Four Years Later

Carlotta

It looked like it would be a beautiful, sunny day. A good day for a wedding, Lotta reasoned. It was a long-expected day, though some were closer to being ready than others. She tilted her head and studied herself in the mirror, then let her eyes land on the half-naked man in the bed and he winked back at her. Lotta rolled her eyes. Through some sort of miracle, Marco had made it as far as to put on underwear.

“I take it you’re ready to go to my best friend’s wedding,” she said. “Your outfit, I will say, is a bit unorthodox, but then she is an unorthodox bride, so I think it’ll work out.”

“It’s too early to go.”

Lotta turned to him. “Oh really? She’s my best friend, Marco. I have to be there to make sure she doesn’t kill someone in a fit of rage while she’s getting ready.”

Marco raised an eyebrow.

“She’s that bad, huh?”

“Darling, have you met her?”

“Fair point.”

He sat up in bed, but instead of getting his ass in gear he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into the bed. Lotta yelped in surprise and landed hard on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. She laughed incredulously while still lying on top of him but he only wheezed in pain. After a little while, he said in small voice:

“I regret that.”

“You should. Get dressed, dumbass.”

She tried to get up, but he put his arms around her and held her down. Lotta groaned.

“You’re not getting out of it. They reserved a seat for you.”

“Weddings are terrible,” he said, his voice muffled because he had hidden his face in her hair.

“They’re lovely and romantic.”

“I thought you didn’t care about that shit.”

“I don’t.” Lotta wrangled herself out of his arms so she could get on her feet, though he still had his hands on her. She adjusted her hair. “But Gina cares and I care about her, so this had better be the most romantic fucking wedding in the world. If so much as one little detail goes wrong, I’ll hunt down whoever ruined her perfect day and destroy them.”

He blinked. “I’m so turned on right now.”

“Get dressed.” She swatted his shoulder and he groaned.

“Fine, fine, I’ll do it. For you.”

“Then I’ll threaten you with bodily harm when we get back,” she said sweetly and gave him a quick kiss. “Just the way you like it.”

Marco grinned and got up, rummaging around her bedroom closet for the clothes she had helped him pick out. Most of his other things were in her closet as well—it just made sense. They spent most nights at hers because frankly, his was so freakishly disgusting she couldn’t stand to be there for more than ten minutes.

While he dressed, she corrected her make-up and hair, then sat on the bed to wait. He soon turned to her, half dressed with a sceptical look on his face.

“This wedding… it’s not going to make you go weird, is it?”

Lotta frowned. “Weird? How so?”

“I haven’t been at many weddings, but this one I went to, every single lady there was talking about how they wanted their weddings and when they wanted them and… Are you…?”

“Seriously?”

“It happens,” he said. “Your best friend’s getting married and her kids are there in their cute shoes or whatever and suddenly you want three babies and a wedding.”

Lotta looked at him and laughed, but when he didn’t laugh along, she frowned.

“If you’re proposing…”

“I’m trying to avoid having to propose, thank you very much.”

“Thank God.” Lotta stood up, walked over, and tugged on the collar of his shirt. “We’ve talked about this, Marco. I’m not marrying anyone and I definitely don’t want kids. Spoiling Gina’s kids and then handing them back when they need a diaper change is fine by me.”

“But if your biological clock…”

“Please, my biological clock isn’t even running. We’re not getting married, end of story.”

He let out a sigh of relief and gave her a quick kiss. “Just making sure.”

“You’d think you knew me after all this time.”

“Well yeah, it’s just…” He paused. “I’m pretty sure you said four years ago that you’re only into casual relationships and here we are.”

Lotta thought about it, tapping her lip. “And our relationship isn’t casual?”

“I practically live here.” He motioned to the wardrobe. “I don’t think either of us has been with anyone else since we got together, so…”

“So? It still feels pretty casual.”

“You don’t want to get with others, then?”

She shrugged. “Not really. I love you. Why would I be with someone else?”

“Well, I love you, too.”

He returned to buttoning his shirt, but Lotta stopped him, unbuttoning it all over again.

