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Chapter 4 - Talk

Although Luke was off Wren, she still laid frozen on the ground. She knew he was in town, she knew that despite her efforts to avoid him, she would end up bumping into him. Craigsburg was, after all, a small town.

But she never thought it will be so fast. She never thought he will be standing before her, matter of fact, she never thought she would find herself in this situation.

"Get up, Wren" his calm and collected voice sent shivers down her spine. She was thankful for the dark because then he wouldn't be able to see the shocked look on her face.

"Fuck off, dude. Who the hell are you?" Luke's voice was sharp with anger. There was a moment of silence, the only thing that could be heard was the whistling of the wind, laced in an awkward silence filled with tension.

"I wouldn't have done that if I were you" Giovanni's voice filled the quiet.

This time, Wren got off the ground, dusted her behind and briskly walked to the pub. She grumbled on her way. She hated the fact that her first encounter with Giovanni was in a situation like this.

Giovanni has always known Wren to be fierce and independent-; that was when he was still in town and they were still dating. Sometimes, he was even scared of her temper, because she had one.

And it scared everyone too.

"Consider yourself lucky" Giovanni warned luke.

Giovanni left the pathetic guy there and ran after Wren. He'd just come back in town and he didn't want to mark his first week back in Craigsburg with this.

Although Wren was shorter compared to Giovanni, she had long strides and before Giovanni could meet up with her, she was already in the club.

The smell of sweat and cheap beer hits Giovanni's nostrils as he walked into the pub making him frown at three things: one, the fact that everyone's gaze was on him.

Two, he couldn't help but wonder if this place always smelled like this. He wouldn't know, he'd left Craigsburg without stepping foot in here;

and three, he couldn't seem to spot Wren in the crowd.

He frowned even harder at this, he was certain he'd seen the brunette rush in here. As he walked further into the pub and headed for the counter, the stares he received seemed to get intense.

Giovanni loves attention. Something about walking in and having everyone stare at you in awe, hearing them whisper amongst themselves, regardless if those whispers were nice or bad things being said about him, he didn't care. All that mattered to him was, he's presence meant so much that one can't help but talk about him.

But for some reason, as Giovanni made his way to the counter, the intense stares from the oldies and the drunk whispers made him uncomfortable.

"Well, if it isn't the one and only Giovanni O'Connell," Gwen said with a smug look on her face, leaning an arm against the counter.

Giovanni scanned the pub one last time, hoping to catch sight of Wren. The disappointment was evident on his face when he couldn't see her.

He pulled out a chair and sat. "Hey, Gwen," he says calmly, wearing a smile on his face as though he wasn't bumped a few seconds ago.

"Hey, to you too, stranger" Gwen says with a coquette smile on her face. Giovanni raised his index finger, ordering a bottle of beer from the bartender. After a while of taking in Giovanni's silhouette, Gwen spoke up.

"You've grown into a fine ass man. Look at all these guns" Gwen teased with a smile on her face, touching Giovanni's strong arms.

"And you haven't changed at all. Still a sweet talker" remarks Giovanni with a sly smile on his face and giving Gwen a knowing look. Gwen smiled back at him and retreated, bringing her bottle of chilled beer to her lips.

Silence fell between these two, Gwen staring intensely at Giovanni. Although clueless about what had happened outside, she had an idea of what made Giovanni storm inside the pub.

Her friend had frantically walked in here and begged Gwen to lie for her.

"Tell him you have no idea where I went" was all Wren said as she briskly walked past Gwen.

Gwen had furrowed her brows, wondering what she'd meant, but it became clear once she'd spotted Giovanni.

"Have you by any chance seen Wren? I could swear I saw her walled in here" Giovanni says casually, unscrewing the cap of the beer he'd just been served.

Gwen let out a sigh. She couldn't lie and say she had no idea what he was talking about. That will make her lie less believing. So she braced herself and said. "Yeah, she did come in. But then again, she left right after" Gwen said with a shrug, mentally applauding her for telling a plausible lie.

Giovanni stared at her, searching her eyes for any hint of dishonesty.

"By the way, you look really great, Gwen" Giovanni complemented, changing the topic at hand. He brings his bottle of beer to his lips, staring at Gwen from the corner of his eyes, pleased to see her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Tell me something I don't know," Gwen says smugly, flipping her hair in a sassy manner making Giovanni sniffle a peal of laughter.

"What are you? Five" he mocked, but Gwen didn't seem to pay any attention to his mockery as she was now flirting with a hunky red-haired man. Giovanni rolled his eyes at this and drank the last of his beer.

He was upset. He had walked in here hoping to talk to the brunette, but his plans had gone down the drain. He'd waisted the precious hours he could use either resting from the long flight he had, or he could be home, bonding with his sister and pondering on ways to get the ranch back in the business.

Emptying his bottle, Giovanni drank the last of its contents and took his leave, ignoring Gwen who was in a full flirty session.

He'd left his home for one reason only, and that was to see Wren. He had, but he was unable to talk with her.

"There he is" a voice called out the very instant Giovanni stepped outside the pub. He recognised the voice to be the guy he had an encounter with earlier, which is why Giovanni ignored him and kept walking.

"He's leaving, get him!" the voice called out, making Giovanni stop in his tracks.

He frowns, wondering what he'd meant by that. Giovanni turned, and that was when he came face to face with three huge men.

