Elianna's POV
1 week later
I stepped out of the car as Luca held the door open for me.
I don't know how but Sebastian got me the job without me even having to do a single interview.
I spent the whole of last night brushing up on my ballet. It had been so long that I even forgot what first position was or how to heel turn.
How embarrassing.
I made my way to the entrance and then the front desk.
"Hi, I'm supposed to be teaching the intermediate class today."
She stood up with a smile. "Mrs. Mariano?"
I nodded and she pointed at a door.
"Go right ahead. The girls are already waiting inside."
I smiled to her before turning to the door.
"Mrs. Mariano?" She asked and I turned back.
"Yes?"
She looked at Luca. "Will that man be joining you?"
I looked at Luca before looking back to her. "Well, yes. He is my bodyguard. Is there a problem?"
"No offence but he is a scary looking man and we don't want the girls to get scared. Parents will start to complain and it will cause a big problem."
I turned to Luca. "Could you stay outside the door? I promise that I will call for you if I need you in there. I think I can handle a bunch of little girls."
I turned around and walked to the door.
Before I opened it, I took a deep breath. For some reason I was feeling kind of nervous. I don't know if it's the fact that I have never taught a class before or that I haven't done ballet in a long time.
I opened the door to see a bunch of little girls in pink leotards. My heart melted at the sight.
"Welcome to the dance academy, Madam Mariano," they all said in unison.
They were so cute.
One of them stepped forward and handed me a bouquet of roses. "We all picked one from the garden."
"Awww, thank you," I said as I accepted the roses.
She ran back to the others and they all lined up at the various rails.
They were more behaved than I expected.
Was I supposed to introduce myself again? They already knew my name.
"As you guys know, my name is Elianna Mariano but you guys can call me Elle-"
I realized that I probably shouldn't have told them that since they were my students.
"Mrs. Mariano," I corrected myself. "I don't like the madam. I am very nice but don't give me too much trouble."
They silently listened to me.
"Okay, let me see what you guys are at. Can you show me first position?"
They all got into first position at once.
"Now second position," I said and they followed.
They were sharp.
"Now show me the last dance that you guys have learnt," I said so I could get an idea of how simple I need to choreograph their dances.
One of them ran off and tapped the speaker before going back to their position.
The music started to play and they started to dance.
They were going good until I heard some shouting.
"You are going wrong, Isabella!" One of them shouted before pushing her out of the way.
I quickly ran to help the little girl who had fallen down.
They were all bigger than her.
"Hey, you don't have to push her. She made a mistake. This is only a practice run," I said calmly to the girl who pushed her.
"Isabella is always messing up! She shouldn't be here!" She shouted angrily.
"That is okay. We are here to learn," I said but she was not listening to me.
The door opened and the secretary from earlier came. "Time's up. Your mommies and daddies are outside!"
"Thank you for class Mrs. Mariano!" They all said in unison before they ran to get their bags and left.
I saw Isabella walking towards the door so I stopped. "Isabella!"
She turned to look at me. "Mrs. Mariano, I'm sorry I messed up. I will go home and try harder."
"We all mess up. Even me. Why do you let those girls treat you like that?"
She looked down. "They always do that."
"Why didn't you tell your last teacher or your parents?"
"My teacher laughed and if my papa finds out, he will make things worse. He does not like bullies."
I frowned. "Do they do that to you at school as well?"
She nodded and I sighed.
"Is your papa coming to pick you up today?"
She nodded again.
I held out my hand. "Okay, I will wait to talk with him."
"Please don't. My papa is crazy sometimes."
I laughed. "You should meet my husband."
She hesitantly took my hand and we walked outside by Luca.
A couple minutes passed and not a lot of children were left back.
"I am sorry. My papa is always late. He is always working."
I smiled at her. "It's okay. I don't mind waiting. I can't allow you to get bullied. My brother was a bully and I ignored it which resulted in him causing a lot of problems."
She let go of my hand and started running. "Papa!"
I turned around and my eyes widened when I saw who she was running to.
It was Sebastian.
He picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. "My Bella!"
He started walking over to us and my mouth just stayed open out of shock.
"Papa, this is my new teacher, Mrs. Mariano."
"I know Bella," he said to her. "This is Uncle Enzo's wife."
Her eyes widened. "Really? I can't believe this."
Yeah, me neither.
Wait, Sebastian has a daughter?
"I know what you're thinking, Elle," he read my mind. "This is my daughter. That's how I knew about this job."
"Makes sense," I said. "She is very well behaved. I like her."
He smiled at her. "Is that true?"
She proudly nodded and he showered her with kisses.
"I'm sorry Isabella but now I have to tell your papa."
Seb looked at me. "Tell me what?"
"There are some girls in her class who are a little tough on her," I said and he looked at her.
"Give me the names," he said immediately.
"Seb, we can handle this logically. What are you going to do with their names?"
I shouldn't have even considered this but the thought of him murdering those little girls crossed my mind.
I did not forget the circumstances I met him under.
"Don't worry about it. Just tell me their names."
"No," I said. "They are children. I can bring in their parents and we can sort it out. However, I would like to talk to them first. If they don't listen, we can go to plan B."
"Or we can do it my way and you give me their names," he said.
"You're not getting their names. We are doing this my way."
He turned to her. "Is that what you want my dear Bella?"
She nodded and he sighed.
"Okay, Elle's way it is. Now let's get you home before mommy gets mad at me again," he said before walking away.
I still can't believe Sebastian has a kid.