by Serena Light
"There is still so much time to that, Paolo." She told him. "I am not saying no to your proposal, I am just saying that let's see where we end up in ten years. Maybe you find someone else, someone better than me. Maybe I find someone for myself, someone different, someone who might not be you. I'm saying that you never know where you might end up in ten years."
She looked at Paolo watching her with an impassive expression, as she could physically see him take in her words and ponder them. Chuckling lightly, he leaned down until their noses were touching causing her to jump back in surprise, being taken aback by the limited space.
"There will be no one better for me than you, Regnante." He smirked before closing the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers in a firm kiss.
Chapter VI: Little Brother
Serafina had been trying her level hardest to avoid Paolo as much as possible, having her twin brother occupy him as she saw in her parent's bedroom, hiding. In the morning when she had arrived in their bedroom, her parents looked at her in confusion as they were getting ready, watching her get under their covers and rest her head on the pillow. Her mother had checked her temperature to see if she was sick but frowned when she was perfectly fine.
She didn't provide any explanations and they didn't prod, so placing a kiss on her forehead, they both left.
She liked Paolo, yes. He was sweet, sure. He's her first actual kiss, yes. But she didn't know how to do any of this. She had two boyfriends in her lifetime, neither one of them having lasted more than a week or 2 dates for that matter, and she just wanted time to figure things out between Paolo and her, and she couldn't do it if he was constantly hovering over her. On top of all that, her mind has made her consciously aware of the fact that maybe, Paolo is just using her to help him through his father's illness.
The exact same thing her father warned her against.
To her, Paolo didn't come off as such a guy, but she had learned the hard way that looks are horribly deceiving.
Serafina had spent almost the entire morning in her parent's bedroom. Maids had come and cleaned the room and gone, her twin brother peeked in once or twice, as did Marco, but she was beginning to get bored and there was nothing remotely fascinating in here. Exhaling she stood from the couch, deciding to pay her 'little brother' a visit since her twin was occupied and the eldest was somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.
Sneaking out of the bedroom, she opened Marco's room door, sliding in and closing it behind her with a sigh.
Looking up, she took in the ambiance of Marco's bedroom. He had a wide window adjacent to the door with a large bookshelf to her left. His bed stood in the center with the wall behind it being covered in star constellations. With a shelf, on which, he had placed several of his knickknacks. There was an ottoman rug between the bed and his study table which was littered with books and papers. A door stood in the corner which led to the changing room and then the bath.
Glancing about, Serafina noticed Marco sitting at the bottom of his window on his knees, fussing with a paper.
"Whatcha' doin'?" She asked in a sing-song voice, approaching his kneeling figure.
"Neither Salvatore nor Paolo are in here. You must be in the wrong room," He stated without looking up, his words having her wince. "Given that you're clearly not here for me."
He was right.
Since he had become a part of the Regnante family, Serafina hadn't been very accepting towards him. The only reason she had agreed was that her parents had wanted to make him a part of them. It was evident that she hardly ever spent time with him, and only talked to him when absolutely necessary. Other than that, she had no idea what her younger brother did or what his likes and disliked were, and Marco was aware of that fact.
He was 13, and he knew the feelings his sister harbored for him.
"Actually, I am here for you," Serafina forced a smile, refusing let him see how true his words were.
"Lies," Marco stated nonchalantly, shaking his head and still fussing with his paper. "You're just here hiding from Paolo because he kissed you,"
"H-howﾅhow do you-?"
"-Just because you don't talk to me doesn't mean that others don't," He sighed, straightening from his bent-over position and held up his work: an origami rose. "I'd very much like it if you came into my room just for the sole reason to hang out with me and not to hide from someone."
Standing from the floor, he let out a humorless chuckle; running a hand through his unruly brown locks and made his way towards a small vase on his table, placing the origami flower with the rest of its brethren.
"I like this family very much, Serafina," Marco admitted quietly, caressing the paper petals. "But I don't feel accepted knowing that you don't welcome me, even though everyone else does, you just hate me,"
"No, I don't."
"Please, don't lie to me,"
"I'm not,"
"I've been through a lot more in 13 years than you will go through in a lifetime. I know how to read people and I know exactly how they feel about me, and just like that, I know for a fact you hate that your parents adopted me."
Serafina could do nothing but stare at him with an open mouth, trying to formulate words but coming short with just jumbled sounds. Guilt washed over her when Marco gave her a sad smile, looking up at her.
"Doesn't matter," He shook his head and gathered a couple of books. "If you'll excuse me, I have homework to get done."
With that, he sidestepped her and left the room.
After talking to Marco, Serafina couldn't bring herself to relieve the churning in her stomach, nor could she feel good about herself, no matter what she tried. The rest of the day she had spent locked in her bedroom, not opening it for anyone and attempted to get some studies done, failing when she realized she was reading the same line for the fourth time. Eventually, people - namely Paolo - left her alone and stopped trying to coax her out of her room.
Sighing, she stepped out onto her balcony, the cool breeze blowing back her hair with the sun setting at her back.
