violetta noticed how tense Simone had become and reached out to take her hand. "We are taking good care of Bianca," she assured. "When Luca first started putting money into the orphanage, two of his first priorities were security and mental health support for the children."

"Right, of course..." Simone was still uneasy, but tried to push her feelings down as not to be consumed by them. "As long as Bianca is getting the help she needs."

***

"How was your day at the orphanage, tesoro?" Luca asked as the two of them were getting ready to meet with some of his friends at a nearby bar. The Sicilians had been dragging their feet on meeting with Luca, but neither of them had any objections considering there hadn't been any major incidents in their region yet and it gave Luca an excuse not to go back to Florence.