The office where that boy worked was quiet, he did his respective job in a small cubicle at the back of the place. The place was nice to work, Elio Mancini had been brought there by his mother. Before, he had opted for another job, however, things did not turn out as he had imagined, at that time the kidnappings by the most powerful mafia family had increased, and the streets were dangerous, so they had to resort to the protection of the Mandeli family.

It was a good job and guaranteed security. He also liked what he did, although his passion was animals.

Elio focused a lot on what he did, he put piano music to work or listened to a documentary about animals. The other employees were in their own world. However, in a few minutes, the voices of his colleagues began to be heard.

Apparently, a friend of his employer had arrived and was with him in the boardroom. He didn't pay much attention as he rarely saw that lawyer.

After half an hour, when he had some impressions to make, he realized that the printer had no paper so he went to the front to get some.

On his way back, in the partition that there was, he accidentally ran into a tall guy, with dark hair and beautiful hazel eyes, almost glowing in a beautiful yellow color. A body that looked like it worked out a lot. From his clothing, Elio immediately knew he was not just any friend.

He was wearing a white shirt, black pants, dark dress shoes, and a black blazer. He didn't wear a tie and you could see part of his chest, Elio swallowed hard feeling intimidated by the stranger, despite his attractive appearance, his gaze was terrifying.

"I'm sorry," he apologized with a small nod of the head.

Elio used to have a shy personality, or at least, he didn't like to socialize much, so when someone asked his mother why he didn't have any friends, she simply replied: he's shy.

"Yes, don't worry, boy."

That person's voice sounded so deep that it gave him chills all over his body. His deep voice made him look very interesting, and Elio continued on his way to the back to get his copies.

"..."

"I didn't know you had such handsome employees, Mr. Mandeli," said Vicenzo Di Marco as he entered the politician's office again.

"Who did you meet?" he said with a mischievous smile.

"A boy with blue eyes... he seemed very handsome, however, his way of dressing is somewhat aggressive."

"Oh, you're talking about Elio."

"So that's his name, huh? I didn't dare to ask him, he seems very shy."

Mr. Mandeli laughed - "Don't be fooled by his pretty appearance, or his shy personality. Trust me, that boy is the opposite of how he really looks."

"Really? I feel more curious now to meet him," he licked his lips with interest, remembering the boy's gaze; suddenly, he wanted to know if he was as the friend of his grandfather describes him. If he was, he would be the ideal person he was looking for.

"But be careful, Vicenzo. Don't you dare harm him in any way."

The atmosphere changed so drastically and the gaze of the older man became somber. The dark-haired man felt intimidated by the voice and look that man had used. Despite being almost alike in personality, he respected that person a lot. However, now he was intrigued by something else.

"Why the threat, my dear lawyer?" he questioned, leaning back in his chair and holding the gaze of that imposing person.

"Elio Mancini is the son of a person whom I appreciate very much, I will not allow you to put your dirty hands on him. Besides, he is only nineteen years old, he is still very young for you."

"Well, well," he waved his hands in a surrendering manner, smiling occasionally - "Besides, I am one hundred percent heterosexual," he smiled as he shifted positions - "Anyway, I came here to ask you something..." he settled into the chair - "Do you know anyone who is interested in marrying me?

"Get married?, Do you really plan on getting married?"

"I wouldn't want to, after what happened last time"he let out a heavy sigh"but well, my grandfather is adamant that I do. You know I take marriage seriously and that, even though I like to go from bed to bed, I don't want to marry any of the women I sleep with. They're not my type."

Mandeli couldn't understand this guy. He was attractive, a successful businessman, owner of the largest companies in Europe. In addition to being one of the most feared men on the continent and in the world in general. He could have anyone, even models or artists, find a wife just like that, no doubt it was strange.

"But those girls are beautiful, in every way, anyone would dream of someone like that."

"Those girls are all plastic"he said laughing, making the other man smile too"but, actually, that's not the problem. People can modify their bodies as many times as they please. But, godfather"he became serious"it might sound ridiculous, however, the person who I truly love has not yet arrived, to replace them, and, as long as that remains the case, I don't want to get married, especially not to one of those girls who only seek money."

