CHAPTER 28: College permission

I closed the book and banged my head with it. God, I'm so bored. When I decided to shift in this room, I knew that Rylie won't be there with me at all times, but I guess that I didn't realise that I would be so bored without her.

I heaved a sigh and pulled out my laptop from below the sheets, switched it on and cursed under my breath when I saw Little girl's laptop written in big, bold capital letters as my screensaver.

I really hate my neighbour and I hate myself for never bothering to learn how to change a screensaver during middle school.

Tying up my hair into a small pony, I opened Google and began my first search.

'What to do when you catch your coworker giving blowjobs?'

It says to report to the HR department. Well, I don't have any department. The rest of the searches do tell me the same thing; to complain to the authorities but he is a part of the authority, fire that person which I don't have the right to do and so on.

I kept scrolling down and down till something catches my eye.

Join them? Ew. Time for next search.

L-E-O-N-A-R-D-O. Hmm, Leonardo DiCaprio is not in my term of interest and so is Leonardo Da Vinci.

A-U-G-U-S-no! Not August-mini, it's Agostini. A-G-O-S-T-I-N-I.

My eyes grew wide when I saw over three million related searches to that shitty faced idiot.

'Leonardo Agostini donates millions to charity!'

'Leonardo Agostini talks about his favourite vacation spot!'

'Leonardo Agostini donates millions to charity again!'

'Leonardo Agostini talks about his favourite sex position!' What?!

'Leonardo Agostini donates millions to charity AGAIN!'

'Leonardo Agostini spotted in Disneyland!' Wait, what?

'Leonardo Agostini speaks about launching a new chain of hotels!'

'Agostini Enterprises expands business in America!'

'Leonardo Agostini spotted in Disneyland again!'

'Leonardo Agostini meets the Prime minister and winks at his wife!'

'Leonardo Agostini spotted in Disneyland AGAIN!'

'Leonardo Agostini shirtless!'

Shamelessly, I pressed the last link and not surprisingly, I found myself looking at a pair of baby blue eyes and blonde hair instead of hazel brown eyes and black hair, smirking and shirtless.

So much for keeping a private life.

Dammit, Adrian Agostini.

"There's no point in searching about that man." I muttered to myself and continued scrolling down till another article catches my eye.

'Media fooled! The actual Leonardo Agostini was seen with his brother Adrian on their company's 34th anniversary!'

I pressed on the link and the screen was plastered with a scowling face of the Agostini son as he faces the camera. Adrian was standing beside him, laughing. I searched for more and found that there were only three photos of him. First one was with Adrian, second one was him getting out of some building, hiding his face with his palm and for the third one, Leonardo Agostini had genuinely smiled at the camera at some event.

Aww, he looks so adorable...my ass!

I scoffed mentally and erased my search about him. Now what? Googling about me and my parents is absolutely useless. I do know that an article or two would appear about a girl's disappearance, but I don't want to see it. As long as they are happy with their new lives without me, I'll be fine.

My fingers itched badly as I typed something which is way out of my league now.

'Online college classes.'

Millions of results were shown and I was about to press the first link when the weak and scared part took over me and I shut the laptop close then hid it under the covers.

"Don't think about it, Amy." I muttered in the silent room. "That's not your life anymore."

With a heavy heart, I grabbed the book which I borrowed from the library, got up from the bed and stepped into the balcony. It is only early evening and I had a lot of time to spare. The dinner which I am supposed to attend is tonight and I feel super excited to see those familiar faces of my favourite rocking men again. The week passed away quicker than I had imagined and surprisingly my work shifts have changed by having free nights and evenings. I haven't seen much of the Agostini son throughout the week, but his brother does come to visit me in the mornings and leaves only a few minutes before Rylie comes in. Still surprised that they haven't crossed paths yet, but something tells me that it will happen very soon and I have to be prepared for my baby Rylie.

Suddenly, I heard the balcony window of the room beside mine open. Speak of the devil.

"Ah shit, you're alive." I whined loudly, keeping my eyes down to the book.

I heard him snort. "It would take an entire army to bring me down, Amy."

My eyebrows shot up. Amy again? So this man is in a good mood.

"Capo, I think you forgot the time where I brought you down alone and made you bleed in our first encounter."

After a few minutes of silence, I heard him hum. "Hmm, agreed. So what are you reading?" He asked, changing the topic.

My lips slowly curled up in a small smirk. "Just some Shakespeare."

"So you like Shakespeare?"

"No. I just didn't know that this was Shakespeare." I mumbled sadly and earned another snort from him.

I took off my sandals and hugged my knees, watching the beautiful sunset with the book now closed. The sky had turned into a very bright soothing shade of orange, yellow and a bit of blue. I saw the capo casually leaning towards the railings of his balcony, wind blowing his hair and ruining his style. His black tie was loosened and the sleeves of his white shirt were folded up, giving me a very sneaky peek of his muscles. A calm and serene silence had taken over us and I didn't want to break it, but my blabbering mouth was never in my control.

