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MARIA

Vincenzo's eyes left mine. It was obvious that he was getting a lot less comfortable than before. Vincenzo and I were best friends growing up. We all were: me, Dante, Cristiano, Vincenzo, and Leonardo. I knew all of them better than my own family. He cleared his throat, his eyes darting all over the place before meeting mine again. Vince was guilty. I sharply took in a breath, feeling my chest getting tighter and tighter, my whole body going rigid at the silence he was giving me.

Vincenzo swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. He seemed to think for a moment before emotionlessly saying, "Why do you ask?" His casual reply turned on a spark of irritation in me.

"That's not the right response," I retorted without thinking, sitting straighter and becoming a lot more uneasy and eager. My hands gripped onto the chair. "Answer me, Vincenzo," I firmly questioned, my eyes intensely staring right back at him, "yes or no? Do I need to make it clearer for you? Did you have sex with Elisa?" I was glad that the room was practically deserted for the conversation we were about to have wasn't exactly an easy listen.

Vincenzo didn't hesitate the second time and finally answered me. "Yes," he revealed, my eyes widening at his confession as my jaw dropped. "At one point I did."

That was it. The confirmation that the letter was indeed correct. A hidden secret no one would've known unless I hadn't found that letter that day. I was momentarily speechless, confused, and filled with a growing emotion of infuriation. He had gone too far, to the point where he had ruined his brotherhood.

"Vincenzo, what the fuck?" I exclaimed in frustration. As I stood, my hand reached out and slapped his cheek roughly. That open smack stung my hand. My fury was satisfied after that one powerful move. It was loud and painful. Vincenzo's head had snapped to the side at its impact. I had no contemplation before bursting out with, "You slept with your brother's wife?"

He slowly turned his head, his eyes on me again. His cheek was already turning darker; my hand imprinted a mark against his skin. Vincenzo picked up his mug and took a sip of his hot drink as if I wasn't standing there fuming in front of him. He exhaled as he placed his drink down just as

I lowered myself back to my seat, trying to rein in my anger. "You fucked Elisa? Are you—do you understand how messed up that is, Vincenzo? I know they weren't a thing, but still, how could you even think about her like that? Explain how the hell that happened!" I exploded, my hands trembling with overwhelming disbelief and anger as my wide eyes stared at him with a cold gaze. I was still incredulous, struggling to grasp the reality.

"Why couldn't you keep your dick in your pants away from that particular woman? Why her? Why the fuck did you sleep with her?" I strongly condemned, unable to lower my tone. My hand curled into a fist on the table. "Did you think about the consequences?" I snapped, my breathing even becoming shorter and heavier. "Did you?" I had never spoken to Vincenzo that way before; it felt strange. I felt hurt as if I had been involved; a whole bunch of emotions were hitting me. But most of all, the thought of Leonardo and Amalia broke my heart.

"Ria—" Vincenzo began, but I quickly interrupted.

"No excuses, Vince!" I snapped in a burst of annoyance. I sighed, running my hand through my hair. My lips tightened in anger. I didn't want to hear any excuses.

"Explain to me," I was finally able to lower my voice, the exasperation within me calming down. I needed answers, not a full ranting session. "Just tell me how you even thought about her," I asked in a steady tone, feeling my blood boil inside.

"I..." Vincenzo exhaled before licking his lips and suddenly asking, "How did you—where is this coming from?" I waved my hand, giving him a hard look.
"It doesn't matter where this came from," I shot back, returning to my original question. "I just want to know how the hell that started."

"Elisa..." He began, and that was the first time I saw the guilt begin to come across his face. He rubbed his clenched jaw, the veins in his temple twitching. "It was a mistake." I gave him a warning look through my eyes.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh, so you accidentally found yourself between her legs?" I scoffed sarcastically, struggling to hide my disgust. Vincenzo exhaled, looking away as though to calm himself too, as I grew in fury, shooting daggers through my eyes.

"I fucked up everything with that decision. I lost someone," Vincenzo finally started to explain, a bitter look across his face. "Mia..." He trailed off, his face momentarily softening at the mention of that name. It seemed to be important to him. My eyebrows furrowed at the name, and I was about to ask who until he continued, "All because of that stupid mistake." I saw a glint of longing in his distracted eyes.

Those hazel orbs met mine again as he pressed, "There was nothing special with Elisa. I was a fucking idiot, and she—I'm not being a dick here, but she had always made it clear that she wanted it—I mean that." Vincenzo looked genuine, and the kind of girl I knew Elisa to be back then made that part of the story seem verifiable. I exhaled again, unable to soften my hard face. I was still raging. That bitch. She could've slept with anyone but Leonardo's brother. Vincenzo could've slept with anyone but her.

"Mia and I..." Vincenzo could barely say her name without looking pained and regretful. He swallowed, rubbing his temple before sighing. "We weren't the same. We kept arguing, and like the ass I was back then, I cheated on her. I slept with Elisa when Leonardo was away. She came over to mine and—"

"So another person was affected?" A spike of frustration ran through me. My jaw was tight. I scoffed again, shaking my head at him as my wide eyes stared at him in disbelief. "You've added another person to this? You cheated on your girlfriend over a moment's lack of self-control?"

