I was returning to my apartment from the library after telling Mr, and Mrs. Smith, and Mr. Hart that I will not be working there anymore because I didn't know how long I will be gone. I shouldn't make them wait. So I decided to resign.

These were small shops owned by common people who couldn't afford to wait for me to come back. So before they could say anything I left the place myself. Although Mr. and Mrs. Smith were looking sad yet they knew they couldn't do anything and surprisingly even Mr. Hart seemed to care but just like others didn't question anything. Also, all Jane sent me was a flight ticket and the address of the place where I had to be.

I was sent a ticket to Italy; Adriano's hometown, where the wedding will be held.

Adriano! How am I going to face him after all the things I have done? How am I going to face everyone? I am quite sure I will have to hear some very diverse curses in different languages. I can't say that I am looking forward to it.

"Well Nobody cares Alice, Nobody," I said to myself

*********

"The passengers are requested to buckle up. The flight will be landing soon" The pilot gave the instructions.

My heart was beating so loud that I was quite sure the person sitting beside me could clearly hear it. It wasn't because of the flight, it was because of me dreading what is going to happen now. I was told that a driver would be waiting to pick me up and take me to my destination more like my own personal hell where I would be reminded of everything I ever did and trust me there is nothing good about it.

*********

Finally came the moment I dreaded the most. I was outside this huge, enormous mansion, which clearly belonged to Adriano's family. It was almost like a king's palace surrounded by a garden with all sorts of flowers especially huge red roses and decorated with fountains. It was already nighttime, so everything was lighted up and it looked so surreal. So beautiful!

After so long, I have seen something so beautiful and mesmerizing. My life has been spent around dusty old apartments, streets, and places I don't want to remember. I didn't know I was standing in front of the mansion door for almost a minute until the guard cleared his throat.

"Are you Miss Alice Elizabeth Herman?" he inquired.

"Yes, that I am," I said with a smirk on my face.

He nodded and told the other two guards standing beside the huge gates to open them.

As the doors opened, so did my mouth.

The place was beautiful, with accents of gold, beige, dark brown, and white, it looked like heaven. The hall was huge; actually, everything in this house was huge. The chandelier, the couch, the television, everything was so well placed and looked amazing. At this point, I was practically gawking at the scene in front of me when I heard someone clear their throat taking my attention to them. Standing in front of me was Mrs. Angelo, Adriano's mum. When my gaze traveled, I saw Mr. Angelo sitting on the huge brown couch like a king. He had his midnight black hair gelled away from his face, with his grey eyes like the sky during a storm staring back at me. He had a few more white strands of hair and wrinkles on his face than the last time I saw him but otherwise, he looked the same, powerful person who'd make everyone bow in front of him with just one look. Beside him were my parents. My mom and dad!

Oh how much I missed them. I was on verge of tears but somehow blinked them away. I could see one similar and familiar emotion on all their faces... betrayal.

It made me remember everything that happened and everything I did. I hate this! I don't want to remember any of it, but I guess this is just the beginning. The worst part is yet to come.

"Welcome, Alice," Mrs. Angelo said trying to sound cheerful but failing miserably. She was a sweet, caring lady. Even after being rich and coming from such a well-known and respected family, she was still a down-to-earth woman just like everyone else present in this room. But being kind, sweet, and caring also has its own limits and I was certainly way past them.

"Hello, Mrs. Angelo. You have a nice house" I said motioning to the mansion in front of me. I've never been here before. The last place they used to live in was also gigantic and beautiful but nothing could be compared to this piece of art.

She stared at me for a while and then tried to smile a bit. "Thank you," she said politely and gestured for me to come in.

She was a woman with dark, midnight black hair and emerald green eyes. She was the definition of a Queen. The way she carried herself spoke of her power and status. She was wearing an olive green dress that reached her ankles and had long lace sleeves, with pearls on her waist and a simple yet very expensive pearl necklace hanging around her neck. She asked me to sit on the couch with everyone while my room was being prepared.

All of them stayed silent clearly not knowing what to say, so I started by saying "Hello everyone, long time no see."

Everyone looked at me like I'd grown two heads until my mum spoke. "How have you been Alice?" I could see the inner battle she was having but I decided to ignore it and go on with my act. "Amazing you tell"

I heard Mr. Angelo sigh clearly disappointed by my behavior until he spoke "It's been 6 years Alice, do you not regret anything you've done?"

Honestly, it hurt, hearing the man who once told me to call him dad say this to me but I deserved every single bit of it. I had betrayed all of them.

I smirked and replied "I was too busy in my life to regret my past sir"

"Just call me Angelo," he said not wanting to talk more, and looked away.

"Mr. Angelo it is" I replied with a nod.

"We wouldn't have disturbed your precious time if your grandma didn't force us to invite you" Dad replied showing a slight amount of anger. He was always short-tempered and I knew I was getting on his nerves. I just smirked at him.

"Your room is ready and so is the dinner. Go freshen up so we can all eat together" Mrs. Angelo said to me.

"I want to meet grandma first," I told them.

"Grandma is not here. She has gone to invite her childhood friend with your brother for the wedding and will be coming the day after tomorrow" Mom replied.

"Okay, I'll be back in a moment" I winked and went to my room before hearing my father sigh.

********

The dinner was very awkward but I can't complain as the food was delicious. I don't get to eat this sort of food every day so why not enjoy it while you can.

After the dinner, the table was being cleaned and everyone was seated on the couch. I was about to take my leave when I heard the main doors open and when I looked at it to see who it was I saw my sister, Jane entering the mansion.

She had dark brown hair whereas mine was completely black, she had blue eyes like my mother and I had dark brown almost black eyes like my father making her more beautiful in every way. She looked beautiful and sophisticated in her dark blue off-shoulder, very expensive gown with a diamond ring and necklace which would cost more than all the money I could have ever earned in this life. I won't lie I felt envious looking at her. I could've had everything she has but one mistake and I was thrown into the streets. I sighed inwardly knowing I shouldn't think of things I could never have and with that thought in mind, I planted my smirk to face her. All my plans faded and so did my smirk when I saw the person walking behind her come into my view. Adriano D'Angelo!