"Then why are you asking me if I know anyone?"

"Simple. If someone wants to marry me just for money, there would be no problem. I can continue with my life as it is and take the pressure off from my grandfather. And the younger she is, the better, young girls are easy to manipulate, a few sweet words and they're eating out of your hand."

"That's contradictory."The lawyer adjusted in his seat". However, you are intelligent, I like that. But I don't know of anyone who is interested at the moment."

Vicenzo showed a disappointed expression as he took a sip of the drink in front of him.

...----------------...

During the afternoon, all the employees had left, except for Mr. Mandeli's personal secretary, as he continued to converse with his dear friend.

Elio had also stayed a little longer, he had a lot of work to catch up on and, although Mandeli was a good person, he did not tolerate his employees being late. It was seven-thirty in the evening when he finally shut down his computer and packed up his things to leave.

He bid farewell cordially as he did every day, receiving a "See you tomorrow" from the secretary.

He walked towards the exit, waiting for his older brother. He put on his earphones and stood in front of the door, there was a beautiful car in front of him. A black Ferrari, at first glance, one could appreciate how expensive that car was. Elio sighed. Such an expensive car could only be driven by a person of high status. Even walking near the car would be dangerous, one scratch and he would have to be the owner's slave for the rest of his life, and even then he couldn't pay for the damages.

"Excuse me"a light tap on his shoulder, accompanied by that manly voice, made him look up"could you move?, I have to leave now."

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry"he made a slight bow as he moved.

"You're Elio Mancini, right?"Elio was not surprised to hear him say his name, he assumed that Mr. Mandeli had spoken to him about him.

"Yes, that's correct, sir."

"I have a proposal for you."

Elio was surprised, unable to say anything in response; What kind of proposal would someone he didn't even know make to him?, in fact, his name was even unknown, and, above all, he was one of the most famous men in Italy, both in the underworld and in the business world. Elio didn't know much about architecture, but this imposing man was the youngest tycoon in Italy. A civil engineer who, just by saying it, could make the most important buildings in the country explode into a thousand pieces.

"I..."

"Elio"his brother's voice behind him forced him to turn. Elio felt grateful for his arrival. The man's gaze was piercing and it was making him very nervous"let's go."

"I have to leave. See you later, sir."

Elio Mancini; that name started to sound in his thoughts. He saw him getting into the car of that guy who had interrupted his conversation. He curved his lips into a smile, with satisfaction.

He got into his car and before starting to drive, he dialed the number of a highly trusted person.

"Investigate Elio Mancini, he works for my godfather, Mr. Mandeli," Vicenzo Di Marco said.

Vicenzo Di Marco had found what he was looking for. Despite the warning and clear threat from Luigi Mandeli, he was not going to stop his plan. He already had someone in his sights and everything Vicenzo Di Marco wanted, he had.

That fragile-looking boy was the perfect prey for his ruthless jaws. He wasn't looking for romance and he also wasn't looking for someone to love him, he was sure he wouldn't love anyone else. Never. So, that boy was the perfect option, if his grandfather refused, then he would have all the winning cards.

...---------------...

"Grandfather," Vicenzo greeted with a smile. The old man returned the smile. It had been a considerable amount of time since he had seen his grandson in person. Vicenzo had grown up and the rebellious teenager was nowhere to be seen.

"Vicenzo, your father... when will he come?"

He shrugged in response--"He said he would be here this week, but he didn't specify the day."

In reality, the reason Vicenzo Di Marco had returned to his native Italy from Russia was at the request of his father. Salvatore Di Marco had asked to see him, it was time for him to take control of the Marco Clan.

"We have urgent matters to address," the old man threw some photographs onto the glass table in the living room--"Vicenzo, there is a new group trying to sabotage us and take our territories."

"Since When?" he asked as he picked up each photograph and examined them. There were men he had never seen in his life, to his dismay.

"A few months ago, I don't have the exact date when the betrayal and leakage of information started."

