◆ Take A Chance ◆

◆ MILES ◆

Me.  A hotelier.  Working at Luxoria and running our hotel chain practically seven days a week.  Devoting almost every moment of my life into the family business.

Well, about half of the family business, since Pappa and our clan had long been focusing on the growth of our cruise and shipping line.  Not Luxoria.

Our hotel chain business had been in the backseat for a long while now, in fact.  Why did Pappa want me to take over Luxoria?  Did he think I needed the job?  Or perhaps, he's actually starting to trust me more now when it comes to the family business.

Before my tired brain could come up with a few good guesses, Ricchar left me alone in the patio to make a call.

Then a very pregnant Cloe walked out the backdoors.  She welcomed me with open arms and a bright smile that showed perfect white teeth and the faint crow's feet beside her pretty eyes.

"Hey, Clo." I kissed her cheeks lightly after I felt her hug tighten.

"How's the trip?" she asked with her soft hands touching my shoulders.  Her black maternity dress didn't hide the fact that she looked like she swallowed a beach ball.  Her pale arms and face looked practically the same, though.

"Boring. How's it hangin'?" I chuckled, gently touching the curve of her belly.  Despite the thick cloth of her dress, I still felt the warmth of her skin.

"Like I swallowed a whole turkey, but, all good now. Thank God..." Cloe sighed with a quick smile.  "Doctor says Baby Jules is coming real soon. Give or take a month."

"Jules? Boy or girl?" I kept stroking her belly, waiting for the baby to kick or something.

"Don't know yet. Charr wants a surprise." Cloe scoffed and rolled her eyes after glancing at her husband.  Ricchar was pacing around the entrance to the maze, his phone now stuck to his ear while he slouched.

"But is the baby..."

"No. I don't think so," she muttered with a tight smile, as though she just read my thoughts.  "Not gonna be born a pureblood, so, the risk of inheriting the liver issues drops significantly.  But the doc didn't say it's a definite no. Need to do a long list of neonatal tests first."

"Huh. Okay. Sounds...good enough for me."

Cloe held my forearm as we sat next to each other by the round table. "Charr said your Pappa's throwing a party for Ignazio Tomassini?"

"Yeah." I sighed and glanced away.  "He called me to fix it up."

"You're gonna be doing the preparations?" Cloe snickered, obviously surprised by the nature of the new task my father thoughtlessly gave me.

Or did he have some ulterior motives for handing the job to me?  Maybe.  Pappa always had something up his sleeve.  "None other," I mumbled in reply.

"You're gonna be hosting it, too? Emceeing and all that?" Cloe kept grinning.

"He's gonna have to pay me real money first," I said after scoffing at the question.

"I just hope those bastards won't ruin the new ship.  It's brand new, for cryin' out loud," Cloe mumbled while reclining in her seat, her palm resting on top of her curvy belly.

"Alessio's guys will keep an eye. Don't worry about it."

"How's Mykaela? She texted me last night, said she's visiting soon, but she won't say when." Cloe giggled.  "Said it's a surprise."

"Yeah. She got a few days off. Finished her training early."

"So? After she graduates, what's your plan?" Cloe stared at me with a slight frown now, her curious gaze narrowing her eyelids.

"Plan?"

"Are you going to ask her to move back to Brescia?" Cloe tilted her chin as she awaited my answer.

Why did she think I would ask Mykaela to live with me again in Brescia?  "No."

"Why not?" The wan skin in between her brows furrowed.

"She's gonna be doing her residency there, in New York,"  I murmured, frowning to myself at the thought of asking Kel to make that huge sacrifice just to be with me.  Sure—I was selfish in a lot of aspects, but, I wasn't that self-centered or manipulative.

Plus, Mykaela might want to be in a relationship with someone much less complicated than me.  Someone who had his shit together and someone with a lot less baggage.  Honestly, I wouldn't hold it against her if she chose to date another guy.  I wouldn't want to date me, either.

"Did you even ask her?" Cloe eyed me again, her tone dubious.  She was usually soft-spoken, like Kel, but pregnancy seemed to have doubled Cloe's self-assurance lately.  For starters, Ricchar obviously couldn't say no to whatever his wife asked or wanted from him.

Or maybe that's just what happened after more than a decade of being married.  "Don't have to," I mumbled in response, faking a short laugh.  "She doesn't need a pile of mess like me in her life, Clo." I sat back and glanced skyward.  The sunset was ebbing away now. "Better off without me."

"Maximiliano, stop hating yourself so much." Cloe tutted and shook her head faintly.  Then a moment of silence lingered, stressing the the bluntness of her words and the apparent disappointment in her voice.  "Take some risks. Don't be such a pessimist." She distractedly stared at the labyrinth and put her dainty, freckled hand on the table to pat mine. "You won't be happy if you keep thinking you're never gonna be good enough."

Well, it was sound, practical advice, but...  I still didn't think being in a relationship with someone like me would do Mykaela any good.  Money didn't solve everything.  I didn't even have that much saved up—not that I thought of her as someone who would marry a guy because of his wealth and social status.

"If you won't even talk to her about it, how do you know for sure what's best for her and your relationship?" Cloe banged on, clearly intending on making me understand her point.

"What d'you mean?" I held back a chuckle.  "We're not in a relationship, Clo. She's really focusing on school now."

"Yeah. I know you're not." Cloe scoffed loudly, her neatly shaped brows creasing at the same time her lips pouted.  "Because you never talk to her about these things."  She continued squinting at me when I kept my mouth shut.  "If you keep living by your insecurities,  hating yourself all the time,  she's gonna get tired of it, Maxim.  At some point." Cloe sighed shortly.  "No matter how patient she is. No matter how much she loves you."

I pulled a face, doubting whether she was actually still talking about Mykaela.  No matter how much she loves me?  Why was she so sure that Kel felt that way?

As far as I could tell, Mykaela only kept in touch because she didn't want to lose me as her friend.  Or best friend.  Losing friends triggered her anxiety attacks—I'd long been familiar with the fact.  At some point, if left unmanaged, the mounting anxiety could spiral into a few months of depression.  I knew how the whole thing worked because I'd been living the vicious cycle since I was in my rebellious teenage years.

"Just stop making excuses, if you really want her to stay in your life." Cloe pinched the back of my hand.

The second time made me pull away.   "Ow!"

"I can tell she's the only one putting in the effort, just to make it work.  So do more.  Alright?"  Cloe stopped touching my hand and looked away again.  "You're better than that."

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