Special mass release for the novel's launch, 17/20.
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MISHA
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"Okay, not so cute," Julia gasped, paler. "Dio santo, she can be scary."
Anastasia bit her bottom lip, "Ay, if you're all spilling the beans, fuck it. She also threatened me before she left, though besides all the murdering threat, she said she would feed my organs to the steward's dog. Though, if I never hurt Pieter, she promised that she would make sure to gift us a luxury brand as marriage present. I was eating an ice cream in my room when she popped up in there, I almost fucking shit myself."
I couldn't help laughing at the absurdity, "Well, seems like she likes you more than she does Vlad, if she promised a luxury brand instead of a villa."
"Oh, shut up, Misha," Vlad growled.
"Did she do something to you too, Rina? About being with Willem?" I can't believe she really had the guts to threaten my siblings like that, before she left, and when she was 12 at that.
"Yep," Irina chuckled anxiously. "Same threat as the one she gave Tasia. But she promised to give me villa instead. Must be because Pieter is the heir of the Santorini, and this villa will be his in the future. So he won't need a villa."
"Shit," Hendrik groaned, "could she also have threatened Cami? I never thought little Mia would have our back on this matter like this. To threaten our lovers in case they harmed us or broke our heart in any way. And at 12. I can't imagine what kind of threats she would make now at 20," then he turned to me.
"You better watch out."
"Not if it's him whom she's in love with," Julia mocked and I tensed up.
"Then it should be Emma who should watch out, no? If she's really possessive?"
"It's not me," I exclaimed firmly. "She hates me. She told me herself."
"She did?" Emma blinked. "When?"
"When she learned that we are dating, we met in the ice rink in the middle of the night," I rolled my shoulders. "She seemed pissed, the she threatened me, but nothing related to Emma. She just doesn't like me at all, then I got annoyed and provoked her, and she got even angrier and stormed out through one of those secret pathways hidden in here. Seems like she's already been studying them in secret."
All of her siblings flinched, "Ugh, not those damn secret passages," Emma cried. "They are scary as fuck, and old."
Pieter frowned, "She's been into mapping the hidden passages since we were kids, though she always did that with papa. She must be doing it all alone now, to keep her traditional alive. Maybe to remember him to, and because she's curious. We always hated those passages."
"True," Willem groaned. "Mia was always the most fearless out of us. In a reckless manner. She would even go down there as a kid without papa. She could get lost, but she didn't care, she always did it."
"She even asked us some times, when she was around 5 to 6," Bram told us, haunted. "She said it would be a fun game to play with us. It gave me the shivers and we never went there. Mia is like a little bat compared to us. She likes the dark, hidden places, scary shit, and black."
"Sounds like her," nonna finally spoke again, giggling. "She will have a handful of fun in the villa then, because there are secret passages everywhere, the system is pretty much ancient by now, and is very complex. Just like she likes."
"So, we agree that it's Misha, right?" Leo tilted his head.
"It's not Misha," Emma groaned. "Can you stop? He's my boyfriend." I bet she's feeling conflicted and guilty right now with the possibility that it's me, which I do not believe it one bit, but that in the impossibility of being the case, would mean she's making it ever worse for her little sister, since we aren't really dating, but faking it just because she isn't confident enough to come out.
"It's not me," I said matter-of-factly. "She always treated me badly, and with all but a load of indifference, that's not how one treats the one they love. So, it's definitely not me. Even if it was, which ain't the case, it wouldn't work. I don't like her like that and I'm in love with Emma. Period. It could be one of the boys that grew up with us but aren't Campobello or Santorini. Or, Leo is wrong and it is him, which I think it's more believable." "It's not me," my little brother cried.
"It's not me either," I snapped.
"Okay, let's put this down for a bit," nonna sighed. "Focus on what's more important. Whoever is it, she's come with terms that it's one-sided and that the person loves somebody else and it's with them. She won't be breaking anyone's relationship that is build with love, she's not like that. We need to make her feel loved, wanted, accepted, to make her feel comfortable with us, to show her that she can count and lean on us. Can I count on you for this, kids?"
We all shared a determined gaze and nodded, "Yes, nonna!"
"Do you promise?"
I felt tempted to say 'I prom', but I held it together.
"We promised!" We chanted.
"That's right. Let's bring her sanity back."
Was she ever really that sane to begin with?
I mean, we are talking about Zoe Maud after all, I don't think any really sane person would act the way she did her whole life, even before zio passed away.
Am I one to talk about it? No, I'm not that sane either, I'm just good at pretending.