"So we have a mole in the organization," the younger Di Marco furrowed his brow. It was true that in these "jobs" there was always a traitor, but the Di Marco family had remained loyal to their cause, it was the first time something like this had happened.

"Several, but for that reason, I need your father here," the grandfather of the dark-haired man grabbed a glass and took a sip of his drink--"also, there is another important thing we need to discuss."

"What is it?"

"That you still don't have a wife."

Vicenzo let out a frustrated sigh. While he loved his grandfather, the fact that he wanted him to get married bothered him quite a bit, he didn't like ties at all. Not anymore.

"I'm working on it," he said after getting up and walking towards the door--"but, you don't have a problem if it's a husband, right?"

Without waiting for a response, he left that room. His expressionless grandfather showed a smirk on his face. It was not certain whether it was of disgust, surprise, or happiness. However, he was still a bit taken aback by that response, he had always seen his grandson as a man who loved enjoying the company of beautiful women.

He knew perfectly well about all of Vicenzo's adventures, and for that very reason, it was beyond him that his grandson would want to marry a man.

"Young Vicenzo really took us by surprise, I never thought he could come to like men," commented one of the employees who was there. He was his right-hand man--"he is so... libertine, and devoted to women..."

"Marcello," interrupted the old Di Marco.

"Sir."

"Have someone investigate the type of man my grandson wants to marry. I won't allow just anyone to enter our family."

"Yes, sir."

And that was how Elio Mancini came under the radar of the powerful Di Marco family. The poor boy didn't even know that two of the biggest heads of the mafia had their eyes on him.

...----------------...

"Señor."Said Di Marco's subordinate as he entered the office.

The place exuded elegance from the smallest detail in the decor to the enormous two-story ceiling with a chandelier with white lights. The furniture was new and in neutral colors. Wherever he looked, the word elegance was written.

The scent of Royal Courtesan permeated every corner of the room, mixing with the scent of bergamot from the air freshener. The ice in his whisky tinkled as it melted and slid over each other, echoing in the silent office.

"Elio Mancini, he is a 19-year-old young man, born in the year 2002, July 26th."

It was the first information the young boss Di Marco received from his subordinate. He continued reading that report, which, by the way, was nothing more than a letter-sized page.

"He turns twenty in three months."

"That's correct, sir."

Vicenzo kept reading.

According to the file that was handed to him, Elio lived only with his mother and siblings, his father had died from a supposed alcohol overdose five years ago, the man was found outside a dive bar, his body purple and next to him was a bottle of adulterated beer.

Elio was the fourth of five children, with two sisters and two brothers. "A large family," he thought.

He continued reading while taking a puff on the cigar in his left hand. Elio turned out to be good in his studies. He had remained at the top since childhood, through high school, and had graduated just a few months ago.

His mother had worked for several years with the Mandeli family. She seemed to be an important person in that family, he remembered Luigi Mandeli talking to him about a very trusted maid, she had even accompanied his godfather to close some important deals, perhaps he had seen her one day, however, he did not remember her face.

However, before his father's death, there seemed to be no information about them. There was nothing about his grandparents, city of origin, relatives living in the same city, or anything of the sort. Vicenzo felt even more curiosity about Elio Mancini.

...----------------...

"Young Vicenzo sent one of his subordinates to investigate a young man who works with Mr. Luigi Mandeli in his notary," reported Marcello Cavalli, Gabriele Di Marco's right-hand man.

"Follow him, tell me where he goes after work, what he does, who his friends are, what he likes, what he dislikes, investigate his family, his background, his blood type... I want everything about that boy."

"Yes, sir."

"What kind of people are you dealing with, Vicent?"

Grandfather Gabriele, who by then enjoyed stable health, was very concerned about his only grandson. He had already allowed him to do things on his own once and the consequences were fatal, although Vicenzo still did not accept it. Now, he had to make sure that his grandson made a good choice.

...----------------...

After that day, the two mafia bosses focused their attention on that young man.

Elio was young, but not stupid. He had noticed that he had been followed for a couple of weeks.

At first, he thought they were following his brother. Carlo Mancini was a journalist who covered crime and politics, he had made many enemies since he decided to expose the affairs of a supreme court judge. However, that idea was discarded when he saw people behind him on weekends or after his self-defense classes.

