Episode 4

Author narrating...

The party was pretty chill. Lara talked to Enzo a lot and they got to know each other a bit better. Later that night, Enzo parked the car in front of Lara and Vitoria's apartment.

"Why did you decide to accept the contract?" Enzo asks.

Lara is a little surprised by the question but responds with another question.

"You didn’t want me to accept it?" She asks, their eyes locked on each other.

"Of course, I wanted you to. I just wanted to know if you have a special reason." He then explains his question.

"There’s no special reason. At first, I wasn't going to accept it, but after thinking about it a lot I decided to give myself over to this new experience of living a fake romance." She answers with a smile stamped on her face.

Once again she thought he was lost in his thoughts. Actually, he was. "My God, this woman has such a perfect smile," he thought.

Enzo moves a little closer to Lara and, without thinking about what he's doing, he puts his fingers in her soft hair and pulls her a little closer. They feel each other's breath, the heat that was building between them.

And suddenly, a kiss. A soft and calm kiss. When he realizes what's happening, he stops the kiss, moves away from her a little, and avoids looking at her.

"Sorry, I have to go now." He says curtly.

This made Lara feel bad and think about how this man can change from water to wine in a matter of seconds. Lara gets out of the car without saying anything and enters the building. She almost runs to her apartment.

................

The next day...

Lara wakes up feeling the sun, which wasn't too hot, beating down on her face. She opens her eyes and lies there for a while, thinking about the kiss Enzo gave her last night.

Lara gets up and leaves the room. She goes into the bathroom and washes up. She gets ready and goes to a bakery, where she buys some bread she found quite interesting. She returns to her apartment and makes fresh coffee. Lara is at the table when Vitoria comes out of her room.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Lara says playfully, while drinking her coffee.

"Good morning, friend." Vitoria sits next to Lara and grabs some coffee. She eats a piece of bread and continues speaking, this time in a whisper "I found out some things yesterday that I have to tell you."

"And why are you whispering?" Lara asks, also whispering.

"Bryan is here." Vitoria says, leaving Lara speechless.

As Lara is about to respond, Bryan emerges from the room.

"Good morning, girls." He says, sitting at the table with them and grabbing some coffee "What do you say to some pool time today at my apartment?"

"I'd love to. Let's go, friend?" Vitoria asks Lara.

"Sure." She answers.

They get up, pack their things, and head to the apartment.

When they enter the apartment, it looks more like a house. It has two floors and is enormous, with an amazing pool.

Bryan takes them to the bedrooms and shows them where they can change. Of course, he takes Vitoria to his room.

They go to the pool and spend the whole day chatting. When lunchtime arrives, Lara goes to the kitchen to prepare the food. There isn't much there, but she manages to make do with what she finds. They are having lunch in the living room, watching television, when the door opens and Enzo walks in with Rachel.

"I loved our night, it was amazing Enzo." Rachel says as she enters with Enzo. When they notice the people in the room, they stop and stare.

"What are you doing here?" He asks when he finally manages to speak.

"Are you kidding? You spent the night with her?" Lara says, standing up. She turns to Bryan "Bryan!? Didn’t you say this was your apartment?" Lara is furious. Why did Enzo kiss her and then sleep with Rachel?

"It makes no difference whether the apartment is mine or Enzo’s. He had no business bringing Rachel here, especially knowing I’d be here." Bryan says, making Enzo look at him with a certain rage.

"What a joke!" Lara walks away angrily and goes to the room where she got ready to collect her things.

As she is descending the stairs, she hears Vitoria scolding Enzo and Bryan. She reaches the bottom floor and walks past everyone, leaving the apartment.

Vitoria goes with her and they go to the bus stop. They ride in silence until they reach their apartment. Upon arrival, they sit on the sofa.

"Seriously, what’s Enzo’s deal? Bryan told me that Rachel was his girlfriend when he lived in the United States. They broke up and she came here, met Enzo, and started dating him, even though she knew they were siblings. But neither of them knew about her involvement with the other. When Bryan came back and found out about Enzo’s relationship with her, he told Enzo everything, and they cut her off. Their parents don’t know and they keep pushing her onto Enzo. But him showing up there with her is messed up, are you kidding me?" Vitoria speaks almost breathlessly, fuming with anger.

"I’m not mad, friend. It’s just a contract, remember? I’m just a little pissed that he kissed me and then was rude to me and went to sleep with her." Lara says. Even though she's a little sad, she won't admit it.

"He kissed you? And you’re only telling me now?" Vitoria asks, flabbergasted.

"When he dropped me off here yesterday after the party." Lara says calmly.

The day goes by and they spend it talking about the boys and their lives. When night falls, Vitoria goes to her room to talk to Bryan on the phone and Lara stays in the living room watching television.

She is lying on the sofa with a blanket, wearing a pair of thin shorts with random prints of various cartoon characters and a large black shirt that looks more masculine. Her hair is in a messy bun. She is almost asleep when the doorbell rings. She gets up and goes to answer it.

"Oh, it’s you! Good evening, Mr. Bianchi." Lara says in a dry tone that even she didn't know she was capable of using, especially with so much disdain. It made her feel bad.

"Good evening, Lara. Stop calling me Mr. Bianchi. You know you should call me Enzo." He says in a guilty tone.

"I apologize, Mr. Bianchi, but I prefer it this way. When there are people around, I will address you by the name Enzo, but when it’s just the two of us, it will be professional. I won’t invite you in because it’s late and I’m going to sleep. I just want you to know that I wasn’t upset by the situation earlier today, but I want you to know that if you break another rule of our contract, the contract will be terminated. If I can't go out with anyone, then neither can you. Have a good night, Mr. Bianchi." Lara says, closing the door without giving Enzo a chance to reply.

With the door locked, she goes straight to her room and releases the breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Lara lies on the bed, thinking.

?I don’t think I should have talked to him like that. What if he fires me? I guess he wouldn’t mix business with pleasure. Is it wrong that I want to kiss that pretty mouth of his again? Seriously, how can one man be so idiotic, intelligent, arrogant, and hot at the same time? I have to get this out of my head. I need to sleep, I have work tomorrow.?

Lara keeps tossing and turning in bed until she finally falls asleep.

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