"Hey, capo?"

"Si, Amy?"

"Where are we?"

"Outskirts of Trento." He answered and I made a mental reminder to search about this place in Google. "Why? Planning on running again?"

A sad smile appeared on my face. "No. I was just curious."

He didn't say anything after that. In fact, none of us did and simply enjoyed the beauty of nature in front of our eyes. When the sunset was over, I was the first one to break the silence between us.

"Didn't knew that I would actually find something beautiful in this place."

The Agostini son looked over his shoulder. "Now you do."

I scoffed. "I wasn't even supposed to be in this place."

"Then where do you think you were supposed to be?" He asked curiously.

I sighed deeply and looked up at the turning dark sky. "Judging by my current age, I was supposed to be done graduating college and probably doing some job while saving money to open my dream restaurant with my friend."

"Un ristorante?"

"Yes, a restaurant." I confirmed. "Always wanted to see the happy faces of people enjoying their meals without cooking. I had it all planned and now I have it all buried six feet under the earth. I don't even know what to do with my non existent life anymore."

"Sounds pretty sad." Sarcasm was dripping from his thick accented voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Said the man who winks at the Prime minister's wife."

He cursed under his breath. "You Googled me."

"Uh-huh. And I had fun reading headlines about you. Do tell, what is your favourite vacation spot?" I asked amusedly.

"I was out in college, okay?" He snarled. "And these pests had found out about me so Adrian took in charge of taking care of it by role playing."

I burst out laughing. "Sure, why not? You love Disneyland."

I swear my stomach bubbled in a very strange manner when I saw another smile on his face in less than a week. "You should see the poses he made in that place for camera. That bastardo ruined my image!"

"Sounds pretty sad." I mimicked his previous words and giggled when he shot me a playful glare.

Hell, what are we doing? Either we are actually having a good time with each other or we are just waiting for one of us to lash out on the another, throw some snide comments and insults then storm into our respective rooms and don't see each other till it's time for dinner or something like that.

It has to be the latter, and if it then why the hell am I feeling like a giddy teenager who is super excited for what is to come next?

"Aren't you supposed to be doing your work and other things?" The capo asked after a few moments of silence.

"I-I was," I mentally cursed myself for stammering. "But Louisa has made some changes about the shifts for some of us so I get to do my duties in mornings and afternoons. I'm free at the evenings and nights."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Louisa?"

I laughed at myself. Of course he wouldn't know who Louisa is.

"She is like the head of household duties and stuff. She's really sweet and amazing." And clever at hiding shocking things for a long time too, I wanted to add but finished it off with a tight lipped smile.

He gave me a curt nod and looked at the open grounds of the mansion.

Should I ask? Jesus, what am I even thinking? Just because we are getting along fine for now doesn't mean that I'll get to ask anything from him.

Rubbing my arms, I heaved a sigh and looked away from him.

"You feeling cold?" I shook my head, still looking away from him. "Did I do something wrong?"

I scoffed again and faced him. "If you are not talking about the time where you manhandled me, bruised me, threatened me, shot me, tricked me and your brother into believing that I would ever get out of this place and didn't tell me the truth about my parent's whereabouts, then no. You haven't done anything wrong."

His face remained blank. "Then I haven't done anything wrong."

I scowled. "Very funny."

"You're welcome." He retorted. "You going to tell me what's wrong?"

That tiny bit of anger I had in me vanished and I bit my lower lip nervously. "I was just thinking..."

"And?"

I started fidgeting my thumbs and sat up straight on the chair. "Since I have a lot of free time and Rylie won't be there for me all the time, I was hoping I could do something else besides working in the mansion."

"You have my attention." He nodded slowly.

I exhaled sharply and continued, "You said it yourself that I could do anything I want and go anywhere I want except the top floor, right?"

"I did."

"And I wasn't just some mere housekeeper, right?" These are some dangerous tides now. There's no turning back.

"Si."

I licked my sudden dry lips. "Well, I was wondering about my future. You know that future which I had planned out for me by achieving 'certain' things?" I made air quotes which made him dilute his eyes in confusion.

"And by certain things you mean... highschool graduation?"

"No." I laughed nervously. "Highschool? I'm too old for that now. I was talking about other certain things."

"Why? What comes after highschool?" He asked, confused.

"College?" I squeaked and covered my face in embarrassment. "I...I was actually wondering t-that I could apply for..."

"Online college courses?" I shivered slightly when I heard the tone of his accented voice. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it! This was a bad idea. I should have kept my mouth shut, but now I have to face the outcomes for even thinking about my future career or life outside this mansion again.

