Billionaire's Ex-bestfriend

"Ella, Mom told us not to run!" My twin sister called out from behind. "No way! I just skip and hop, skip... hop!" I replied to Kyla, making sure she heard me. "Dad's here! Dad's here!" I shouted as a sleek black car stopped in front of the Martelli family mansion. "Ella, don't run, you might trip—" Anthony, my older brother started to warn. "Aah!" I cried out in pain as I tripped. "Ouch!" The soccer ball slipped from my grasp as I tumbled onto the pavement. "Ella!" my mother exclaimed, embarrassed by my behavior in front of the young Martellis. But I stayed put, waiting for the boy to introduce himself. Instead of shaking hands with me, he took my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it. My face flushed and I didn't know how to react for a moment. "I'm Emiliano Luca Martelli," he said. "Um... I haven't washed my hands yet after cleaning up my dog's mess," I heard several gasps around, and the boy quickly let go of my hand. A mischievous smile played on my lips. My father, who didn't react, is the only one in our family who can read my thoughts. He shook his head but then smiled when he looked at me, the most gorgeous boy I had ever seen, with his warm gray eyes, and I felt my cheeks heat up. He crouched down and helped me to my feet again. I just watched as he brushed the dust off my clothes, and when he was done, he looked at me and smiled. "Si prega di fare attenzione la prossima volta," the boy said. My eyebrows furrowed, puzzled by what he said. "Huh?" I asked. He chuckled at my reaction, and I pouted in annoyance. Then he burst out laughing, and I felt foolish in front of him. "Mr. Emiliano said you should be careful next time," my father explained as he approached us. My mouth formed an 'o' as I looked back at him. "Thank you for helping me. By the way, I'm Ella Jones, and you are ??asked and reached out my hand for a hand shake. !" My mother called, mortified at my manner in front of the young Martelli. But I remained still, waiting for the boy to introduce himself. Instead of shaking hands with me, he reached for my hand and brought it on his lips and kissed the back of it. My blood rushed up my face and for a while I didn't know how will I react. "I am Emiliano Martelli." He said. "Er...I haven't wash my hands yet after I cleaned my dog's poop." I heard several gasped around and the boy animatedly dropped my hand. A mischievous smile played on my lips. My father, who didn't react, is the only one in our family that can be able to read my thoughts. He shook his head but then smiled when he looked at me.In our family, he's the only one who can read my thoughts. He shook his head but then smiled when he looked at me. Unable to hold back, I burst out laughing, and they all looked at me like I'd gone crazy. "I am so sorry, Signore Emiliano, forgive my daughter for her crazy antics. She didn't even have a dog to begin with," my father said apologetically to the boy; I heard my older brother chuckle from behind. "Nice to meet you, Michy. Do you want to come play with us?" I asked. He looked skeptical, maybe thinking I might pull some joke again. He glanced at my father for confirmation, and my father smiled and nodded. He looked at me again, and I genuinely smiled to show him that I didn't have any hidden motives behind my invitation. A smile crept onto his face, and it gave me the signal to grab his hand and pull him along with me to play with my siblings. That's how our friendship started. I was eight, and he was two years older than me at that time. He was homeschooled for a year until he was able to adapt to his surroundings and finally enrolled in an exclusive school. My siblings and I visited him every day after our school and after his lessons, but among my siblings, I was his best friend. The Martelli family, magnates of the Martelli Empire who my family had been serving for decades, has been financing the school fees of the young Bakers. So all of us are studying in the same exclusive school, which made Emiliano and me inseparable, but our friendship didn't last long. Though we had different school levels and priorities, we didn't let it interfere with our friendship. But what severed it were the broken promises, lies, and peer pressure from the high social class group of kids. Even my sister, who is the prettiest and Ms. Perfect of the school, was part of the 'it' group. My older brother, Nicolas, is already in college, while my younger brother is still in elementary school. I was left behind and always stayed at the back instead of going out with other friends. I do a part-time job at my mother's flower shop. Then tragedy struck our family. My beloved brother, Nicolas, was shot by a robber while waiting for me in front of a bookshop. I had forgotten that we were supposed to meet that day because I was excited because Emiliano promised that we would have a movie marathon, but he stood me up and broke his promise again. It was when my father called and told me that my brother had died from a gunshot while at the bookshop. I remember that I had pledged that I would help him find the books he needed to buy. I also found out that Emiliano had gone out with the 'it' group and forgotten his promise to me. I was so fed up with him that I never talked to him again after that devastating day. He tried to reconcile, but no matter what he did, the pain of losing a loving brother would not ease. The cold shoulder my mother gave me when she learned that my brother had been shot was because he was waiting for me outside the bookstore, but I stood him up. Four years have gone by, four years since my brother died. I am already eighteen and about to face college life. The loss of Nicolas brought a lot of change in our family. The position that my father was supposed to give to Nicolas has now been transferred to my younger brother, Nathan. He will obtain the position when he graduates from college and completes his training. Kyla now often goes out with the 'it' group from our school, while my relationship with my mother has worsened. She blames me for Nicolas' death, telling me that if I hadn't stood him up that day, he wouldn't have been shot. As for Emiliano, I noticed that he became closer with Kyla. Though I didn't talk to him anymore, it doesn't mean I don't care. He didn't know that I sometimes watched him. He is in his second year of college, and from what I've learned from my father, he isn't planning to take over his family's business; rather, he wants to build his own Though I no longer talked to him, it didn't mean I didn't care. Sometimes, I watched him without him knowing. He's in his second year of college, and from what I gathered from my father, he wasn't planning to take over his family's business; instead, he aimed to build his own empire. Now, I'm at the Martelli family's palazzo to deliver some documents my father requested. When I first arrived, I was awestruck. The mansion was immense, with a neoclassical architectural style boasting 23 rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, a theater room, a game room, and a backyard perfect for golf. I knocked on the large, two-way wooden door of the office and entered. Emiliano sat in a black leather swivel chair, deeply engrossed in studying a document. He was so focused that he didn't notice me enter. "I thought you were in Italy for a week," I said, clearing my throat to catch his attention. "Ella!" he exclaimed, surprised by my sudden appearance. "Um... I came here to hand this to my Dad." I showed him the documents in my hand. "He just went out to run an errand for me. You can leave those on his desk," Emiliano replied, motioning to the desk. "I'll get going," I said after placing the documents on the desk. "Wait, cara amico!" he called out as I turned to leave. I froze at the way he called me and gathered myself before facing him. He was now standing with his hand on the back of his neck. "It's been a long time, Ella. I miss my cara amico. I want us to go back to how we were before," he said, sadness evident in his eyes. My heart squeezed because I felt the same. "Who do you think caused this to happen between us?" "There's no compensation to be made because the damage has already been done. Some of it is irreversible. So how? I can't even forgive myself. How can we start anew if I can't even trust you again?" I replied, my voice strained. "But we can't go on like this, especially now." My eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, curious about his sudden ambiguous statement. He seemed taken aback by his own words, averting his eyes to his desk. "What do you mean, especially now?" I pressed. He didn't respond. "What do you mean, Michele?" His flinch at the gravity of my tone was evident. "Especially now that Mila is my girlfriend. I want everything to be right before we announce it officially," he confessed. Suddenly, I felt cold, a heaviness settling in my chest, crushing my heart. "Since when?" I managed to ask ??