As a child, I had only one doll. It was a broken barbie with one leg missing and cropped blond hair.

I named her Lola, and she was my best friend.

She was so creepy, but I loved her more than anything. I even cut my hair up to my ears just so we could match. Sure, it was the worst decision ever and everyone kept laughing at me, but I didn't care.

I took her everywhere with me, and I used to imagine her dream house. It was big and full of trees, a suited house for a princess.

So when I stepped out of the car, I felt like I finally found it. Lola's dream house.

Of course, I am no princess. Wearing my ripped black jeans and a baggy shirt of a band I've never heard of... Not quite a Cinderella.

Well, unless we're talking about her early days.

And Lola is long gone. A psycho bitch stole her from me and burned her in the fucking oven.

It was really tragic.

But standing in front of this enormous mansion... Oh man, that's justice for Lola.

I stood by a water fountain. A fucking water fountain. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. I lived in a place straight out of a horror movie, and they had this?

On one side of the mansion stood another house. It was much smaller, but still so much more than anything I've ever seen.

But why do they need another house?

"That's where our security people live, together with the household staff."

I jumped, turning my head towards Alessandro. He was standing by my side with Amadeo.

"Household staff." I repeated slowly, nodding my head. "That's normal."

Amadeo cracked a smile. "Come on, let's meet the others."

I tensed. We didn't talk about it, but the elephant was very much in the room. According to the photo I saw, there are three more brothers I know absolutely nothing about.

Walking silently to the front door, I didn't fail to notice that everyone was staring at me. Each guard straightened themselves as we passed, and their eyes pierced mine.

I'm not one to back down from a fight, even when it's freaking me out, so I returned their intense gazes. I will never cower, and it's better for everyone here to know that.

Soon enough, we made it to the door.

I tried to calm myself down, but I really couldn't shake the nerves. I was about to meet three brothers I never knew about, how could I not be nervous?

"It's gonna be fine, don't worry." Amadeo gently squeezed my shoulder, and then Alessandro opened the door.

Holy shit.

I'm at a palace. I just know it. Everything from the marble floor to the silver chandeliers screamed rich, something I never thought will describe me or my biological family.

Turning around to see more, I momentarily froze.

I came face to face with two men, both staring at me. They looked almost identical, and yet were completely different.

One of them looked stunned, staring with big brown eyes and a slightly opened mouth. There was one thing about him that completely caught my attention. A thick scar ran all the way down from his left eyebrow to the middle of his cheek, right above his eye. I moved my eyes away when I noticed him looking at my scar as well.

The other one had the same facial features, but no scar. His eyes gave no indication of how he felt, but his jaw was clenched. He just stared blankly at me.

"Uh, hey." I tried my best to smile.

No one can prepare you for the moment when you meet your brothers you didn't even know existed.

I didn't know what to say or simply how to act. We don't know each other, and yet we're going to live in the same house.

"Hey." The first one replied quietly after some awkward moments. That did not help.

We were just standing in silence, and there was no way they enjoyed it.

"Introduce yourself, boys." Alessandro pushed, giving them a look that made the silent one roll his eyes.

"I'm Rivo." he muttered, looking at his brother with a 'happy now?' look.

Great, I'm gonna live with a hormonal teenager.

The other one didn't move his eyes from me. "I'm Santo." he furrowed his eyebrows. "Your forehead is bleeding."

"Oh, shit." I mumbled, taking out of my pocket some paper towels I stole from the plane.

It felt really awkward just pressing it on my forehead with the both of them staring at me, so I decided to ask the question that was bugging me for a while. "I thought there was supposed to be a third one?"

My question made Amadeo clench his jaw, and I didn't miss the subtle look Rivo and Santo shared.

"Where is Riccardo?" Amadeo asked exasperatedly.

Rivo and Santo stayed quiet. He exhaled angrily bafore asking again. "He didn't come back after we left?"

"Came back to grab his bike, then took off." Rivo shrugged, uninterested.

"And you didn't tell him to stay?" Alessandro stepped forward, looking at him dead in the eyes.

Rivo scoffed. "I'm not his babysitter."

Alessandro seemed like he wanted to kill his little brother, and I honestly didn't care about their family drama, so I decided to step in. "Do I have a room?"

Alessandro gave him one last glare, before turning his head towards me.

His expression softened. "follow me."

I glanced at the others for a moment before turning around and following him up the stairs.

That went... Well. Rivo seems annoying, but Santo is fine, I guess.

I can just keep my distance and imagine we're all just roommates.

I sighed. That's a bit unrealistic.

"I'm sorry about Riccardo, he often dissappears." Alessandro apologized, but I could sense he was angry.

"It's fine." I tried to reassure him. I really didn't care that much. Sure, I was hoping to get this over with, but whatever.

He seemed like he wanted to say something, but regretted it quickly.

"Well," he smiled tightly, gesturing towards the hall we're in. "These are the bedrooms."

Each door had the name of its owner, and mine was between Santo's and Riccardo's.

When he opened my door, I felt like falling off my feet.

This room is so big and beautiful. A king size bed stands against a gray wall with a big flat television screen across from it.

There were book shelves, table and... Everything.

"Do you like it?" he asked, almost wary.

I turned around with a small smile. "yeah."

He returned the gesture, and began to walk back to where we came from.

"Wait, Alessandro." I called. It was an impulsive decision.

He quickly turned around, surprised. "yeah?"

I swallowed, looking back at the beautiful room with uncertainty. "Why do you have a room for me? I mean, isn't it supposed to be a toddler's room?"

He smiled sadly and ran his fingers through his hair. "We never gave up on you, Olive. This room was simply waiting for you, just like we were."

Chapter 10!! Almost 500 reads, and I have to tell you that I'm shocked. Thank you for choosing to read my book:) just make sure to vote as well!! It motivates me a lot <3