"Sofia, he will get me anyway you only just postponed it" Bruno explained to her when they finally sat in Valentino's red ferrari. "I'd prefer if he beat me to the pulp now, instead of waiting until tomorrow" Bruno sighed.

"You know you can be beaten up tomorrow and today if you won't stop acting like your issues are my sister's problem," Valentino said in a cheery voice that didn't match the words he was saying.

"Stop threatening him," Sofia said sharply.

"It's not a threat it's a suggestion," Valentino said in a calming manner.

Sofia decided to not dignify Valentino with a response.

"Bruno, are you okay?" Sofia asked her friend quietly. He was really pale.

"Yeah, it's just that I'm about to go to your house," Bruno whispered weakly.

"So?" Sofia asked, innocently.

"Your brothers are there" he mouthed hoping Valentino won't hear.

Sofia herself could barely understand why is he so terrified.

"Don't worry we will just quickly go to my room" she assured.

"Aww, I thought we will all hang out together in the living room. Francesco and Alessandro will be excited to meet him"

"Valentino!" Sofia whined. Why was he in this difficult mood today?

"Valentino" he made his voice higher and she gasped at his actions which prompted his cackle.

Unbelievable.

The sound of her phone interrupted their conversation. She checked who's calling and froze. It was Alessandro. She looked at the screen of her newest iPhone in worry. She picked up with shaking hands.

"Yes?"

"I receive a call from Mrs Esposito, she informed me you decided to not show up in her class"

"I'm sorry"

"Sofia, you may not understand how I run the house so I will explain it in simple terms: You do something you're not supposed to do you face the consequences" he explained patiently.

"I understand," Sofia said sadly, worried about what her punishment might be.

"You will write an essay"

Sofia wanted to laugh out of relief and how ridiculous this punishment was.

Kids were forced to write some long stories about the topic like Why skipping classes is

"But this is a punishment for kids," she said with amusement.

"Good for you then" Alessandro pointed out.

"What?" What was the point he was trying to make by acknowledging her comment?

"If it's a task for a child it's going to be very easy for you to do what I ask" he responded smoothly.

Okay, now she liked it less.

"Fine" she sighed heavily.

"I must warn you I read essays I assign very carefully so it better be good. You're lucky I am in Messina which means you will have time till tomorrow to come up with something impressive"

Wait, he left the city? Sofia couldn't believe her luck.

"What are you doing in Messina?"

"Business conference. I will be back tomorrow evening" he replied. The Sofia heard him responding to someone else then her. "We will talk later" he promised "Oh, right. The essay should cover in detail why you decided to skip classes, and why you should re-evaluate your actions in the future"

Oh shit. The essay was not just about some abstract topic he wanted her to write about her. She had extreme problems with talking about herself and her own problems so with this essay he was pushing her out of her comfort zone.

And how the hell is she going to explain what happened without letting him know that Cynthia's bullying was a trigger for all of this?

No. Let's not panic. Let's be optimistic. Let's check what Valentino thinks.

"Valentino, have you ever be punished with essay writing?" Sofia asked wanted to make sure this task is just like an additional chore to do, nothing special. Half an hour to finish, max.

Valentino groaned "Don't fucking remind me"

Her heart skipped a beat. What now?

"Why?"

"If he doesn't like the points you're making you will be re-writing it until he's satisfied and sometimes it means forever," Valentino said in a dramatic voice. "One I had to rewrite the thing for 10 times. The lesson? Do not piss off Alessandro"

Oh shit.

"Why did Alessandro call you? What are you punished for? "

"I skipped my last class" Sofia admitted, looking down.

"To do what?" Valentino asked instantly.

"Nothing!" she responded with unhidden irritation.

"Really, that's your answer?" Valentino asked in a challenging voice.

"Yes" she said with confidence that leaving Valentino temporarily speechless. Now, Sofia could focus on her friend who was sitting right next to her. "Bruno, no one is going to beat you," She said sternly. Tomorrow I will explain the misunderstanding to Alessio" she said with determination.

Bruno didn't have time to respond.

"You can't talk to Alessio and you know it," Valentino said sharply. "Stay away from him and their brawl its none of your business Fia"

"But I have to. Alessio thinks Bruno attacked Cynthia" Sofia replied.

"Even I heard her screaming" Valentino shrugged his shoulders the situation was clear to him. "It's still none of your business"

"Your brother is right," Bruno said.

"See? Neri agrees" Valentino pointed out, satisfied.

"He didn't do anything to her she was faking " Sofia explained.

"He shouldn't grab her at all " Valentino shrugged his shoulders. Bruno's fate was completely irrelevant to him however it did put him on the alarm that he forcefully lied hand on another girl because one day that girl could be Sofia and he couldn't stand thinking about her getting hurt. Speaking of Sofia potentially getting hurt "What were you thinking throwing yourself in between Denaro and Neri? You could get hurt"

"I couldn't just stand there and do nothing," Sofia said trying to be calm and reasonable with him.

"Of course you could" Valentino responded and Bruno nodded his head showing that he agrees with her brother.

"Ok, whatever" she said, crossing her arms.

"I'm not finished Sofia. Stay away from Alessio you're not allowed to speak to him, my last warning" Valentino warned.

"You're not going to tell me with whom I'm allowed to speak to" she said stubbornly. She had no intention to speak with Alessio. She didn't want to cause any troubles but Valentino's behavior irked her so she had no intention to coddle him either.

"Wanna bet?" Valentino challenged in a threatening voice.

"Sure," she said feigning indifference. Valentino couldn't be scary sometimes but she didn't think that she can hurt her.

"So Bruno instead of spending time with my sister how about spending time with me? Actually, I insist" he said with an overconfident smirk.

"Leave him alone" Sofia demanded.

"Oh look! Now you want something from me" Valentino mocked her with a smirk on his face.

"Valentino!" She yelled.

"Sofia." He responded calmly.

"Okay fine wait I won't talk to him" Sofia agreed reluctantly.

"Good girl" he said in condescending tone. Asshole.

When they entered the house Sofia understood why Valentino was laughing when she said she's just gonna sneak Bruno into her room.

"We're home" Valentino yelled on top of his lungs and watched with amusement as Sofia and Bruno gave him betrayed look.

"What are you yelling, idiot?" It was question directed at him by Francesco who was in his workshop fully sacrificing his time for creative process. He hated to be disturbed and it was always putting him in a bad mood.

Dear Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Thank you for being amazing and kind readers. You really are putting a smile on my face when I read your comments so I can't thank you enough.