Page 47 of Maddest Temptation

Not mine.

FRANCESCA

What am I doing here?

The car stopped and Marie opened the door, stepping out of it. “Marie, this is not a good idea.”

“It’s going to be all right,” she assured me and patted her cream-colored dress that fit her perfectly.

I looked at my ensemble, an off-the-shoulder green dress that was a bit too short. It was not exactly the choice I would have made for Sunday lunch, but since my boxes were still packed and I hadn’t had time to find something better, the green dress it was.

“You look fine,” she said rushing me out of the cab.

“I’m not worried about that,” I said as I finally stepped out.

Vitelli lived in a large condo, nothing close to the size of Marie’s, but from the outside, it looked cozy. Like somewhere you’d live with your family and would raise your children. At least the lunch would be held in his place and not Cassio’s.

Ugh.

That name.

It had been two weeks since I’d last seen him. Or better yet, since he kissed me, almost gave me my first orgasm in years, and then left. Ah, and let us not forget the ultimatum he’d given me. One month to return to Donato’s house. One month of freedom before everything was stripped away from me. If I didn’t hate Cassio then, I hated him now.

“You’re glaring again,” Marie pointed out.

I smoothed my features as we walked into the lobby, our heels clacking against the black polished stone. Marie led the way and hit the button for Vitelli’s floor. I rubbed my hands back and forth against the fabric of my dress trying to wipe away the sweat.

“You’re making me nervous,” she said.

“You shouldn’t have forced me to come,” I answered back.

“You were holed up in that apartment of yours, sleeping—again.”

True. I was tired. Spending my days at the hospital was tiring, and all I wanted to do when I had some time to myself was sleep my fears away. I still hadn’t told Marie or Antoine about my mother. I didn’t know why, maybe not saying it wouldn’t make it real.

I took a deep breath, but it did nothing to calm my heart. Before I knew it, the elevator doors opened, and we stepped into Vitelli’s apartment. He was the only one standing in the hallway. He greeted Marie with a kiss that had me looking away, not wanting to intrude on their PDA.

“I’m glad you could make it, Frankie.” Vitelli grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles like a true gentleman. “Make yourself at home. Si?”

“Si, grazie,” I thanked him.

“Cassio is somewhere, he had some calls to make, but he’s going to be back for lunch.”

I sighed in relief, finally some good news, at least I had a few minutes to myself. Marie pulled me along and began showing me around the place.

Vitelli’s bachelor pad was incredible, decorated in tons of white and grays, with a large living area and a kitchen that left my hands itching to use it. I bet he’d never used it in his life. The one-story apartment was twice the size of mine, and it contained an outside balcony with a jacuzzi and a small garden—which looked suspiciously well-kept.

“We had sex there,” Marie pointed with pink cheeks.

“Good to know,” I laughed.

We sat in the living area and when Cassio proceeded not to show up, I began to tense up even more. Which was odd, given I should be doing the exact opposite. I excused myself and headed toward the bathroom. I locked the door and opened my purse.

I loved Marie, I really did, but I couldn’t do this without some help, my hands were shaking as I opened the orange bottle I still had, there were two pills left. My last two pills. Without a second thought, I popped them and swallowed them dry. Shoving the pill bottle back inside my purse I flushed the toilet just for appearances sake.

When I opened the door, the devil stared back at me. I had two seconds before he shoved me inside the bathroom again and locked the door behind him.

“What are you doing.” I cried out in surprise.

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