"I fucked up, Ria," Vincenzo admitted, his words sounding true to how he was feeling. "I really did."

"How many times?" I sharply questioned.

"Once."

It took one foolish moment of lust to create such a massive and life-changing problem. I sighed again, my teeth deep into my bottom lip. I was glad it wasn't an ongoing affair.

"Vince, I—" My voice became broken as I gazed at him in such disappointment that he even looked regretful, rubbing his face. I shook my head, my feelings of anger replaced with sadness. "Vincenzo, I never thought you'd go that far. You cheated? You went behind Leonardo's back. With her? Seriously? You clearly don't understand the depth of your actions. I'm struggling to even look at you!" I felt the heat of my disheartenment running through me. "You've got to have some kind of deluded mentality to even find your brother's wife attractive and impulsively decide to explore that—Vincenzo, you messed up so much, you don't even understand!"

"You never told Leo?" I questioned in exasperation, my eyebrows knotted together. He slowly shook his head, staring down at the mug before him. "How could I?" Vincenzo breathed out, "Leo was a fucking mess. He didn't need to know about something that meant nothing."

"But he did. He did need to know." I disagreed in a lower tone, feeling the tears prick in the back of my eyes. My hands covered my face for a few seconds as I tried to stay strong. I deeply inhaled, thinking of Amalia in my mind. That innocent little girl. "Leo will be so, so hurt." I could feel it already, his pain, his heartbreak. Leonardo would be broken if he found out.

Then I thought about him, Leonardo's smile whenever he saw Amalia. His sweet nature towards her, the bond he held with his baby girl. The love he had whenever he spoke about her, the way his eyes would light up whenever she was in the room. The amount of time he had spent with Amalia, it didn't even matter. Amalia was his child that he raised and loved.

"That's his baby..." I could only whisper, the tears beginning to roll down my cheeks. "You don't get it, Vincenzo. That's his baby..."

"That's his reason for life, his baby, Vincenzo..." I breathed out, my hand shaking as I wiped my cheeks, unable to continue as my voice cracked.

"Maria, what are you talking about?"
Vincenzo sat forward, looking at me so intensely as he began to realise there was a reason as to why I was so mad at him. "There's something else, isn't there? I get it. I screwed up. But what's really behind all of this?" I sniffed, looking upwards as I tried to stop the tears forming in my eyes.

"Ria," Vincenzo asked again, his voice serious and more ardent. "What is it? What's making you like this?" His eyebrows narrowed.

I met his eyes again and softly sighed, wishing to relieve the burden on my chest. It was true. Amalia wasn't Leonardo's biological daughter; instead, he was in Vincenzo's place. Her uncle.

"I found a letter in Elisa's old stuff," I started to explain in a weak voice, holding back my pain. "Then I confirmed it with my own test because I didn't want it to be true, but..." Shakily, I breathed out, slowly nodding to myself.

"Vincenzo, it was a paternity test."

His eyes widened before I had even said it.

I slid the letter across the table towards him.

"You're Amalia's father. Not Leonardo."

It was the first time I had seen Vincenzo look so distraught.

His entire face fell. A complete realisation that he had shattered his whole world with a single mistake. He strongly questioned it; he read the letter over and over; he cursed himself for it, his whole body shutting down and his entire demeanour changing. He couldn't believe it, just like me.

Then his head stayed buried in his hands for a long time, and I knew, despite all efforts to contain it well, Vincenzo was silently shedding tears. He knew it. He knew how badly he had messed up. It was a decision he would regret and think over and over and over.

Then we both sat in silence, a complete feeling of emptiness between us.

We left that cafe walking side by side without a single word to say initially. We had managed to compose ourselves and lose the strong emotions between us from earlier.

The two of us leaned against my car, sighing quietly. I was fatigued from all the energy I had poured out in that cafe. I wrapped my arms around myself, taking in what had just happened.

"What are you going to do now?" Vincenzo spoke first, his deep voice completely low and desolate. He had just found out he was a father and created a child in a completely immoral way. I couldn't blame him for looking so drained.

"I have to tell Leo," I quietly replied, the two of us staring straight ahead at the empty park before us, taking in the green scenery. It was quiet outside, the peace I needed after such a heated conversation. I definitely had to tell him. He needed to know, and I couldn't keep such a huge secret from him for too long. Keeping things from him was a bad idea considering what happened between us before.

Vincenzo nodded slowly, sighing as he seemed to understand that things were only going to get downhill from there. His eyes were still slightly tinged red.

"I understand," Vincenzo quietly responded, "but I should be there too."

I glanced at him, feeling a small sense of empathy for him. "Not yet. We should talk first and figure out how to take things from here. I'll meet you at your place."

"But not like this," I acknowledged, feeling the atmosphere. Vince nodded, and we moved off the car so he could open the door for me to get in.

