GROUPCHAT CRACKING C'S

Cassy [03:02 pm] OMG! You'll never believe me!

Cindy [03:02 pm] What?🙄

Cassy [03:03 pm] Matteo and Riccardo Marini have a sister! I saw her talking to Luke Hastings and to say Riccardo was pissed is a huge understatemeant🤯🤯

Clara [03:03 pm] WHHHAAAAAATTT? NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!😱 Did their Mother run aways while being pregnant and they just found her recently?

Cindy [03:04 pm] Their mother is dead Clara.

MAYA TO JUNE

Maya [04:30 pm] Voicenote (33:02 min)

June [05:03 pm] (Videocall)

GROUPCHAT TIMETREES

Jasmine [03:59 pm] Tara said she saw Luke Hastings flirting with some girl😉

Tess [04:05 pm] Yeah, and? Nothing new

Jasmine [04:10 pm] She's a Marini.

Josh [04:15 pm] Oh holy fuck does her brothers know?

Mason [04:15 pm] They have a sister?! God, I have to tell it Simone

Why did we never hear such thing?

Josh [04:20 pm] Is she hot?🤩

GROUPCHAT FOOOOTBAAAAAAL

Tim [04:12 pm] You looking at a picture of a long lost Princess, locked away by her brothers and saved by our mighty Luke <3



John [04:14 pm] The mighty Knight in question



Chris [04:20 pm] The not so mighty brother in question



Jamie [04:25 pm] 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Luke [04:30 pm] Shut the hell up.

GROUPCHAT TRAINING

Oliver [06:04 pm] So, when do we meet her?

Read by Riccardo [10:30 pm] Read by Matteo[11:03 pm]

THIRD PERSON

Riccardo, mentally cursing Luke Hastings, quickly led Josephine across the street toward the parking garage. Once again, the jerk had proven how unnecessary his existence was, Riccardo thought. He checked again to see if Josephine was still with him or if she had completely succumbed to a full-blown panic attack. She was looking at the floor, but she was still responding to his instructions and was mostly busy controlling her breathing. Again and again, he guided her in the way he had learned from the internet. It seemed to help her, or at least not make her any worse. Neither of them noticed when her cell phone rang, followed shortly by his own.

What he did notice was the icy cold around them. It was December, and winter was making a merciless appearance. A few days ago, Matteo had said he didn't want to know what would have happened to Josephine if she hadn't been with them, and at this moment, Riccardo had to agree with his brother. He let go of her arm briefly to take off his jacket and put it over her shoulders to shield her from the wind. Josephine gratefully grabbed it and quickly pulled it on properly. Riccardo's warmth helped her briefly redirect her thoughts. She concentrated on how the warmth felt, how it slowly crept through the sweater and warmed her skin. She remembered one of the muscle relaxation exercises that Dr. Bradford had practiced with her and consciously tried to relax individual parts of her body. Then she tensed them again, maintained the tension for a while, and then relaxed once more. She repeated this until they reached the car and got in.

"Are you okay?" Riccardo asked as he reversed out of the parking space. The car hadn't cooled down in that short time, but the heating was still on full blast.

Josephine nodded slightly before leaning her head exhaustedly against the window. Confused, she sat up again. "Where are the drinks?"

"I guess they're still in the café. Don't worry. There's some chocolate in the glove compartment if you need it." Since Riccardo was still suspended from sports because of the 'incident,' it had become his job to pick Josephine up from therapy in the afternoon. It didn't take him long to find out about her sessions—sometimes she was in a very good mood, sometimes exhausted, sometimes sad, and sometimes relaxed. Since he had heard Dr. Bradford tell her that chocolate could help when she was so drained, he always had a bar with him just in case.

Josephine didn't need to be asked twice. Panic attacks cost energy, and she had already learned so much. 'At least I was able to learn something,' she thought wearily as she leaned back again. "I'm sorry."

