Locked Fates

prologue | 02

GIULIANO didn't sleep. Joanna's nap turned into a full fledged night of sleep as she clutched onto him for dear life. He hadn't thought he would this intimate with Joanna again. The thought of Portugal made him roll his eyes, but Giuliano couldn't lie, he had missed this. Missed her so much it felt like he had been fed oxygen for the first time in years when she told him to go to hell.

Sunlight streamed into the room, washing over Joanna's brown skin. She was dishevelled after last night, but beautiful as ever. Joanna stirred against him, nozzling her nose into his chest. Giuliano tried to stay in bed with her, but Joanna became extremely touchy in her sleep. His mother was already up, making her own eggs in the kitchen. She was particular about her eggs, only liking the ones her or his grandmother made.

'Bonjour, maman,' Giuliano kissed the top of her head before grabbing a glass of orange juice.

'Bonjour, mon chéri. How did you sleep?'

'Not at all,' Giuliano answered honestly before he could think about if he wanted his mother to know Joanna was in his bedroom.

'Why?'

'I ran into Joanna last night.'

'I know that, but you looked fine when we were at dinner,' she said, plating the eggs on a porcelain plate.

'She came home with me after Giovanni's party.'

'I could have gone without knowing that, Giuliano,' his mother mumbled, putting down her wellness shot. 'I know we have very open communication in this house but it doesn't need to be this open.'

'We didn't have sex.'

'I just said I didn't need to know about that. As long as you don't catch diseases and pr- Do you want toast?' His mother changed the subject when they heard a door opening in the distance.

'Yes, thank you.'

'Bonjour, tantine,' Joanna greeted his mother when she walked into the room, sitting on the stool next to him.

'Bonjour, ma chère, t'as bien dormi?'

'I fell asleep as soon as we entered the apartment, Giuliano had to force me to get into bed,' she said with a laugh.

'Are you staying for breakfast?' Giuliano's eyes shot wide open as he tried to ask his mother what she was playing at. She knew damn well him and Joanna were not on good terms.

'Oh, I wouldn't want to inconvenience you-

'Nonsense, I'm joining Stefano for breakfast, anyway. Jules you know how to make toast, don't you?' Oh and he was the one that had to keep her company? His mother gathered her plates and utensils before giving Joanna a kiss and disappearing into the long corridor.

Giuliano got up to finish the toasts, he would not be the one initiating conversation again. As much as he liked Joanna, he too still had hard feelings over Portugal. His dad walked into the room to grab the glasses his mother had forgotten on the counter as Giuliano placed the pan on the rack.

'This tension is so unnecessary,' his father said in Italian when they were close enough that only he would hear. Joanna didn't speak Italian, but the language wasn't difficult to understand when you spoke French and Portuguese.

'Well, mom had the great idea to have me host breakfast for my ex this morning.' His parents needed a monthly reminder that Joanna Fonte was his ex and should be treated as such.

'A great idea, indeed,' he responded, turning around to leave. 'It was nice seeing you, Joanna.'

'Thank you for having me.'

'Don't mention it.' His father left the room, leaving them alone once more.

'You two look so alike, it's insane.' Giuliano gave a low chuckle at that, out of all his siblings he looked the most like his mother, but still got that reaction. 'Thank you for taking care of me last night.'

'C'est normal. Do you feel hungover?'

'No,' she shook her head. 'Do you want me to help you with something?'

'Not really, but you can start eating, you know.'

'Oh, right.' Joanna placed a slice of toasted bread on her plate, but made no attempt to eat it. The silence in the kitchen stretched until it wasn't comfortable anymore and Joanna couldn't bare to pretend she didn't care, making her blurt out the question she didn't want to ask. 'Why did you stop talking to me?'