They found themselves close together, a mix of different kinds of love reunited once more. Monica pressed kisses to Billy's chest and smiled with a satisfied glow. She craved a lover who adored her.

  Someday, I want you to leave Los Angeles, leave the States, and live with me here in Europe. We could live by the bea some paradisiacal mansion, with no oo bother us," Monica said, kissing his chest again.

  -Give me time. I still have to mahe pany. Growth and development are crucial right now. Ohe business is stable, maybe I find the time to live in pces like this... but for now, we buy a vacation home and visit it whenever we . When we’re tired of the cameras and the people with their fake smiles, we’ll take a drink and e here when it’s the right time.- replied Billy, taking Monica’s hand and bringing it to his lips for a kiss, one filled with love, followed by another as she held him close.

  -We have to go to the museums; I ’t wait around forever for you to be satisfied.- Monica teased, jumping out of bed and throwing a kiss as she made her way to the shower.

  The shower was running, likely a cold oo wake her up, the kind that would energize her to explore every street in Italy. Billy sent a quick message to his security team, who were now dressed in civilian clothes, ensuring his safety from a distance. He was used to it by now, a routine of sorts, seeing them trailing behind him like shadows, their watchful eyes never losing sight of him.

  -Bckberry pastries.- Monica mentioned.

  -Let’s get some.- Billy agreed, taking her hand. They walked slowly, each of them attrag gnces. Monica’s graceful, seductive stride and Billy’s fident, upright stance made them look like they owhe pce.

  -When I was little, I loved bckberries, but they were rare. My mother would only make bckberry desserts occasionally, with some ice cream and crusty bread. It was delicious, to see the bread blend. I loved letting it melt. Sometimes she’d make it with lemon or tangerine.- said Monica, sav each treat as if it were ambrosia.

  -Now you have bckberries for desserts every day.- Billy replied, giving her a gentle kiss.

  -Where’s Anne?- Monica asked curiously as they wahrough the museum halls.

  -She’ll be here soon, in the few days.- said Billy. Anne had postponed her flight with st-minute excuses, but he uood the real reason. Anne was nervous. She always had been, that powerful woman who barked orders and reprimanded and was small and vulnerable when it came to emotions, denying things just like he did.

  -I see, it doesn’t matter. She’ll be here, and I’ll hear all about it.- Monica added. –Someone so punctual a in her routine wouldn’t ge her travel pns like that.-

  -A true iigator, huh? Maybe I should hire you to figure out who’s been following me everywhere. Sometimes I see shadows. I could use someone like you, eg the dots like in those mystery novels.- Billy remarked with a smile. The business was business, and if Monica didn’t uand wheime came to sign tracts, he could only begin again. His priority was the wealth he was building, the legacy of Lux Animation.

  ***

  Anne was anizing her desk for the third time, her hands trembling slightly, a bit lost in thought. The mind be the sharpest on, both for those who wish to harm and for oneself. She was trapped iain golden, intricate dilemmas, admiring the gold ats in her office, even if they were just subtle touches.

  Grabbing a basket, she stepped out of her home office, hearing the children shouting over trol of the remote. She couldn’t deny that their voices brought a sense of calm, filling the house with life. She headed to the kit, and the smell of meat made her mouth water, a fvor she’d known all her life—hours of slow cooking with a sweet, spicy sauce that enhanced each bite. Served with potatoes a sad, and a gss of apple juice. The perfect evening was oh a lively table, where the kids would eat without a fuss.

  -You should learn the recipe, for when your man finally decides to e around.- her grandmother teased, seated in her usual spot, with a pyful, rebellious grin.

  -I could learn it. Will you let me? You never let my mother learn it, and I know yued with my aunt over it.- Anne replied.

  -Bahhh. We all make mistakes. Your aunt never . I taught them many things, and always gave them the best. They wa out of pride and ego, not y.- her grandmother remarked, her words weighed down with a life’s worth rets and nostalgia. She was stubborn.

  -It’s just a recipe.- Anne tered. –That’s what bothers me. We’re family, we give each other everything we . Our blood and our happiness shouldn’t be diminished over a recipe or a way to prepare meat.-

  Her grandmother narrowed her eyes, looking deeply at her.

  -You’re hiding something.-

  -Tell me about this man, don’t ge the subject. You’ve been sighing fes. You always hide your heart, and alretend to be strong. But I’ve seeruth, all my life, watg you as that beautiful, hardw woman.- her grandmother prodded.

  -There’s nothing. There is no man.- Anne replied.

  -Then it’s that—missing someone you love. Things are always more plicated thahink.- her grandmother said. Aurned her back, feeling that everything had been said. Billy was just a tract, uable, but binding in ways she refused to admit. Wheime came to be bound by tract, her intuition told her everything was set in stohe smell of meat suddenly made her queasy, and she rushed to the bathroom.

  -You’re feeling sick?- her grandmother asked.

  -It’s just a bit of iion.- she replied.

  -No more wine for you, then. You o take a pregnancy test.-

  Anne’s eyes widened like two full moons, refleg a river like an owl hearing something it shouldn’t.

  ...