He didn't answer at first, and both fell into a pleasant silence. Josephine wasn't bothered by this silence; on the contrary, being silent with Riccardo felt easy. She didn't constantly feel like she had to say something just to break the silence, as she often did with others. So instead of worrying about what to say, she could look out the window, watching the skyscrapers shrink until they were only visible in the mirror, while she ate the chocolate.

"I was thinking about something you told me," Riccardo said.

She looked at him in surprise. "About what?"

"Do you remember when I picked you up and you were so happy about a memory of your parents that you had forgotten? The one where you went for pizza and knew you were loved?" Of course, Josephine remembered. It was the first time she felt she had achieved something in therapy and could think about her parents without grieving afterward. "I have a similar memory. We were at a museum, and I got a stuffed dinosaur toy from the souvenir shop. God, I must have been pretty young. It was summer—I don't know. But it's like you said. It wasn't anything special, and I've been to museums a thousand times since then. Still, it makes me feel loved."

"It sounds like you're not happy about it," Josephine said cautiously.

"The thing is—" Riccardo glanced at her briefly. "It's not a memory of my parents. I was there with Vito long after their death. So I tried to remember more, but all the memories are with my brothers. It feels like my parents didn't exist in my childhood and therefore didn't love me."

"I'm sorry. That must be hard for you."

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. "But it wasn't, in a way. I still had a childhood, and I should be over the fact that my parents had no part in it."

Josephine thought about what she should say. She was honestly surprised by the topic; she would have thought he would talk about the scene in the café or her panic attack. So she said what Dr. Bradford had told her in a similar situation. "It's okay to still grieve because they're gone and to mourn what will never be. There's no time limit for that. Dr. Bradford said I could imagine it like waves. Everything is fine for a while, then there are big waves that make you feel like you're drowning, or small ones that you can swim over, and then they subside, letting you breathe again." She considered whether to share what she wanted to say and decided to go for it. "You're not betraying your parents if you still find beauty in the things you couldn't experience with them."

Riccardo didn't answer. Josephine understood that they weren't going to discuss it any further and pretended not to notice when she saw him wipe his eyes.

___________

"And did anything else exciting happen today?" Valentino asked at dinner, after he had talked about his presentation in great detail, unaware of what he would trigger. While Matteo just shrugged his shoulders, the others noticed how Josephine's cheeks turned red and Riccardo stiffened. Valentino, sensing the tension, leaned forward with interest. "Do you have something to tell us? Josephine? Riccardo?"

Both remained silent, but Matteo had already looked at Josephine more closely and sounded almost offended. "Why are you wearing Riccardo's sweater? It's really much too big for you. You could have just asked me."

"Funny story," Riccardo replied without sounding even remotely amused. "It's not mine."

"How—" Matteo leaned back to read the name and dropped his fork in shock. "Why are you wearing Hastings' sweater?" He looked at his brother. "Why is she wearing his sweater?"

"Because this fu—" Vito cleared his throat. "—person allegedly accidentally spilled coffee on hers and, as the gentleman he thinks he is, had no choice but to take off his sweater and give it to her," Riccardo explained bitterly as he thought about it. "And he apparently had no choice but to take it off in front of her."

The redness in Josephine's face deepened. She tried to object that it was actually her fault, but the two of them wouldn't hear it. In a split second, Matteo was on the same level as Riccardo. "What the hell? What was he thinking?"

Josephine wanted to say that he didn't know her gender when he took off his sweater, but Riccardo didn't give her any time. "What could he have been thinking? The guy can only think about football and se—the other."

Matteo's eyes widened. "Did he flirt with you? That bast—" Vito raised an eyebrow. "This guy! Unbelievable. We have to talk to him, Rico!" Again, Josephine wanted to explain that he hadn't tried anything in that direction, but Domenico gestured for her to stay quiet. He liked seeing how both of them were completely overreacting. 'Served them right for all those years they complained about us,' he thought. "Don't worry, Josie, we'll sort it out. It will never happen again. As if you would even date Hastings," Matteo snorted contemptuously.