However, he didn't know who they were or what they were looking for. He suspected his aunts, they were the only ones who could do something as low as stalking, and if it was them, he was not going to flee. He wanted to be able to avenge his father's death.

Although the case was closed and the coroners said it was an overdose, neither he nor his sister believed it to be true.

"I'll go home alone, brother, you don't have to come get me."

Elio was determined to confront those bastards who had been following him those days.

It was half past six in the evening when he left his job, the sun wasn't good in those days and at that time it was almost hidden. He discreetly walked towards the place he had planned.

He noticed three presences behind him. He continued to a alley to ambush them. He was a little faster than the one following him. He hid and waited for that guy to pass by.

He made sure there was no one else around and came out of hiding. He walked behind the guy and took him by surprise.

"Did you lose something?" he asked as he emerged from behind a trash container.

That guy grunted, annoyed, his expression changing to a worried one. Elio stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for an answer that never came.

"Oh," he exclaimed mockingly, "you'll know soon enough."

As soon as the guy stopped talking, Elio felt the presence of two people behind him. Before he could turn his head, they immobilized him by putting drugs on his nose, making him fall asleep.

He tried to struggle before his body lost consciousness, but it was useless, they were more and much stronger. He felt stupid for thinking he could face them alone.

Elio's vision was blurred and his eyes felt heavy. His head was pounding, just like the first time he got drunk.

He looked around in all directions once he had regained his senses. He was afraid, but his subconscious desperately tried to find a way out. However, there wasn't even a window.

The room he was in was spacious and dimly lit, yet there were books everywhere. Strangely, he felt relieved not to be tied to a chair in a horrible place. He had seen movies about serial killers, kidnappings, documentaries about murderers and kidnappers, and usually, they all took their victims to an empty lot, an abandoned warehouse, or a gloomy basement.

He frantically searched for his belongings, his backpack was not there and his cell phone was not in his pockets; he was screwed. He looked around but the dim light didn't allow him to see beyond half a meter from him.

"Looking for this?" a voice from the shadows made him stop moving all the sofa cushions. He turned on a desk lamp, revealing part of his face.

Elio turned, astounded. That man, in his eighties, held his cellphone in his hands; how long had it been there? Was he so focused on his search that he couldn't see it?

"Why did you bring me here? Who are you?" Elio stood up, alarmed. The man did the same, circling the desk until he was face to face, leaning his body against the wood and looking the boy up and down; he was beautiful. He couldn't deny that his grandson had good taste.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you."

"Of course, how did I even think that?" he scoffed, "I was drugged, brought here by force, and left incommunicado, surely it's something good," his sarcastic tone elicited a chuckle from the old man. It had to be admitted, the boy had guts. He was facing his captor and, as scared as he looked, his mocking words gave him some courage.

"It's not as terrible as it sounds," the old man said as he walked to a wall.

After increasing the lighting, Elio could see the man's face better, and those of his captors behind him, they were big and tattooed, he felt even more stupid now that he examined them closely. With a small and weak body, he could never fight against them. But his gaze returned to the old man. He had seen older men whose faces looked kind, however, this old man was the complete opposite. He swallowed hard at the imposing face of the man.

But Elio Mancini was not one to be intimidated, and, swallowing his fear, he put on a challenging look.

"What are you looking for?"

"Relax, I just want to talk to you."

Elio said nothing, his gaze still challenging. The old man twisted his lips into a satisfied smile. Despite how cute and delicate that boy looked, he undoubtedly had a rebellious and courageous spirit.

He was pleased with his grandson's good choice.

Vicenzo drove with a look of complete seriousness and frustration. His subordinate had informed him that some people had kidnapped young Mancini. He followed them and they brought him to his grandfather's home.

The hazel-eyed man squeezed his hands against the leather steering wheel of his Ferrari with force, causing the veins in his hands to stand out more from the strength used.

Why did his grandfather want that boy? he let out an annoyed sigh, gritting his teeth.

He continued driving. His grandfather had done it again, his memories traveled back to ten years ago when he was only twenty-five years old and deeply in love.