"I'll call you."

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I got home after a long drive and completely forgot that Rosa and I were supposed to meet. She came over instead, bringing a whole department store with her in bags.

My eyes widened at the sight of all the clothes she had brought over from abroad, a much-needed trip for her. I was thankful that she had come; I needed the distraction from that letter.

"—And I liked both colours, so I decided to get the two of them. I couldn't choose which one, so I brought them for you to choose!" She looked so giddy explaining how she had managed to purchase so many clothes. There was a huge pile before us on the rug. I had tried on endless dresses and was wearing a black draped bodycon dress Rosa had encouraged me to try on, some heels that were a little higher than I was used to, and excessive gold jewellery around my neck, hanging on my ears and across my wrists. The dress gave some prominence to my chest, which I was impressed by and wasn't uncomfortable.

We looked like little girls who had been playing around in their mother's wardrobe. My eyes bounced between one coloured dress and another, the designer shoes, the classy jackets, and the cute skirts. It was a shopping wonderland in the living room.

"Rosa, I love them all," I managed to say, my eyes struggling to focus on a favourite. They were all appealing. She grinned, picking up a short dress and putting it against my body with a pleased nod. My eyes met hers, and I warmly smiled, my heart relaxing at the sight of her happiness. "I'm really glad you're doing better," I earnestly said, remembering what she was like before the kidnapping. Rosa's beautiful eyes lit up and her little nose scrunched as her grin deepened.

"Me too, Ria," Rosa replied blissfully, her voice filled with sweetness. She reached over the sofa and briefly squeezed my hand. "And I can't wait for you to come back to Dream."

I picked up a good pair of flared jeans, admiring the quality as I gazed at it. "I'm happy you'll be here this season. I'll be watching your performance," I wholeheartedly told her, wrapping the top of the jeans around my neck to see if it would properly fit around my neck. Rosa tried on a few rings as she replied with a groan, "Madame Rodriguez wants my head. That woman needs therapy too; all her pent-up anger gets released on us during practice." I chuckled, imagining Madame's scolding. She took her job very seriously.

"How's Madame Sylvie?" I asked, surprised that I was missing the old woman. Rosa responded, "She's fine. She teaches the new ones these days—well, scares them into their new career. They always leave looking traumatised." I smiled; that sounded like my teacher. I nodded at the earrings Rosa was showing me for approval, the diamonds suiting her.

I didn't hear when Leonardo and Marco came in. They were in mid-conversation when they walked into a girl's dream wonderland in the lounge. Leonardo looked utterly confused, lost on where to look. I was sure he was already thinking about how to clean up.

"You're back early," I piped up, lowering the dress I was holding before. He blinked in surprise before greeting Rosa, then his eyes were back on me, scanning the dress that I had on. We met eyes as the heat quickly rose to my cheeks.

Noticing Marco I quickly introduced Rosa, "Marco, this is Rosa. Rosa, Marco." When their eyes made contact, I immediately recognised that same look Marco had when he saw Rosa for the first time in the hospital. Feeling like Cupid, I couldn't hide the smile forming on my face once Rosa had given me the look. Now, 'the look' was something I had come to decipher very easily over years of being best friends with Rosa. 'The look' was enough to tell me that she was accepting of me playing matchmaker.

"I don't think you guys have properly met yet, right?" I coyly mentioned it as Marco's face was very quickly turning red. He was a lot shyer than I thought.

"Nice to meet you, Rosa," he managed to say, but his voice was a lot different from normal, quieter, and it matched his flustered face. It was cute to see. Rosa wore her usual sweet smile and nodded, "Nice to meet you too." Then her brown eyes quickly darted back towards mine, telling me, 'Oh, he's hot.'. I discreetly shot her back a telling look before clearing my throat and standing.

"Leo," I brightly said, his hazel eyes quickly meeting mine again. "Can you help me get this dress off upstairs?" He still looked confused but nonetheless followed me upstairs, leaving the two alone downstairs as intended.

"There's no zip," Leonardo pointed out, as we reached the top. I turned and grinned at him, shaking my head. His eyebrows furrowed, a puzzled look across his face.

"You're not so good at reading the room, Leo," I commented teasingly, his quizzical look deepening. "The way Marco looks at Rosa is adorable." Leonardo's eyebrow raised before he finally got the picture, and I lightly chuckled at his late response. Then his tempted eyes trailed back down to my dress, and I suddenly felt the heat between us.

"Well..." He began in a low voice before suddenly closing the gap between us. It was my turn to look confused. I looked up at him, and he held a small, slightly attractive smirk as his face leaned in close to mine. My lips parted in wonder, about to question why he was so close to me until he decided to ask a surprising question.

"Still want me to take it off for you?"

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~ Author's Note ~

Maria the Matchmaker - Do Marco and Rosa seem like a cute couple?

Did Leonardo get a 'yes' or a 'no' from Maria for her dress?

Vincenzo's Mistake - It was confirmed that Vincenzo is Amalia's father! How will Leonardo react?

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