Sometime later

Salvatore Gianluca

I adjusted my bowtie and looked at myself in the mirror. My beard was a little longer, and my eyes, marked by time, reflected a more serious, more mature man.

That’s not true, it wasn’t time—I was joking! I was still just as seductive… only three years had passed. But between Hope and Roxanne, they were driving me crazy, stealing all my calm.

"Papa!"

The little voice burst into the room, and I sighed before turning around.

What a little beauty.

Dressed in a pastel pink suit, her wavy hair tied up in two pigtails, her fair skin and those chubby cheeks tinged with a soft...