She had been, and he was almost sure, that she would be his only love, ridiculous as it sounded. She didn't deserve his grandfather incriminating her in that way. He wanted to defend her, however, his family has always been more important, but if he had another chance, he would not hesitate to save her from that humiliation.

He finally arrived at that huge mansion surrounded by armed people. He hurriedly entered through the huge door that adorned the main entrance. He strode to the entrance of the library.

"I'm sorry, young sir, your grandfather gave specific orders that no one should disturb him," the guard guarding the entrance bowed in apology.

Vicenzo Di Marco grumbled, annoyed, some words that were not understandable at all.

Although he wanted to, he couldn't interrupt, even as his grandson, there would be consequences if he disobeyed a direct order from the old Di Marco.

Without further ado, he decided to wait in the living room.

Surely his plan would go down the drain after the kidnapping of that boy. He didn't even know his name and he was already being interrogated by his grandfather.

"Damn it," he muttered the word as he poured himself a glass of tequila.

Elio was still processing what the old man was asking him. Although it seemed unnecessary, as he already had all his information in the folder he held in his hands.

When he asked why he insisted on asking those questions if he already had the answers, the old Di Marco smiled warmly and replied, "I want to test your patience, that's all."

"I assure you it's not much, it's almost at its limit."

Elio was struggling to stay seated and not leave or say something that he would surely regret.

Inside, there were three guards, the same ones who had brought him to that place, he was completely sure that behind those doors there would be even more guards. Getting out alive was not something he could do.

"Aren't you curious why I brought you here?"

"I asked from the beginning."

The old man smiled, his grandson had indeed found a rebellious "wife." That rebellion that Elio showed pleased him because, in a way, it reminded him of his past self.

"Tell me, boy," Gabriele, who had returned to his place a while ago, leaned back on the leather armchair, looked at Elio with inquisitive eyes, and continued with his question, "do you have a romantic partner?"

The boy's face changed from a stoic and uninterested expression to one of complete confusion.

In reality, he didn't even have a close friend. Since high school, in his second year, he began to distance himself from those who he then considered his friends.

He left each of them in the past and continued to live a life without forming friendships with anyone. Much less romance.

The life he had lived alongside his father taught him that he didn't need anyone by his side. And yet, remembering that he once felt the need to have that person, to have their love and all their attention, he was bothered by that feeling, maybe because it was not reciprocated, or simply because he hated that part of himself: the part where he could fall in love.

"Tks, I really hate it," he thought, as that feeling he had left years ago consumed him once again.

That person had suddenly distanced himself from him. At that moment, he couldn't explain his emotions. He had already left everything behind once to move to a new city, so he didn't understand why the sudden isolation from that boy hurt him so much.

"What does that matter?" he snapped. Inquiring about his love life irritated him.

"It matters more than you think," the elderly hazel-eyed man leaned towards him with an intimidating gaze, but somehow reassured him that nothing was going to happen to him. "I have a proposal for you, Elio Mancini."

In the end, Vincenzo got tired of waiting and decided to enter the library by force. His grandfather only looked at him without seeming displeased or annoyed.

“What is this, grandfather?”

Vincenzo's eyes darted from his grandfather to the boy and vice versa, Elio, who remained somewhat surprised, looked at him too. Silence reigned in the place. Gabriele got up from his place and returned the cell phone to the boy along with his backpack.

“It was a pleasure talking to you, Elio, I hope we see each other again, and give my regards to your mother.”

“Of course, sir. Excuse me.” Elio slung his backpack over his shoulder and stood up. “Excuse me,” he said to the confused Vincenzo.

Elio left the library before the hazel-eyed boy's confused gaze, before leaving he turned slightly and made a small bow to both men. He fixed his blue eyes on the black-haired man's, and after a few seconds, the huge door closed echoing with the sound.

“Why did you bring him here? He doesn't even know my name and you're already interrogating him. That's too much, grandpa.”

“Well, he showed less fear and less bewilderment when he found out who we are than your girlfriend of years, Adele Petrucci.”

