Episode 3

Meeting at the Vitalle Mansion

The oval hall was fuller than last time.

Heads of families sat in their carved chairs, with tense expressions and attentive gazes. It was time to align alliances. Giancarlo stood, hands behind his back, calmly listening to what each one said—until her name came up.

"Antonella Rossi," Don Matteo mentioned, with a raised eyebrow. "The youngest. They say she's caught your attention."

"They say... many things," Giancarlo replied, impassive.

His father, Don Alberto, watched everything in silence, but couldn't help but notice that his son didn't deny it.

"It's time to visit the families. Look into their eyes. Feel the environment where this woman was raised," Don Alberto said.

Giancarlo nodded. He wasn't against the idea. In fact... he already had in mind where to start.

Rossi House

The arrival of the black car was enough to mobilize the entire house.

Giancarlo Vitalle had come for a formal visit.

He was greeted with respect. He exchanged words with Massimo, answered Francesca's questions politely, and with a slight nod, greeted the Rossi sisters.

But his eyes were looking for someone else.

"Antonella hasn't returned from the field yet," Valentina said, with an almost provocative smile.

"And what does she do in the field?" Giancarlo asked.

"She rides horses," Don Massimo replied, before his daughters. "She's always liked nature. She likes to get away from the hustle and bustle. It's her way."

Giancarlo looked out the living room window at the open field that stretched behind the property. In the distance, among trees and dirt tracks, something was moving.

A horse.

And on it, came she.

Antonella

The wind whipped my face. I felt the rhythm of the horse beneath my body and the smell of the earth invade my lungs. I've always loved this freedom. It was my refuge, my world. Only there could I truly breathe.

I was wearing trousers, riding boots, a light blouse and over it a red corset fitted to the body. A dark hat protected my face from the sun. I had no idea I was being watched.

Until I saw.

Him.

Standing on the porch, next to my father and sisters, Giancarlo Vitalle stared at me as if he were seeing a mirage. There was no rigidity on his face at that moment. There was... surprise. And something else I couldn't name.

I pulled the reins slowly. My horse slowed down, until it stopped.

My heart... didn't.

"Antonella!" my father called, his voice loud and firm. "Come here!"

I swallowed hard. dismounted carefully and walked to the porch, still panting, my hair slightly disheveled by the wind, my cheeks flushed. Giancarlo's eyes didn't leave me.

"Senhor Vitalle," I murmured, taking off my hat, politely.

"You ride well," was all he said.

"Thank you. It's... a way to breathe better."

He gave a slight smile. One of those that you hardly see, but feel.

"Maybe that's what I need," he replied.

The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable. The sisters watched the scene, Bianca with narrowed eyes, Valentina with an attentive expression. Dona Francesca was delighted. And my father Massimo... just watched with the look of someone who knows that destiny begins to be fulfilled in the subtext.

Still in the garden of the Rossi property, after the brief encounter with Antonella, Giancarlo remained silent for a few seconds, observing her. It was as if he were measuring every gesture, every word he hadn't yet said.

"Do you have time now?" he asked, breaking the silence with his deep voice.

"For what?" Antonella replied, with a restrained tone.

". I want to see what it's like... to breathe as you breathe."

She hesitated, surprised by the proposal. She didn't imagine that he would agree to leave the safety of control, the concrete of the city, the tactics of meetings, for something so... simple.

But she just nodded her head.

"

Minutes later, already mounted on different horses, the two rode side by side along the trails that skirted the boundaries of the Rossi property. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable—it was full. Laden with unspoken things.

Antonella kept her eyes ahead, trying to control her breathing. His perfume mingled with the smell of the earth and the breeze. And he… he watched her with an intense calm, as if each of her movements revealed a new truth.

"You're different from the others," Giancarlo said suddenly.

"Is that... a compliment or a warning?"

He laughed, softly. The rare laugh.

"I'm still deciding."

She smiled slightly, surprised by the answer. And for a moment, the atmosphere between the two became light. Natural. Almost... intimate.

"Do you really think I can be a good choice for the position of... senhora Vitalle?" she asked, unable to contain the question that was pounding in her mind.

Giancarlo looked at her, and then stopped the horse.

She also stopped, turning slightly in the saddle.

He leaned his body slightly towards her, his eyes fixed on hers. The tone of his voice lowered, almost like a secret:

"I wouldn't waste my time with a woman I didn't consider for that."

Antonella felt her heart race. But... there was no confirmation. No "yes, it's you." No decision. Just a strong enough signal to shake her certainties, and subtle enough to leave her more confused.

"Then... why don't you just say it?"

Giancarlo looked away at the field.

"Because sometimes, what is said in haste breaks easily. But what is built in silence... lasts longer."

She didn't answer. And neither did he.

They continued riding side by side, as the sun went down in the sky, tinging the field with gold. Antonella knew that something was being born there—she didn't know if it was danger, feeling, destiny, or everything together. She only knew that, for the first time, Giancarlo Vitalle made her feel... visible.

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