"Get him," the familiar voice said again, appearing in front of the three huge men.

Again, Giovanni frowned. He was expecting someone tall, maybe not as tall as him, but someone he will consider a worthy opponent, should it ever get to that and Luke was everything but that.

However, the three other men were somewhat worthy opponents, but still, Giovanni knew he could take on them, but he decided against that.

First off, he was beat up. He wanted nothing more than returned home, take a cool shower and lay in bed.

Second off, those three hunky men were his old buddies. When they were much younger, and Giovanni was a silly little rascal, he'd sneak off with them to smoke a joint in the back of his father's ranch.

"It's good to see you. Gary. Joshua. Mason" Giovanni greets with a firm nod, and each man replied by nodding.

"How's it been Gio? I heard you were in town, didn't wanna believe until I see it for myself" Gary's tone was somewhat sharp as he spoke.

"Yeah, news flies faster than a cheetah" Giovanni joked, but his expression remain stoic.

"Why are you talking to him like you're scared of him? Get him" Luke was still standing behind Gary, Joshua and Mason when he spoke up. This time, Joshua, who had long blonde hair turned to Luke with a firm expression, making Luke instantly calm down.

"Well, it was nice running into you. I'm gonna go home now" Giovanni spoke up after a while, placing a firm hold on Gary's back.

"So soon? Are you sure you don't want a beer? It's on me" Mason spoke, looking at Giovanni with big doe eyes.

It's no lie Mason has always had a massive crush on Giovanni, and that was still the case. His friend would always tease him about liking Giovanni.

"No, not tonight Mason" Giovanni replies giving him a sly smile before walking away.


The lights in the Watford Mansion were off. Only the street lamps were switched on, making it easy for the six-foot dark-haired man to find his way to the mansion.

Mr Arthur O'Connell, inherited this ranch from his wife; Shabeth O'connell, after she passed away in the thirteenth year of their marriage. He wanted to preserve the heritage of his late wife, so changing the name to 'O'Connell Mansion' didn't seem right to him.

Back then, he'd even admitted to his children that he thought the name "O'Connell" for a mansion sounded bland

Giovanni frowned the closer he got to the mansion, wondering why the lights in the mansion were off, surely there has to be someone home.

Standing on the porch, Giovanni looked at the vast space before him, let out a sigh and as carefully as possible, turned the doorknob.

He closed the door behind him, whilst stretching out his right arm to push the light flicker on. He removed his boots that were covered in mud and the brown leather jacket he wore and hung on it the door hanger that was found on his left.

He made his way to the kitchen, open the wood panel refrigerator and took out a bottle of beer. He unscrewed the bottle and downed the beer in one go, then proceeds to throw the empty bottle in the sink.

As he walked out of the kitchen, he knew he was going to have his ear served to him for breakfast tomorrow for leaving a bottle in the sink, but Giovanni felt too tired to go back and pick it up.

Sluggishly, he mounted the stairs. After what felt like an eternity to him, he finally made it to his room.

Giovanni sighed. He was in desperate need of a cold bath. He'd only taken off his polo shirt when the door to his room flew open, making him gasp, and in a frenzy, picking up the polo he'd just taken off to cover his chest.

He'd only realised how silly he looked for covering his chest like a girl when Topaz, his sister burst into a fit of laughter. He rolled his eyes in annoyance before throwing his polo on the bed. Topaz made her way further into his room, holding her sides as it now hurt from laughing so hard.

"What on earth was that, Gio? Even Nana Denise's daughter doesn't look that scared when I sneak up on her, talkless of covering up" Topaz said in a mocking tone, making Giovanni's face flush with embarrassment.

"Yeah, because she doesn't have anything to cover up" Giovanni defended, making Topaz let out a muffle.

"And you do?" Topaz fired back in a mocking tone, and Giovanni rolls his eyes.

"Can I help you with anything, Paz?" Giovanni called out, letting out an exasperated sigh.

All he wanted once he got home was to take a shower and sleep. He deserved that much after the eventful two days he's had.

"Calm down will you? Jeez," Topaz says, getting comfortable on the Wyoming King bed.

Giovanni took in a deep breath, walked towards Topaz and calmly asked, "Do you need anything?" he asks, accentuating every word.

"Not really, no" Topaz replied with a thoughtful look, making Giovanni let out another exasperated sigh.

Topaz smiled. She loved getting under her big brother's skin. Giovanni was two years older than Topaz, and he loved his sister dearly, but sometimes, he wanted nothing more than smack right into the next week. Like he wanted to now.

"Topaz, I've had a long ass day and I just need some sleep" Giovanni's tone sounded desperate now. Topaz pouted, replying with an 'okay' and then leaving Giovanni all alone.

He locked his door behind him, sighed deeply again, before making his way to his bathroom.

Finally, Giovanni could take the showered he had longed for throughout the day.

He was dressed in shorts when he emerged from his bathroom. A towel in his right hand that he used to dry his wet hair. Once his hair dry enough for him, Giovanni threw the towel on the chair and climbed in bed.

He stared at the ceiling for a while, having a run down of his day. He's mind couldn't help but drift to the beautiful figurine of the five feet five brunette. Against his wish, the corners of his mouth lifted up in a dry smile before he was finally overtaken by tiredness and his eyelid slowly covered.


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