“Don't compare Adele to that boy, she was like that because I lied to her, grandfather. I made her fall in love with someone who didn't exist.”

“And she left you asking for money for the years you were together, she even took the engagement ring, besides, she is the cause of...”

“That's clear! Adele had nothing to do with it. She just wanted security. Don't you remember that the idiots from the south kidnapped her? I never thought of claiming anything from her, and giving her everything she asked for was the right thing to do. If I had been with them they wouldn't have taken her, no one could bear something like that.”

“He keeps believing that, son.” Gabriele ignored that topic. They had already talked about it, and they never got anywhere. “And that was the end of her love for you, don't tell me she never wondered where all those expensive gifts you gave her came from.” Mr. Di Marco snorted in frustration. “That girl, the only thing she saw in you during those six years was the dollar sign. Back then, I respected that you didn't want me to investigate her, however, now I have to make sure the same thing doesn't happen.”

“Well, let's say it was like that, that she only cared about the money and not me, what's the difference with that boy? He would also be by my side for money.”

“The difference is that this time you know it, and that he wouldn't be playing with you. Seeing you miserable years ago, like a Di Marco… makes me sick.”

“That's all that matters to you, isn't it? The family name.” Vincenzo fell silent trying to calm down, both were tense, the atmosphere was heavy. After a few seconds he spoke again. “Besides, I don't understand the need to get married.”

“It is time for us to have a descendant.”

The seriousness of his grandfather in those words took him by surprise, however, as soon as those words made sense in his mind, a loud laugh was heard throughout the library.

“Grandpa,” he said, catching his breath, “Elio Mancini is a man, in case you forgot… he can't conceive.”

“Of course I haven't forgotten, however,” old Gabriele walked over to the desk and grabbed a yellow envelope. He threw it at his grandson and said, “Review that and then we'll talk.”

The more he read, the more interesting Elio Mancini became. Vincenzo looked up at his grandfather, he knew that he would not be interested in marrying a man without some ulterior motive.

He raised his eyebrows, gave his grandfather one last look, and then went out, taking the collected information with him.

...----------------...

The following days, Elio had been thinking a lot about that proposal, it was too tempting, but also, quite unreal. He didn't know for sure how much power they had, however, and from what he'd heard from his mother, he knew they were influential people, both in the mafia world, as well as in the political and financial world.

At first he tried not to think about it too much, he was just a boy and getting married was not in his life plans, much less with someone he didn't even know.

However, his family's debts from his mother's illness were increasingly unsustainable. His older brother bore most of the debt, he did his best to help him, as did Luka, his other older brother, the youngest only dedicated herself to studying, and he knew little about his second sister.

He could spend nights without sleep and go over the same issue.

They had given him two weeks to think about it, he had definitely turned it down at first, but still, the old man had given him a second chance to think about it carefully.

He kept wondering why a man like that would want to marry another man, Elio didn't fit the profile of a rich boy nor did he come from a good family, there was no benefit in marrying him.

Furthermore, he knew about the lives of mob wives, and definitely didn't want to live like that, however, he knew perfectly well that he couldn't pay for college on his own.

He had decided to take a year before entering to save as much as possible, tuition was expensive as were tuition fees. Elio dreamed of graduating from the most prestigious university in the city, with a scholarship he could achieve it, but he also didn't want to leave his brother alone with the debts. It was stressful to think about all of that. Studying medicine had always been his dream, before, he had even thought about entering a military academy and specializing in the area of ​​medicine, however, due to his family history, it was impossible for him.

He had everything planned, however, during the internships he knew that he had to stop working, in addition, his younger sister was also going to enter university, and since she didn't work, her brother and mother would help her.

Things were not looking easy and more and more, circumstances pushed him to accept. However, Elio was a person with well-founded principles, and accepting a marriage for money definitely violated every one of his principles.

Elio let out a sigh as he leaned back against the cinema table. Despite going out to distract himself and stop thinking about the head of the Di Marco family's proposal, he couldn't.

“How frustrating.” He whispered.

He let out the air that he was holding in his lungs, as he raised his face and ate some popcorn. It had been a while since he had set foot in a movie theater. Elio didn't go out much, being around people made him too uncomfortable.

