Page 52 of Anastasia

I drank the entire glass of champagne with a disgusted look on my face. It tasted bitter. I had thought that since everyone loved it in movies it would taste great—boy, was I wrong.

“Today is the best day of my entire life. No worries.” I smiled as I thought about how free I felt. “No stress. There is protection and love. I love you, and thank you for all of this.”

He spun me around, making me giggle, until I landed back on the floor, where he kissed me. He didn’t have to say that he loved me back because I justknewthat he did. Based on the way he looked at me and kissed me, I knew that deep down in his heart, he loved me.

When he pulled away, he pecked my lips once more, causing me to smile as I ran and jumped on top of the beautifully decorated bed. As I jumped, the towel completely slipped from my body, leaving me to flush a crimson color, quickly placing it back on.

“No, no, no. Leave it off, Anastasia,” he told me, grabbing my towel. I tried to pull it back from him, but that only ended with him winning and me falling directly on top of him.

Based on the dark look in his eyes and the way he was quick to take off his towel, I knew what we were going to do for the rest of the night.

That thought left a naughty smile on my face.

Anastasia

After I’m not sure how many rounds, I was laid out on top of Valentino’s chest with his arm around me while his other hand played with my hair. We were both awake, but we were also just deep in our own thoughts.

My eyes trailed over to the clock beside the bed to see it was after midnight. “Happy birthday to me,” I whispered. There was a sadness that dawned with my words. I couldn’t help it.

“Something’s wrong,” he stated.

I didn’t say anything, provoking his hand to stop its movements in my hair. Looking up, I glanced into the blue of his eyes and saw the patience within them.

“I’ve never wanted a birthday celebration,” I whispered just before a smile came onto my face as memories raced into my mind. “My sister always made sure I at least did something. She’d make breakfast for me and bake a cupcake with a candle on it. Every year, she’d wake me up and make me blow out the candle before singing meHappy Birthday. We didn’t have the money to do much, but for some reason, she made it so that it never mattered whether or not we could go out. What mattered most to us was that we became one year older in a world that was so against us. It was a pure blessing that no matter what, it would always be the two of us against all evil.”

A chuckle left my lips as I thought about her. Her behavior was so strong-willed and determined. There was no one in the world who could match up to Alexandria’s personality. She was truly one of a kind.

“Your sister sounds wise,no?” he asked. I smiled, nodding my head.

“She was intelligent and wise. Sometimes, I’d forget she was younger than me,” I told him, thinking about the advice she had always given me. “I just feel as though she deserves this birthday more than I do. She could’ve helped make the world better, I-I’m not capable of any of that,” I whispered softly as my smile was replaced with a frown. His hand wandered down to my hips, pulling me up, and bringing my face closer to his.

“You’re making me better, and I’m a part of the world,” he pointed out. I pecked his lips before pulling away and smiling at him. My hand came up to frame his handsome face. Sometimes, I tended to forget he was actually real. He seemed too perfect to actually want me.

“I raised Enzo to be a better man than I will ever be. You need to give yourself more credit, Bambolina. You raised her to be better than you, and that means you did a perfect job.” The words he said were exactly what I needed to hear.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Happy birthday, Anastasia. We have a big day ahead of us, go to sleep,” he muttered. I let out a small sigh before nodding my head against him. When my eyes shut, I could only smile as his rich smell entered my nose.It was the place I loved to be.

* * *

When I woke up,Valentino was still sleeping soundly. So, I crept out of the bed and grabbed the towel from off the floor before wrapping it around me. There were no clothes for me to change into, which made me frown. I felt completely unprepared, and I wished that he would have told me more about this surprise date earlier.

As I walked into the restroom, I was grateful for the extra pack of toothbrushes inside of one of the cupboards. I didn’t know what I would do if I couldn’t brush my teeth. I grabbed the blue one and immediately began my brushing routine.

After I finished, I started on my hair, which was a tangled mess. I combed through it with my fingers and then threw it up in a messy bun. Just like that, I felt absolutely clean.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I glanced over at the bed to see that Valentino was still asleep. Instead of waking him, I walked over to the door and pulled it open. Valerio wore a smile on his face as he looked at me. I noticed the clothes in his hand, causing my brows to furrow in confusion.

“Hey?” I greeted, but I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I looked at him. He held the bag out for me, which I took before embracing him in a hug. Every girl who worked under his management felt like they could trust him. That’s what I liked most about him. I looked at him as a brother.

“Happy birthday, Barbie. Mr. Romano told me to bring these clothes for you both. I have to go, but I’ll see you when you get back.” He smiled as I pulled away. I returned the smile wholeheartedly, nodding my head.

“Thank you,” I called out to his retreating form. He turned around briefly to wave goodbye. I shut the door and turned around, my hand digging inside of the bag he had given me. As soon as I looked up, Valentino was there leaning against the bathroom door frame with a toothbrush in his mouth.

His eyes moved down to my towel, narrowing his eyes slightly before walking into the restroom. I didn’t have time to put up with his petty attitude, so I walked into the bedroom and dumped the clothes onto the bed.

Not much time passed before hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me into a hard chest.

---