Riccardo nodded in agreement. "Exactly. She won't date anyone." Riccardo looked at Josephine. "You won't date anyone. Vito, she's not allowed to date anyone. You have to forbid her from doing that," he said to his two oldest brothers. The three oldest brothers exchanged amused glances, while only Vito managed to keep a serious face.

He cleared his throat, trying very hard to maintain his composure. "Are you planning on dating someone, Josephine?" he asked her, wanting to at least include her in the conversation. She quickly shook her head, which was now bright red. Domenico, though not surprised, couldn't help but notice how eagerly she denied it. "Good, then you are not allowed to date anyone."

"Until the respectable age of 40!" Matteo added quickly, glad that Vito was on their side, while Domenico began to wonder what would happen once she really considered dating.

Valentino was having the time of his life. "45 would be better; that would be three times her age, and the five years more experience can't hurt," he mocked, pretending to think seriously. "And if so, the candidate must be approved by each and every one of us." Apparently, only Vito and Domenico understood the irony. In contrast, Riccardo and Matteo nodded in agreement.

"In the spirit of equality, the same must apply to both of you, don't you think?" Domenico looked at the youngest, who immediately protested in anger.

"So, Josephine," Vito said loudly to end the discussion, which was starting to get a bit too heated. "You will not date anyone without the prior approval of all of us, and you will wait until you reach the respectable age of 45. And should anyone dare to flirt with you before then, you must immediately inform your two chaperones here so they can take action at their discretion." He looked at Josephine, who nodded quickly and smiled slightly. "And I'm telling you this as your new official guardian," he added, watching as everything about her suddenly changed.

"Wha—Is that true?" she asked in disbelief. She looked from Vito to Domenico, who nodded in confirmation. The feeling she experienced was beyond words. From disbelief to happiness to a relief she had never felt before, her head was already spinning. "I don't have to go back?"

"Even if you decided you wanted to go to another family, you would stay in this district," Domenico said and continued, "Yes, that means you never have to go back again."

'I never have to go back again. I never have to go back again.' Josephine couldn't believe it. She jumped up and hugged Vito. 'I never have to go back again. It's over.' Tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks as she sobbed. "Thank you." She took a deep breath. It felt like she could breathe even more freely. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" 'I don't have to go back!' She could barely think of anything else but that. Vito smiled and hugged her tighter as he felt her tears through his shirt. But she couldn't hold back for long.

Full of euphoria, she wriggled in the embrace and hugged Valentino, who gently kissed her on the top of her head. "Welcome to your home, little sister." Josephine grinned broadly at him.

"Yes, yes, let her go, Nino, I want to hug her too." Matteo pushed his older brother aside and hugged Josephine. "Finally! And don't listen to Domenico, you'll stay with us, okay? Nowhere is life more beautiful, the grass greener, the sun warmer." She sobbed and laughed at the same time, sniffling in a very unladylike manner. "You'll see."

"Above all, you'll have to make sure you get better at Mario Kart if you want to be our sister," Riccardo added, putting an arm around her shoulders a little awkwardly because Matteo didn't want to let go of her. "And remember what Vito said: there will be no dating!" He looked over Matteo's head at Vito and Domenico, who were smiling and watching the three of them.



Hello everyone and everybody,

1. Questions: Did this chapter seem fast paced? I thought so while writing.

2. Question: slowly but surly we are reaching the end and I'm thinking about wherether or not ading a full second part or just Bonus chapters of scence I wanted to include here but didn't fit in. What do you think?

3. Question: are you scrolling through chapters or are you team page flipping?Which text formatting do you find more visually pleasing to read?

4. Question (and last): Who would you like to read about Josephine spending more time with? (The next one is already planned, but I try to include them next-next time 😉)

Thats all for today :-) Have a nice day 🌹