Looking down at the courtyard, she watched her parents walk hand-in-hand with Marco a little far off and playing with the dogs, Salvatore beside him and laughing as one of them pounced on the 13-year-old and sending him toppling into the grass.
She noticed how warm Marco's smile was as he grinned up at her twin, his brown eyes bright with life and melting into soft gold in the setting sunlight. The 17-year-old ruffled his unruly hair with the younger pulling a face at him and standing from his place.
He looked nothing like a Regnante - who were known for having black hair and blue eyes - but Marco had brown hair and corresponding eyes. Despite not looking like one of them, he was treated nothing short of a Regnante, addressed as 'young sir' and trained beside Salvatore, coddled by their mother, and teased by their father, Salvatore letting him into his room and take his things, Arsenio taking him out for drives and getting him a souvenir just like he would the twins. And then there was the matter of Serafinaﾅ
Atop her balcony, she watched Salvatore wrap an arm around his shoulders, before making their way towards their parents, Rosalie chuckling and hugging him close, placing a kiss atop his head.
From where she stood, they looked exactly like what Marco wanted: a family.
Dinner wasn't very eventful, Serafina seated beside her mother and ate in silence, deliberately avoiding Paolo's gaze before looking up when her father asked them a question.
"How's the grounding going?" He asked as her mother and younger brother chuckled, her twin rolling his eyes with a soft smile.
"It's not so bad anymore," He shrugged. "As long as I have company, I'm fine. Can't say much about Serafina though,"
"I heard you locked yourself in your room today, Serafina," Her addressed her. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to finish studying without any distractions from people coming and going," She lied seeing her father didn't a believe a single word she said, but he didn't pry any further, leaving her to heave a
relieved breath.
After dinner, they all sat in the lounge for a bit before they retired to their respective bedrooms. Serafina tried to sleep, but Marco's sad smile kept plaguing her night and made her feel queasy and guilty all over again. She had locked her bedroom door, relieved to have done so when she heard the doorknob rattle, no doubt in her mind that it was Paolo.
School had left her even more exhausted than when she had gotten up in the morning after suffering a night of fitful sleep. Stepping out of her room to get some fresh air, she watched Marco go into his own bedroom as an idea struck her.
Knocking on the door, she entered, watching him gather a bundle of colored papers in his arms, laying them out on the bed one by one.
"Yes?" He asked, looking up to see her in the doorway. "Can I help you?"
"Actually yes, you can," She nodded, watching him turn towards her with a raised eyebrow. "You see, I've taken an interest in origami, and seeing as you're good at it, could you possibly teach me?"
She watched Marco give her a once over, his brown eyes holding her blue ones in a stare before a broad grin spread across his cheeks a second later when he nodded to her inquiry.
"Pick out a color," He gestured to the multiple papers on his mattress.
Looking down at all the various vibrant pages, she could almost every color in the spectrum, picking up a purple one as he made her sit on the wooden flooring.
"Let's start with something simple," Marco suggested, showing her how to fold the page and imitate what he was doing.
At the end of 10 minutes, both of them were holding origami hearts in their hands, a laugh bursting through her to see how origami worked: folding a simple sheet of paper into an elegant piece of art.
"Want to make another?"
"Yes!"
Marco and Serafina spent the evening folding papers into various shapes and making various articles, talking with their heads mere centimeters away from each other, both of them crouching face to face.
She learned that her brother was very much into arts and astronomy. Most evenings he spent making origami or drawing something before he headed off to various people for his homework. He told her that he had scored full in all his tests and when Serafina asked how, he told her that their father taught him physics and math, their mother biology and chemistry, while Salvatore helped him with language and history. She also learned that her brother was an 'otaku', a Japanese anime fanatic and was going to learn Japanese over the summer.
Serafina was impressed with him and found herself enjoying his company, cracking jokes and talking about school. Without realization, she started talking to him about her problems and was surprised when he just nodded along, not judging her, forcing her to come to the realization that he was very easy to talk to.
"You know, Serafina," He spoke up, looking at her from atop his knees. "Paolo's a good guy, but I don't know, I feel that he did wrong by rushing. I mean telling you he'll marry you and kiss you out of the blue? That's a sure cut way of losing a girl than getting her."
"Then how do you get a girl?"
"You're nice to her, you build things over time, and you get to know each other and slowly develop feelings, ease into it all. But as far as you were concerned, he was just a really good friend up until the point where he told you he'll marry you and then he started acting possessive and kissed you, without your consent at that and without having asked you out or anything. I'm so sorry, you must have felt harassed. You were doing what was right and he takes advantage of that fact. If dad were to hearﾅ" Marco trailed as Serafina swallowed thickly, seeing the logic behind his words.
"Whereﾅwhere'd you learn all this?"
"The same place Salvatore and Arsenio learned the proper way to treat a lady," He gave her a cheeky grin. "From dad,"
"Should have known," She laughed, sniffling and wiping away the tears that threatened to spill. "Whatﾅwhat do you think I should do?"
