Before I Knew Love, I Heard Her Anklet

Chapter 1

Author

Hi guys 👋 welcome 🤗

Author

let's begin 😉 remember - *...*- means action .. "..." - means mind voice

Milan, Italy

Some cities rush. Milan glides. It's not loud like New York or theatrical like Paris- It's deliberate. Here, the streets hun with the quiet confidence of old money, new fashion and espresso that knows it's superior. Milan is a city stitched together by contrasts. Fast and timeless. Sharp and soulful.

And in the middle of all that, like a secret stitched into the city's quieter edge, stands the De Luca Estate.

Villa De Luca Estate - a limestone and marble affair tucked away behind a vine draped iron gate.

It looks royal. Feels cinematic. But mostly importantly, it's home

11:05am

Vihaan POV

The birds were chirping. Sunlight spilled through the windows. And our butler, Marco had just narrowly escaped being roped into instagram reels by my mother

Another typical morning at the De Luca household

I made my entrance with all the subtlety of a peacock on caffeine - sliding down the banister, cereal in one hand and walking lazily

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*walking towards the couch* Buongiornoo, peasants! 😁😁 *jumps and sits down*

My dear mother- Meera De Luca sitting comfortably on the couch

Meera De Luca (ml mom)

*sitting cross -legged in a normal cotton kurti, didn't even blink and using the phone* Good morning, circus clown. Your hair looks like it lost a bet.

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

Rude *pouted*😗This is curated chaos.

？？？

Your face is curated chaos *from behind*

I turned and it was none other than my dear brother

Aaryan De luca (ml)

*passing behind in a linen shirt so crisp it probably ironed itself out of fear* Eat properly Vihaan *normal voice*

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

Thank you, dear brother 😬😬*said, bowing* May your coffee be as strong as your denial of basic emotions 😜

Aaryan De luca (ml)

*shakes head and sits down on the couch reading the news on the tablet *

Then came the king.

Our father, Leonardo De Luca, entered the room in full mafia mode: tailored black suit, unreadable face, holding a leather - bound book and espresso like a bond villain who secretly writes sonnets.

Leonardo De Luca

*walked past Vihaan and Aaryan , until* Meera *said, voice low and softly*

Meera De Luca (ml mom)

*looked up*

Leonardo De Luca

*handed her a single white rose* my Stella mia, good morning 😘*kisses her forehead*

Like he did every Monday, one white rose to his Queen

Meera De Luca (ml mom)

*takes and grins* So dramatic, You planning to propose to me again, Leo? 😆

Leonardo De Luca

I always am *said without blinking*

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*gagging noise and flopped onto the couch* Can someone please write a breakup letter on their behalf and save us from this eternal honeymoon? *dramatically*

Leonardo De Luca

Jealousy is loud, Vihaan *murmured*

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

Says the man who literally makes eyes at Mamma during lunch 😤*i shout back*

Meera De Luca (ml mom)

He's just shy *winked* Isn't that right, Chinnu? *giggles*

Leonardo De Luca

*didn't respond but blushed*

That was our house. Formal from the outside. Completely feral inside.

"And somewhere, between my meme wars and Aaryan's emotionally bankrupt meetings, a certain silver sound was about to change everything. "

Author

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Author

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Chapter 2

Author

Hi guys 🤗 let's begin

10:23Pm in Milan

Vihaan's POV

And like clockwork, I had two things to look forward to.

One: Cereal that would emotionally betray me in 20minutes. Two: her.

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*enters his room*

It all started with a comment on a random architecture meme.

Some post about - " designing dreams and losing sleep."

I dropped a snarky business -student comment: "Glad I chose spreadsheets over stress induced hallucinations." And then came her reply: "Both are self harm. Yours just wears a tie."

She won

That was nine months ago.

Since then, Aadya Pranav Rao- architecture student from Bangalore, eternal tea loyalist, emotionally attached to her sketch pens- became my unofficial therapy and very official best friend.

She knew things even my brother didn't: like how I hated being the "other De luca" or how i secretly wrote poetry in a folder named "Mafia Mush".

And me? I knew her late-night fears, her dreams of building spaces that feel like poetry and how her appa still checks her google maps when she walks alone.

She never tried to impress me. And I never tried to fix her.

There's never been anything romantic between us. It's just .. Real.. solid, a rare friendship that holds you without trying to fix you.

We just .. Showed up. Everyday.

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*opened my laptop and flopped onto my bed, cereal bowl in hand*

The call rang, three beeps.

And there she was

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

*tshirt with a faded "Ctrl+Z Life" print. Hair in a clip* You're late 🧐* said, sipping her tea like a courtroom lawyer judging my existence*

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

I had to emotionally prepare for your sarcasm *eating my cereal* 😮‍💨

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

*narrowed her eyes* You had 24hours. Still not ready? 🧐

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*grinned* Nope, But here I am. Defenseless.

We slipped into conversation like always - zero effort, full chaos.

Our rhythm is effortless.

She ranted about her professor criticizing her site analysis, about a classmate who tried to design a "sustainable prison shaped like a lotus".

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*dramatically gaged* A lotus prison? Enlightenment behind the bars? 😂😂

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

Exactly. I told him it looked like a temple that lost faith *puff* 😤

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

Remind me never to take design advice from your batchmates*winked*

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

*laughs* Deal 🤝

Then came the softer side of her.

