MATTEO
Bianca stands against a black Mercedes as Leonardo and I get out of the plane and walk towards her.
It's been two days since Ella and her family arrived to Italy and two pathetic days without her for me. Even though I have stayed all these years away from her and without her, the two days after being with her had been awfully worse somehow.
On top of that, work has been a pain in my ass. That intruder would not speak a word and the smug smile on his face every time he saw someone infuriated with him would make me punch the shit out of him.
"Don't think about work so much," Bianca comments the moment I near her. She smiles at me softly and pulls back her sunglasses on her head.
"Bianca." I hug her.
These past two days I have been calling both, Luca and Bianca, every hour for an update of how things are. From what they have told me, Ella have managed things very well. She designed a new wedding invitation, changed the decorations entirely, selected her wedding dress and what fucking not.
Once when on call Luca almost revealed Ella's wedding dress to me, I almost told Bianca to shoot him.
Only eight more days before I will finally marry her.
"Come on, guys," Bianca says as she walks to the driver seat. I get into the passenger and Leo goes over to the back seat. There are three cars are in front of us and four are in the back.
The estate is about half an hour away. It's out of the city and in the countryside. It's our family estate. Back when mom and dad were alive, we all used to come to Italy and stay there.
"Matteo, I need to tell you something." Bianca announces while she drives the car out of the airport.
By the stiffness in her shoulders I can tell I am not about to like what she is going to say.
"What happened?" My voice drops low.
She glances at me before moving her eyes back on the road.
"We found an intruder in the middle of the night. He was trying to get into Ella--"
"Why the fuck am I hearing about this now!?" I growl, cutting her off.
"Calm down, Matteo."
"Why did you not call me the moment you found the fucker?"
Bianca glances at me again, a nervousness in her eyes.
"I killed him." She admits. For a second everything seems confusing before I finally process what she said.
"What?" I ask in a calmer tone.
She clenches her jaw but doesn't comment anything.
Bianca does not like killing. She is an excellent fighter and she can defeat anyone in the matter of a few seconds but she does not kill until absolutely necessary.
After her first kill, she had been determined to not kill anyone until she had to in order to save herself or someone close to her. People call Bianca soft for not killing but they haven't realised how ruthless she can be when the time calls for it.
"How?" I ask.
She takes a few seconds before answering me.
"Threw my knife at his head." Her grip on the stirring wheel tightens, knuckles turning white.
Concern takes over me. Like I said, Bianca does not like killing. She can toucher, she can show them a glimpse of death and all this is related to her first kill.
Bianca still have not told me the full story about what happened but since then, she became a knife user. Her weapon of choice switched from a gun to a knife. It is not the best weapon to use in my opinion and neither it's something I would like Bianca using but slowly she proved to me that she can handle a knife better than anyone else I know.
"Bianca--" Leo calls her name.
"Let's change the topic, shall we?" Bianca cuts him off, her eyes fixed on the road.
My eyes meet Leo's in the mirror and we both know better than to push Bianca.
"Have you decided the suits for your groomsmen?" She asks, changing the topic herself.
But before I can answer, Leo beats me to it. "He hasn't even asked me to be his Best Man." He scoffs.
Bianca raises her eyebrows. "You wanna be the Best Man?"
Leo grimaces. "If not me then who?" His sharp gaze turns to me and he glares. "Are you cheating on me with some other man, Mattie?"
I groan and Bianca shakes her head, a smile on her face. "I have decided the suit and talked to the tailor myself." I answer her question.
"Very well then," she nods.
"You decided the suits?! You didn't even ask me!"
"What about your suit?" Bianca asks, both her and I ignore ignoring what Leo just said.
"Talked to the designer, gave my measurements." I inform.
While in New York, I had someone take my measurements and send it to the designer. The designer is based in Italy and is very well known.
Though the reason I chose this designer isn't because he is famous or well known. He is one of Ella's favourite designer meaning she loves his work. Whatever I will be wearing, I want Ella to love it.
And the groomsmen suit, I am getting them made from one of my favourite designer--who is again based in Italy. Though the designer works for high-end, luxury companies and doesn't do custom made designs for anyone who isn't working with the brand, he made an exception for me.
Or rather he had to.
"Who all are my groomsmen?" I ask.
Bianca looks at me in disbelief. "You are not aware of who all are the groomsmen?" Before I can reply to her question, she answers mine. "Leo, Luca and Arthur Byrne."
I nod. I had an idea of who all might be but I did not think that Arthur would agree to be a groomsmen.
My mind wanders off to Ella. Luca almost revealed her wedding dress but luckily I didn't even get a glimpse of it. I am already aware of who all are her bridesmaid.
Luca told me that she has been--and I quote him--handling everything like a pro instead of being bridezilla. When Luca and Ella told me that Ella wanted to plan the wedding, I felt a hope of something in my chest. That maybe she didn't despise me or the idea of marrying me as much as I thought.
"The invitations were sent out yesterday. Ella sat with the designer for two hours and made them day before yesterday. The final product was actually stunning." She turns her head to look at me before focusing back on the road.
"You know," Leo's voice comes from the backseat. "I still don't understand why Ella is planning everything herself. She doesn't even want the wedding." Fucking hell.
Bianca lets out a soft hmm. "I, for one, understand where she is coming from."
Leo places his elbows on his knees and lean forward. "Care to elaborate, princess?"