From among the crowd, a couple of friends recognized him. Both approached the distracted Elio.

“Elio?”

Elio turned around to find himself with that pair of very familiar people. The two of them had been his friends throughout high school, even before that. However, he had walked away from them years ago, he never hoped to see them again, much less that they would speak to him first, Elio had abruptly cut off their friendship, they stopped seeing each other and never contacted him.

“Oh, Gianni, Enrico, what… what a pleasure to see you.”

Elio then recognized his voice and that lilac and white hair that characterized Gianni. Also, the familiar figure beside him, Enrico, who remained with the same expression as always, one that didn't show much of his attitude, his black hair and some green streaks were somewhat long.

They looked a little taller than the last time he had seen them, even Gianni, who in the past had been a little shorter than him, now seemed taller, although he was shorter than Enrico. Apparently, they still had the same taste in clothes: baggy clothes, in dark tones, mostly black, boots and accessories in silver, such as chains, earrings, rings or piercings.

They smiled at him very friendly, especially Gianni, who had never hoped to see him again. Since always, Gianni or, little busybody, as Elio used to call him, had been the closest to him. The two had known each other since childhood and stuck together until high school.

Gianni and Enrico sat down and tried to talk to him, however, he didn't want anything to do with them again. He was supposed to have left all those feelings of affection behind. But in that moment, all he wanted was to get all his thoughts out.

However, telling them everything that was going on could be overwhelming and strange, after all, it had been years since the three of them last got together.

They started talking about trivial things. They tried to catch up on their lives, Enrico, who had been in the same class as Elio in high school, began to tell him about their classmates from that time, Gianni also told him about classmates who had had a "friendship" with him in the past.

Elio just looked at his watch, impatient, wishing time would fly by at that moment. However, the clock seemed to want to stay on the same minute even after an hour.

“I think I have to go now. The movie I'm going to see is about to start.”

“Oh, yes,” Gianni said. “Give us your contact information so we can meet again.”

Elio thought about it for a few seconds, but in the end, he took out his mobile and gave them his number. He wasn't sure if they would actually contact him, but he did anyway.

...----------------...

After that sudden encounter with those old friendships, Elio was remembering the moments alongside those two boys he had met when he had just arrived at that place. He first met Gianni, who lived in the same building as him, but one floor below. He was barely seven years old when he moved there and they soon became friends. He met Enrico a couple of years later at school, although Enrico was an old friend of Gianni's, at first he didn't like him at all, but they soon became friends and from that day on they were together.

Remembering that gave him a headache, even more, knowing that they knew his life and not just the appearance he wanted to give since he was a child. He had always worried that they would not associate him with the Mancinis, or that others would know the life they led, but he could not hide it from them, and although they helped him keep his secrets, he never came to trust them blindly.

Elio was so caught up in the memories and feelings of the past that he almost completely forgot about old Di Marco's proposal.

It wasn't until Friday that a message reminded him of it. He was in his room changing since minutes before he had gotten out of the shower. He put on comfortable clothes. His room was tidy, the white light dim. He liked the peace of darkness, there were several books on his desk and some more on a small bookcase. Although it didn't seem like it at first glance, Elio enjoyed literature.

His cell phone vibrated a couple of times, he had decided to ignore it because he was going to have dinner, however, he grabbed it to see the notification, when he turned it on, he had many notifications from different social networks, but the one that interested him was the message you just received.

On the notification bar he read the message from an unknown number. His countenance changed instantly, Elio no longer had time to think about it, the next day he would have to give an answer, and he hadn't even told his family anything.

He turned off the cell phone, put it in his pocket and went to the dining room.

Elio stopped to see his family in the dining room. He saw his mother serving food, his younger sister fighting with the neighbor's son (she looked after him occasionally), and his older brother focused on his cell phone. Carlo couldn't even rest from work at home.

He sighed and entered with a smile.

Despite not having many friends, Elio was close to his family, he was sure that they would help him and support him in any decision he made.

Even though he was afraid of being threatened by the Di Marcos.