“Baby.” That was the first thing that was heard immediately the door opened.Ivan sighed, knowing the next thing that was going to happen would be her hugging him.He did not like physical touch, but he didn't have a choice when it came to his parents.“I missed you so much, baby,” she said into his chest. He hugged her back and kissed her hair.“Hi, Mum,” Ivan finally said, and his mother released him.“Did I not tell you to eat good food and rest? You look so lean, Ivan. Do you want me to go to an early grave?” His mother said, and Ivan sighed.“Can you let him come inside first before you start grilling him like that?” He heard his father's voice from inside.“Hi, Dad,” he called out to him.“Hello, son,” his mother finally allowed him to come inside, then she noticed Donna.“Hello, and you are?” His mother asked her with a smile on her face.“I'm Donna, ma'am. I'm his associate at work,” she introduced herself.“Donna.” His mother looked at Ivan and raised an eyebrow.“Donna?” she
“You're in love, son.”The words kept ringing in his head. He knew it was not normal, but he had never considered the idea of love. He believed it was more of an obsession. He was obsessed with her, that much he knew.“More of an obsession, dad.”“I can totally relate, my son. Your mother almost drew me to the ends of the earth when I met her. I was crazily in love. The first time I saw her, men were flocking around her in school, and I walked up to them and told them to leave. Everything I did around her was impulsive. I never really talked to anybody in school, but with all these looks, you know, I got the attention of the girls, and she also got the attention of the guys in school. It surprised everybody when they saw that I approached her then. She was surprised too. Apparently, she always saw me around campus, but I had never seen her before. I went crazy to the extent of telling all the jocks in the guys' room never to go near her, or they would be in big trouble. When she found
Dinner went fine, and Ivan was relieved that his mother did not capitalize on Donna, like asking her questions about her love life, because he knew that his mother could do it, but thankfully she did not, which was good. After dinner, they all relaxed outside under the shed. It was a tradition in this house, after dinner, you don't go to sleep. You sit down and relax under the shed, and it helps that everywhere would still be lively by then. Because it was just like the place never slept, due to the way people would make it their mission to do something, whether it was setting a bonfire, having a feast, or simply having a gathering that Ivan did not understand. A few minutes into their stay under the shed, his mother took Donna inside, and he knew that the moment of truth was here. He could not wait to hear what his father had to say about the strange things that had been going on in his life, including Donna. "Son, do not panic, but what I'm about to tell you would surprise you, a
“What am I supposed to do now?” Ivan asked his father. He was as clueless as anything.He didn't know what to do with the new information that his father gave to him; all he wanted was for Donna to understand all this because he had a feeling that something would lead to something, and he would have to tell her soon enough.“Don’t do anything, son. Let nature take its course,” his father said.Nature?He was not sure about that. The information was too much; it was like he would misbehave anytime soon.“Are there things that I should and shouldn't do?”“Yes, you cannot tell humans. No human can know. Thankfully, you have Elijah with you, so he'll help you through the major changes that are going to happen. Do you get it? When you get back home, just tell him everything, and he will guide you. But know that you will soon come home to take over the pack because that's how it should be. I may die anytime soon, so you'll have to take over. When Elijah helps you with things like your first
Ivan had been staring at Donna for hours now. He couldn't sleep after what his father had told him. He had been trying to wrap his head around everything, but he couldn't seem to do it.But staring at Donna calmed him down, and he could think clearly. His father said he had to tell her soon or he might regret it. However, he couldn't tell her now; he would have to wait until they got back from Italy.He had to start somewhere because his father said she had to be with him. He knew he had to do something, but he wasn't sure what.Now that he knew what his father wanted to tell him, they were going to embark on the journey to Italy tomorrow. Donna had been tossing and turning ever since he started looking at her; it seemed like she couldn't sleep properly.He remembered how he took her on his lap while they were on their way to this place; she slept peacefully, he could tell. So he decided to do the same again. He stripped down to his joggers and climbed into bed.After he was done, he
After the earlier fiasco, they both went out for breakfast and informed Ivan's parents that they were on their way to Italy.“Mum, we are going to Italy today on a business trip.”“What? Can't you stay for just one more day?”“Mum, I'm going for business.”“I heard you the first time. I'm just wondering why my son would come to greet me and then leave the next day. I don't know when I'm going to see you next, is that fair?” she said, giving puppy eyes.“Mum, those eyes are not going to work on me. They can only work on dad. Can you explain to her, please, dad?” Ivan looked to his father, asking for his help.“Isabel, understand him, alright? He's going on business. He'll soon come back with Donna, hopefully,” his father said.His mother thought about it for a while before she nodded her head and resumed eating.“You better keep your promise and come back soon. With Donna,” she said.“Yes, mum.”They all resumed eating and talked about random things throughout the dinner. All he could
Donna had never been to Italy before. In fact, she had never traveled anywhere apart from California; she only traveled in her mind.Anytime she read novels, she liked to feel like she was in the novel too, so she could relate to the things that were going on. Now she had been in Italy in her mind.Those mafia homes and all that, she blinked and left her mind. She started making her way behind Ivan. They had landed a few minutes ago, and their driver had already brought them to the hotel where they would be staying.The hotel looked good, like an original five-star hotel. She could see the way people lived around without a care in the world. Their dressing mode here was also not the same as where she came from, but she didn't exactly care about that.She was just happy that she was in this place. This beautiful place. They got to the receptionist, and the lady started speaking their language.She looked at Ivan in confusion, wondering how he was going to answer her since he didn't und
Today was the day they were going to meet the client they had in Italy. They were supposed to do it in the next two days, but apparently, the owner of the business from the other side said that they had something to do on the day of the meeting.Thankfully, they were already in Italy, because if not, the meeting would not have been held. Donna was contemplating what to wear and couldn't decide on an outfit.Later, she decided to settle for the red gown with a slit at the back, and then she would wear her hair around her shoulders. Ivan was inside the room dressing up, while she was in the closet getting ready.When she was done thirty minutes later, she went outside and saw Ivan, dressed in a black tuxedo and a red tie that looked good on him. His tie complemented her dress, and she liked it. At least it was some sense of ownership in a twisted way.She remembered last night, how the both of them went to sleep. Yesterday was filled with tension—sexual tension that was very strong. Onl