"Well, for a start tell him," Marco stated, shuffling closer to his sister. "I think he doesn't realize the position he was putting you in and acted impulsively. Possessiveness does that to a guy."
"So I suggest you stop avoiding him, tell him that he put you in an uncomfortable position and just sprung this out on you from nowhere because as far as I have seen, he never gave any such indication that he likes you in that way. Also, you might want to ask what his aim is with you like some guys are just in it for the sex, and if Paolo is one of them, shoot him where the sun doesn't shine,"
"MARCO!" Serafina exclaimed with a laugh, clutching her stomach at his words.
"What? It's true!" He laughed along with her.
Once they had calmed down, he nudged her shoulder with his own, causing her to look up at him.
"But I'm serious, Reena. Just tell him. Tell him that he likes you enough; he'll be more than willing to take it at your pace, allow you to ease into it. Anyone who had this sprung on them just end up miserable and scared, and you're a Regnante; things either happen your way or no way at all,"
"A chuckle escaped her to hear him quote her twin brother, turning to face him, she pulled him in for a hug, feeling him stiffen but relaxing after a second.
"Thank you," She pulled away and ruffled his hair. "Little brother,"
Serafina sat cross legs on her bed, the lamp turned on as she looked through an old family album with them having been not much older than 5-years-old, a 15-year-old Arsenio grinning beside them as she chuckled at the various scenes the photos depicted. The sound of the door opening had her look up, catching sight of Paolo's surprised expression of realizing the bedroom door she was awake.
"Come on in, I was waiting for you," Serafina beckoned him forward, putting away the album onto her side table.
She watched Paolo grin at her before bounding onto the bed and leaning in to kiss her, taken aback when she moved away from him.
"I need to talk to you," She told him earnestly and settled in her swivel hair, as he looked at her in confusion.
"What's the matter, babe?"
"First of," Serafina chuckled uneasily at the nickname. "Don't call me babe,"
"You see, you came in here, thinking I wanted the same things as you but did it ever occur to you to ask me what I wanted?" She asked in quietly, blood rushing in her ears to see the confusion across his face. "It didn't, did it? Because you suddenly decided you'll marry me and steal away my first kiss. Did you think that maybe I didn't want to give my first kiss to you? Did you think that maybe I don't want to marry you because up until 3 days ago, you were my twin brother's best friend."
"Serafina," He chuckled uneasily, sitting straight. "What are you-?"
"You harassed me, Paolo," She told him bluntly, watching every muscle tense in his body. "As far as I knew, you were just a good friend whose father is ill and whom I comforted. You never gave me any such signs that you might be interested in me in that way, and then all of a sudden, when I'm helping you through your difficult time, you decide you want to marry me. Tell me, since when did the right thing become an invite for you to claim me?"
"You say that, and after that, you become possessive over the girl who isn't even yours, to begin with, and after that, you go and kiss me? That was the last thing on my mind, you decided that I need you to kiss me? You didn't ask if I wanted you to do that, much less did you ask for my consent, and assumed for it to be perfectly alright. Imagine what would have happened if I told Salvatore you forced yourself on me? Imagine if dad or Arsenio heard about it,"
"Serafina I-" Paolo began to say before she cut him off.
"This is a nice relationship, and I like you, but you sprung this on me out of literally nowhere. So if you want to be in a relationship with me then it will be on my own terms, at the pace I'm comfortable with. And you're doing this to get between my legs, then buddy, I got another thing coming, I own a gun and I am not afraid to shoot you with it," She told him firmly, watching his face pale.
"I'm a Regnante," Serafina stood straight, looking down at his sea
ted figure. "This will either happen at my terms or not at all,"
Chapter VII: You are loved
Salvatore's sling was off.
To say he was overjoyed was an understatement. He was euphoric.
The day he had returned with Arcangelo without that torturous device restricting his movements, he had resembled a child on Christmas morning. He had been so ecstatic that he was smiling all day and dancing to soundless music with his arms thrown up; an action which wasn't a very wise decision given that his recently healed arm began to ache too badly for him.
Now, Salvatore gobbled up whatever he could eat and was hardly found in his room. For four whole weeks, he had been restricted from any type of physical exertion and was now in his battle mode. He had been spending so many hours in the gym that their mother had to intervene a hand full of times. Paolo was with him through most of the training but decided to leave him alone after an hour or two of fighting him.
Paolo was still will them.
After Serafina made everything clear to him, he had apologized for the way he had acted and admitted to the fact of not realizing that he scared her. But after having spent some time talking about it, they decided to give their relationship a chance, granted that Serafina would set the pace.
On a different note, the twin's grounding was ending today.
In less than an hour's time, Salvatore and Serafina would be officially home free.
He would get back all his electronics and driving privileges, while Serafina would be getting her independence back as well as her own guards. They had endured this torture for a whole month, and to say they had learned their lesson was a weak argument. They knew never to steal their father's guns and to always put the safety in place once they were done using the weapon.
Currently, the twins sat on the wooden flooring of their parent's walk-in closet, their hands stuffed in their father's secret stash of imported Belgium chocolate with Paolo across from them, playing a game on his phone.