She shoots him a click glare and the corner of my mouth tilts up. "Do not call me a princess."
"Or what?" Leo asks, amused.
"Or I'll show you what each of my knifes would look like carved into your skin."
His head falls back as he lets out a laugh. "You can try but you won't succeed." He winks at her even though her gaze is fixed on the road.
"You still haven't elaborated." Leo states after a few seconds of silence.
Bianca sighs softly. "Many girls dream of a wedding they want ever since they are kids. You have this idea in their head, this fantasy of what they want their wedding to be like." She seems lost in her thought for a minute.
"Oh yes, I remember how you had a binder made for how you want your wedding to be." I say.
Bianca's eyes widen and she glares at me. "What the fuck? How the hell do you think about it?" I wink at her and doesn't answer. She did not use to be the best at hiding her things.
"Bianca Bianchi had a binder made of her dream wedding?" Leo says, amused.
She groans but doesn't comment. Leo continues the conversation and teases her while I watch everything pass-by as we make our way to the estate.
* * *
The car comes to a stop in front of the house inside the estate. The soft air hits me as I get out of the car. It's been about a year or so since I have been here. After mom and dad's death, I wasn't able to come here till last year when Bianca and Luca convinced me.
Though it hurt being back here without them at that time--and even now--being here felt like some sort of comfort at the same time.
All the memories and my childhood spent here with them. Their room is still out of limits and no one but the three of us can go inside.
Shaking my parents' thought out of my head, my eyes scan the area of the estate. There are people all over, decorating, planning, offloading stuff and more. But that's not what my eyes are desperate to see. Not what literally every single cell in my body is desperate to see.
"She is not out here right now." Bianca's voice snaps me out of my thought. How the fuck did she know I'm trying to search for Ella?
Sighing, I walk around the car and take out my luggage from the back. The maids come out of the house and greets me with respect before taking the luggage and going back inside the house.
"Matteo." A voice, thick with Italian accent, calls my name and even without looking at the owner of the voice, I know who it is.
"Giulia." A smile takes place on my face as I look at her.
Our cook and a lady who has been with my family long before I was born. Even though she works for me and my family, she has became more than just that in the span of these years. In fact, she is a family member now.
Giulia is in her mid seventies. Though her energy is unmatchable. Along with mom and dad, she raised me and my siblings. I, being the eldest and the one who spent most of my childhood in Italy, am the closest to her.
She comes up to me and pinches my cheek like I'm not the Capo of the Italian mafia who the world fears. I hug her tightly and she gives me a soft kiss on my cheek.
It's the way we greet every time we meet.
"Guarda quanto sei cresciuto. Ti stai per sposare, dio mio!" She exclaims and I laugh softly.
"Mi hai fatto eccezione per non sposarmi mai allora?" I joke.
"Ah," She slaps my arm lightly and makes a tsk sound.
She takes my hand and pulls me inside the house. Dad bought this estate especially for mom. He loved her unconditionally.
He once came here with mom and she fell in love with the place at one glance. Dad used to tell us how when he looked at mom's face and saw the look in her eyes after seeing the place, nothing could've stopped him from getting it for her.
They got married here and eventually this became our house before we shifted to the United States. Though still twice a year for one month we used to be back. Giulia took care of the place the entire time we were in the States.
I can still hear mom's laugh echoing in the house. She was too good for this planet but dad did everything to be deserving of her. And if one person who was deserving of mom, it was dad.
Giulia lets go of my hand and goes inside the kitchen. I follow her in. Ella stands there, talking to Luca and a lady whom I don't recognise.
Though everything else but her seems to fade away slowly. Her hair is pulled into a low bun, a coffee coloured dress with brown floral design on it hugging her body. She has not turned to look at me yet all her movement comes to a halt.
She feels my presence in the room.
Her amber eyes meet mine and a big smile forms on my face before I stalk towards her. The urge to hold her in my arms is overpowering but I somehow control it.
My hand finds her and I press a small kiss at the back, my lips lingering a moment longer as I breathe her in.
"You're here," she states.
"I'm here." I let go of her hand and step back, not wanting her to be uncomfortable. "How are you?"
"I'm okay." She bites the inside of her cheek and looks at anything but me for a few seconds. Am I making her nervous? "We have to go for cake tasting today. Preferably after lunch if that's alright."
I nod. "Yeah, it's alright."
Currently it's 11 AM, we will most likely have lunch by one thirty. By then I can look over somethings and get ready.
"Cosa vogliono tutti per pranzo?" Giulia asks from behind me.
"Giulia is asking--"
"I know," Ella informs, cutting me from explaining her what Giulia was asking and surprise takes over me.
"You know Italian?"
She bites the inside of her cheek. "Very little. Only a few words, I understood the word 'pranzo' so I assume she was asking what we want for lunch."
The corner of my lips turn up. Has Ella been trying to learn Italian?
The sound of clapping comes from behind me. An impatient Giulia waits for our answer.
I smile and put my around her shoulder. "Cucinare il mio preferito."
Giulia frowns at me before shaking her head, saying no. She points at Ella. "Qualunque cosa lei voglia."
Ella's eyes widen slightly before she smiles. "You know I'll eat anything you cook. You make the best food I have ever eaten."
Giulia lets out a laugh and waves her hand. "I love her," Giulia tells me.
I love her too, Giulia. I love her too.
It was impossible for me to not fall in love with her. With one last glance at Ella, I turn and leave the kitchen.