Page 12 of Monster in Disguise

And Lord, is he beautiful. Wait... can men be beautiful? I frown a little at that. I'd never thought about it, mostly because I'd never interacted with any males who weren't family. My brother, Enzo, could be considered beautiful, but he is too perfect. No, this stranger is beautiful in a different way.

If I were to cast him in a biblical play (technically I'm only allowed to read those), he'd be Lucifer. Bright, yet with hidden depths. His dark blonde hair is messy and falling down his forehead in unruly strands. His skin has an olive hue, and his features look as if they've been chiseled in stone.

Ahh... I release a dreamy sigh. I guess you can tell how deprived I've been of male eye candy. Enzo had sneaked me a phone with an internet connection, but Lord is it slow. Even now... in this day and age. The images are the worst to load. But considering the fact that I'm breaking the rules just by owning that phone... well, I'll just take what I can get.

For now.

But I do have my celebrity crushes, like Marlon Brando... (the young version, of course). And this man... well, he could give Marlon Brando a run for his money, if he doesn't become obese in old age.

As usual, I start thinking about something, and I lose the thread... My brain really must have gone into overload mode. I'm even feeling a little flushed, and as I fan myself, I imagine what it would be like to be kissed by such a man.

I sigh out loud.

Probably better than kissing Marlon Brando... and I have imagined that quite a bit. I mean, have you seen that clip where he bites his lip? I rest my case.

It must be because I've never been kissed. I've fantasized so much about it that every slightly attractive male becomes mynext fixation. But this is the first time I see someone that appeals to me in a non-digital format.

Since that incident, years ago, I've given up hope that I will ever experience that type of feeling in the flesh. But no one can take my fantasies away.

Honestly, even if it happened in real life, who is to say I wouldn't react badly to it, given my trauma?

It's better to admire from a distance. And that man will be the protagonist of my dreams until I get a better internet connection.

I'm once again so lost in my thoughts I don't realize both Sisi and the stranger are now standing up, looking as if they are saying goodbye.

I wait around until both he and Mother Superior are gone before I dash to Sisi's side, ready to get more answers.

"Who was that?" Sisi's startled by my words, and I have to stifle a chuckle at her expression. She puts one hand up and one on her chest, indicating she's catching her breath.

"I told you not to sneak up on people." She shakes her head with a smile, and taking another big gulp of air, she proceeds to tell me all about the foreign male.

"He's my brother."

"Your brother?That?" I ask, my reaction a bit too telling. Sisi narrows her eyes at me.

"Yes.That." She laughs. "He came over to give me some updates regarding the family. My other brother, Valentino, committed suicide."

"I'm so sorry," I add immediately, feeling a little silly over my previous gushing when Sisi received such bad news.

"Apparently he was already ill. It doesn't matter now, does it? It's all water under the bridge. I feel bad about it, but it's not like we ever had a close bond... He was essentially a stranger."

"I know what you mean." I take her elbow and we head towards our room. We'd managed, against all odds, to stay together in the same accommodation for years now.

"It's sad. But it is what it is. Marcello promised he'd visit again, and maybe even bring my sister with him," Sisi says, and I can see the longing on her face. She's always had a problem with her family abandoning her at the convent.

Over the years, I'd seen her overcome some of her issues, but that doesn't mean she's stopped hoping that at one point she'd be reunited with them. While she's now resigned to taking her vows soon, it doesn't mean it is what she wants. And I know that better than anyone. She's just making the best out of the hand she's been dealt.

"Marcello?" I ask. Is that his name?

"That's my brother."

"I've never heard you talk about Marcello before," I add tentatively. She's talked about her family in vague terms, and I know Valentino visited sometimes.

"He left the family years ago... it seems he's back now to get the affairs in order."

He left the family? That's interesting. It also paints him in a much more positive light. Sisi knows very little about our families, having been raised in the convent since birth. And I'd never had the heart to tell her they are criminals. I've also had enough interactions with men within the famiglia to know that we are both way better off without them.

My brother is the only exception I can think of. Ever since I was a child, he's protected and shielded me from our father's wrath. He'd even prepared a suitable match for me before the incident. After... he promised to get me out of Sacre Coeur when he inherits.

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