She leaned back against her wall, sketchbook cradled on her lap.

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

I don't know, Vihaan *said quietly* Sometimes I feel like I'm screaming into paper, and no one's listening.

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*blinked* I might not speak architecture, Aadhu, but I see the way you look at space . Like you want it to heal people.

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

*went still...* That ... Actually means a lot... *smiles softly*

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

Even if I have no idea what a cantilever does *shrugs*

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

You're lucky you're not in a design school. You'd be dramatic about every deadline.😌

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

I'm already dramatic. that's why I do Excel.

A long silence passed. Comfortable. Familiar.

And then it happened.

"Tchink"

That anklet.

She always crosses her legs during calls and it always slips loose. A small silver chain with tiny bells -nothing fancy. But the sound?

Unmistakable. And so ... Her

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*chuckled* There it is. The musical horror of your anklet strikes again.

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

*giggles* Shut up. It's vintage

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

It's loud.

Aadhya Pranav Rao (fl)

It's loyal.

I didn't know that behind me- just outside the room- someone had paused- Aaryan.

My older brother, the one with more walls than windows . He hadn't seen her. Hadn't Heard her voice. But that sound- that simple metallic chime - stopped him.

For him, it was the beginning of something unspoken. A curiosity. A shift. And the girl who had no idea he existed... Had just unknowingly echoed into his world.

Author

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Chapter 3

Author

Hi guys 🤗,let's begin

Aaryan's POV

Milan at night is a paradox of beauty and silence - Neon reflections melting on cobbled streets, Distant laughter from passing cafes, And the occasional thrum of a Vespa breaking the stillness

To others, it's romance. To me, it's rhythm. Structured. Predictable. I liked predictable. That's probably why I became an architect - there's freedom , yes, but only within the boundaries you draw. And I drew mine thick.

Our home sat quietly at the edge of Milan- an old stone clad villa modernized from the inside, yet still echoing the charm of a time when life was slower.

Inside, the warm lighting hummed. I'd just finished sketching a firm study for a new project - a cultural center in Florence.

I stood, cracked my neck, and realised I'd left my reference sketchbook in Vihaan's room.

Of course, where chaos lived rent- free.

Aaryan De luca (ml)

*walked down the hall*

The sound of muffled laughter leaking through his half open door.

Aaryan De luca (ml)

*knocked and stepped in*

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*longing in his bed, laptop open, cereal bowl dangerously close to tipping. On screen- a frozen video call.*

The image paused. Some girl in a worn tshirt, sketchbook in her lap.

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*scrambled upright* Yo... what's up?

Aaryan De luca (ml)

*held out a gand* Sketchbook. You borrowed it....

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*reached over, tossed it at me* That one?

Aaryan De luca (ml)

*nodded, flipping it open to check the tabs* Thanks

Then, just as I turned to leave, it happened .

A tiny chime.

Soft. Delicate.

Tchink.

Like silver brushing glass.

Aaryan De luca (ml)

*paused mid-step* What was that? *asked , glancing at his screen*

Vihaan De Luca (ml brother/ fl bff)

*blinked* That's? Uh... Nothing. Probably... Ambient noise from her room

Her?

I didn't ask further.

Didn't want to know

But the sound lingered in my mind. The way it hung in the air like perfume. Familiar, even though I'd never heard it before.

I walked back to my room, sketchbook in hand..

Aaryan De luca (ml)

*sits on his chair*

But the pages didn't hold my attention anymore

All I could hear was the anklet.

A sound not meant for me.. And yet, somehow, now... It was mine to remember.

Author

hi guys, I don't know if you are able to get the character intro so here it is

Name: Vihaan De luca

Age: 23 Background: youngest son of De Luca couple. Aaryan's younger brother. Currently pursuing a dual degree in International Business and Digital Marketing in Milan. Personality: the charmer, emotionally intelligent, believes in love but not in drama, drama queen, golden retriever vibe, has rudraksha bead on wrist same as his brother because mom gave

Name: Aaryan De Luca

Age:27 Hometown: Miltan, Italy Profession: Ceo of Linear Arc, a global architecture and urban design firm Background: Italian mafia descended father and an Indian classical dancer mother. Has a younger brother. Personality: Charismatic but introverted, dangerously perceptive. Emotionally intelligent,respectful, protective and quietly intense. Defining trait: wears rudraksha bead on his wrist- never takes it off (his mother has given)

Name: Leonardo De Luca

Age:57 Background: Italian , powerful and cold to the world - a real kingpin of architectural legacies and old money networks. But around his wife, he turns into the softest man alive. Secretly still writes her poems in Italian. Loves wife more than anything.

Name: Meera De Luca

Age:52 Background:Indian. A former classical dancer, now teaches Bharatanatyam privately in Milan. Warm, witty and a romantic at heart. Loves silk sarees, gardening and sneakily matching . Believes in Lord Shiva more than anything. Loves her husband and kids. Does pooja but talks mostly in English or Italian with family.

Name: Aadhya Pranav Rao

Age:22 Place: Bangalore, India Profession: Final year architecture student Personality: introvert( to world) ,Chaos queen (with her people) Eldest in a middle class family. Introverted by nature, expressive in her att and fiercely loyal to those she lets in. Soft spoken to the world but wildly alive with the few who know her.

Author

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