"Y-Yes. That." I felt my heart tug slightly before I started rambling. "You know what? Forget it. Forget that I had ever thought about my future or ever trying to make something out of my non existent life. I'll just go back in and continue watching cute kitty videos in YouTube and think what wrong had I ever done in my life which made me land in this place at first. I know that I'm probably gonna grow old working in this mansion as a cleaner and a housekeeper like Louisa and die alone in my bed and get buried in the backyard just like you said that day in the cemetery. I'm pretty sure my actual gravestone would be written as—'Amelia Jones. No achievements. No dreams. No ambitions.' It's pretty sad, but I'll be fine."

I got up from my chair and bowed my head slightly. "Sorry for ever bringing that up. I shall see you at the dinner."

"Did I tell you to leave?" He growled. "Sit down, signorina Jones."

Like an obedient child, I took my seat in the middle of the balcony.

"Good. Why do you want to take online courses?"

I started gnawing my lower lip in anxiety. "I-I want t-to make something out of myself. M-Make a life out of my dead one."

I was looking down at the marble floor, but I could feel his burning gaze on me. "That is not the answer I was expecting. I want to know why you want to take up a course."

I cleared my throat. "B-Because I don't want to spend the rest of my life cleaning the mansion. That's not my future."

"No. Still not the answer I was expecting." He said. "Is something wrong with you?"

I gritted my teeth in annoyance and stood up, facing him. "I want to earn a degree because I want to. That is what I had planned originally. Dead or no dead, I still want to do something in life and I know that I can't do this without your so-called permission and money because that's what it requires. Now all I want is an answer of yes or no straight on my face!"

The Agostini son kept staring at me in amusement and he grinned. "Now that was the answer I wanted."

"And?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. "I must say that you have no identification proof with you. Taking admission with a fake ID would be... illegal."

I slumped down on my chair and groaned mentally. "Forget it. I'll just see you at the dinner."

"But doing illegal things is our family business and we are the best in that. We have made multiple fake IDs for our men to do our work. Making one for you is not a big deal." He said nonchalantly.

"What?" I mumbled.

"I have no issue in investing for any of your course. I'll have a word with one of my men to make one ID for you. Adrian and I will stop by after dinner to see which course you want to study and we'll discuss more later. You can take some books from the library for reference and—"

"Wait, what?" I blurted in shock. My mind wasn't able to process this newly founded information. Did...did he just agree? Agree with me taking online college courses without arguing and refusing?

"What? I said that you can take some books from library. You do know that the mansion has a very huge library. I'm sure you can find a few books for yourself." My jaw went south when I actually realised that he was agreeing with me. "I did say that you are free to do anything you want, didn't I? If you wish to study then I do not have any problem."

I pinched myself, patted my cheeks and rubbed my eyes to see whether I am dreaming or not and I am not dreaming. Not dreaming at all. Leonardo Agostini was actually agreeing with me to study!

Holy shit. I was actually going to study and get a degree.

"Please don't tell me you're joking." I whispered, tears of happiness pooling in my eyes.

He frowned. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

I shook my head vigorously and my lips quivered. "N-No. Absolutely not.

"Is something wrong with you?" He asked, his nose scrunching up.

My face broke into a thousand watt smile. "No, capo. Absolutely not. I'm absolutely fine."

I was more than fine. Days after everything went down, I was having a hope about myself. I had a chance to do something useful for myself...without my parents. Oh shit, I am going to cry.

I stood up from my chair, a permanent smile plastered on my face. "Thank you, capo! I shall see you at the dinner."

I was about to hop into my room when the Agostini son called me.

"Don't be late for dinner and..." He gulped as his eyes went down to my night shorts and exposed legs. "Wear something appropriate."

"Sure!" I beamed and hopped into my room. I jumped straight into my bed and screamed in happiness, covering my face with a pillow then pulled out my laptop from under the sheets and opened it.

Little girl's laptop. Dammit, Leonardo Agostini.

Without any hesitation, I pressed the first link and started searching for a suitable course to study. I kept browsing and browsing when suddenly my eyes went to the small numbers in the bottom right of the screen.

Oh shit! I'm late for dinner.

Quickly, I shut down the laptop, untied my hair and combed it with my fingers and dashed out of my room. In no time I reached the closed doors of the dining room. My eyes went down to my attire and I face palmed myself for not changing my clothes. It can't be much of a bother, right?

I had partied with the men wearing these exact same shorts.

I knew that no staff member would be present in the room, so it was going to be one hundred and two men physically present and a girl.

Definitely not a bother.

I took a deep breath, remembering my purpose here and opened the door. I met with a flying tomato in my direction and I ducked.

Oh dear God, somebody teach these men some table manners because they don't have any. There was a huge crowd in front of me, eating, fighting, laughing and some where even sleeping. My eyes roamed around to find the certain brothers and I grinned when I saw them eating in a corner and talking among themselves.

Shutting the door loudly, I gained their attention. Exactly one and hundred and two pairs of eyes met mine. The chaos stopped and the room went silent.

My stomach bubbled in excitement when I saw some familiar faces and a huge smile appeared on my face.

"Hi boys." I waved shyly and twirled a strand of my hair. "Missed me?"

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