AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nodded. “He is pretty special, Liv.”
I smiled as I wiped my tears away and suddenly realised I had not introduced Gigi. Grabbing Millie’s hand, I pulled her over to our table as Gigi stood up and grabbed Millie into a bear hug.
“Thank you for looking out for my bestie Giulia,” Millie smiled as Gigi released her.
“Oh, it’s been super easy! No drama at all,” Gigi replied sarcastically causing the three of us to all burst into laughter.
After a few more cocktails, Gigi excused herself to give Millie and I time alone. We chatted and laughed for hours as if no time had passed until the sun had set and the cool evening breeze made us chilly.
Millie reached for my hand suddenly, a loving but serious expression on her pretty face. “I am so happy for you Liv. And proud of you. You are just glowing.”
I smiled back, my eyes flicking down to our entwined hands on the table. “I have never been so happy Mills. I just wish you were here all the time. Then my life would be complete,” I chuckled.
“Well, who knows! You may convince me to stay!”
“Really? Why didn’t you say? I can show you all the best places and make you fall in love with Verona!”
“Great! Let’s start now. Take me to your favourite place in the city,” her eyes sparkled with excitement, and I felt a bubble of happiness fizzle inside me.
“Ok but you must promise you won’t laugh. It holds a special place in my heart now and even though it may be a tourist attraction, I love it.”
“You had me at ‘don’t laugh’,” she beamed, and I rolled my eyes.
We left the bar with two of Giovanni’s men following us behind protectively. Millie kept looking back at them, a little unsure but I just squeezed her hand.
“Just ignore them. You soon forget they’re there.”
As we approached Casa di Giulietta, I started to tell Millie all about the day I first came here with Gio and how I thought he was the sexiest, most infuriating man I had ever met. I was mid-sentence when we reached the arched alleyway and the sight before me stopped me in my tracks. The path was decorated with candles all the way through it and rose petals covered the cobbled floor.
“What the- “I paused and pulled Millie back. “Someone is obviously in there Mills. We better not go in.”
Millie ignored me and stepped into the empty archway and shrugged. “There’s no one there. Oh Liv, come and see how beautiful this is. No wonder you love this place,” she said as she continued to walk through. I quickly caught up with her, my eyes wide at the sheer beauty and romantic ambience that had been created by all the candlelight and flowers against the graffiti of lovers' names on the walls. When we reached the empty courtyard, there was a stone stand in the middle with a bottle of champagne and a rolled-up piece of paper.
“Millie, I really think we should go. Someone has obviously hired this out for a romantic evening.”
Once again Millie ignored me and walked over to the letter that was tied up with a silk ribbon. She glanced up at me with a smile as she lifted it.
“This has your name on it.”
My eyebrows furrowed as I briskly walked over and took it from her.
Olivia
It was handwritten on the side of the scroll. “What?”
“Open it,” she said with a devilish grin and I suddenly realised that she knew something I didn’t. With a trembling hand, I unravelled the paper to reveal a handwritten letter.
Dear Juliet,
I am writing to you to tell you about a girl. A girl who has changed my life.
Before her, there was an emptiness in my heart. It consumed me and at times, the entire world was overcast with subtle shades of grey and black. A never-ending winter. But then she fell (quite literally) into my life bringing vibrant colours, sunflowers and warmth. And my heart was renewed. I suddenly had hope and light in my life because of her smile. Because of her eyes. Because of her laughter. I live for them. I am in awe of her. Of the quiet strength she possesses. Of the gentle care she has for others. Of the way she knows her own mind with such certainty.
I never saw it coming. I don’t know how, or when it happened but I fell madly in love with her. A love so unexpected yet so simple. There is no longer her and I. There is only us.
But I have a confession. I once saw love as a weakness that could only ever end in one’s demise. I told her that love always ends in tragedy. I was wrong (Don’t tell her- I will never hear the end of it).
When defending you, she once asked me, ‘What is the point of living if you aren’t really living at all?’ I understand it now. Life is not worth living without love. Love for your family. Love for your friends. Love for the world we are each apart of. She taught me that. And in return, I promise to love her for the rest of my life, if she will have me.