“Hey!” he said swatting her hands away. “You told me to get ready. It’s your best friend’s…”

She grabbed his shirt collar, kissed him hard, and his protests faded into a moan as he pulled her close. For a moment she drew her head back and looked at him with her head cocked.

“Maybe you should give up your apartment,” she said, “and move in here for real.”

“You mean casually taking our very casual relationship to the casual next level?”

“Yes.”

Marco smiled. He lifted her up, laid her on her bed, and lowered himself down over her. Lotta was aware that she would need to do her hair again after they were done, so she didn’t even say a thing when he started picking out the pins so he could run his hands through her long, blonde hair. She loved it when he did that and he knew.

“So we’re basically roommates, right?” he said.

“Roommates, yes,” she said and kissed him. “Roommates who happen to fuck a lot.”

Rosalia

Rosalia didn’t ask her brother if she looked any good, because of course she did. That had never been her problem. If there was anything she was good at, it was going to a wedding and looking perfectly gorgeous. She had never imagined she would be good at anything else, honestly, but well… Her internship at the newspaper proved otherwise.

“Ready?”

Amadeo stuck his head in the door and Lia turned to him with a smile, wrinkling her nose at the stubble and his hairstyle. She loved her brothers and she was happy they were comfortable as they were but really, the sloppiness was astounding.

“Almost, I just need to do my hair. Though I can tell you’re not done.”

“I’m not shaving,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Enzo isn’t shaving either.”

“Well he should. It’s his wedding.”

“You know Gina likes it on him and Rinaldo likes me this way, so…”

“And I’m not saying I don’t adore Gina and dear Rinaldo, but they’re objectively wrong.”

Amadeo snickered. “Sure, sis. Just tell me when you’re done. Natalia asked if you’ll do her hair.”

Lia knew that the smile that suddenly took her face was not a becoming one. It was a dopey grin, too wide to be pretty.

“Why didn’t you say so, dummy? I’ll do it right away.”

“But your hair…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. My little sunflower is more important.”

As though called by her words, her niece and brother-in-law came into the room. Natalia, the sweetest little girl in the world, was in her dress with fruit print and her black hair hung smooth and shiny down to her shoulders. She had blue eyes and she smiled so her red cheeks rounded in the most adorable way. Rinaldo looked relieved to see Lia.

“Auntie, will you do my hair?” Natalia asked.

“She won’t let me touch it.” Rinaldo looked pained.

“Of course she won’t, silly. I’ll do it. Now, my little darling. How do you want it?”

The girl bit her lip. “Uh, just… up?” She lifted her hands up in the air, waving her fingers. “Like you do.”

Rinaldo smiled and patted her on the shoulder before he and Amadeo left them alone. Lia smiled and got a stool for her niece to sit on. Then she picked up the brush. She smoothed out the tangles she bunched it up on her head and attached it with pins. Natalia was beaming all the while.

“Do you think aunt Gina’s going to be pretty?” she asked.

“I have no doubt she will be.”

“You’ll be prettiest, though, right?”

Lia chuckled. “Oh, I don’t think that would be appropriate, sunflower. The bride is supposed to be the prettiest of all. If we realise that I’m prettier than her, I’ll have to spill wine on my dress to even it out.”

She had to stop her niece from turning her head so she could continue putting in the pins.

“You can’t do that, auntie Lia. Your dress is so pretty!”

“It was a joke, sweetie.” Lia attached the last pin to her niece’s hair and took the hand mirror from the table to show off her handiwork. “What do you think?”

Natalia gasped and threw her little arms around Lia’s neck.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, auntie, you’re the best.”

Lia hugged her close. “No, sunflower. You are.”

“I have to show my daddies, okay?”

“Of course, run along.”

Natalia made to leave, but then she waved Lia’s face down to hers and whispers conspiratorially:

“I think you’ll be prettiest, but I won’t tell aunt Gina so that you don’t have to spill wine, okay?”

Lia laughed and kissed her hair. “Thank you, sunflower.”

The girl jumped off the chair and ran out of the room with her skirts swirling about her, while Lia looked after her with a full heart. The past four years of living with her brother and Rinaldo had been like nothing she could have ever imagined and the most important aspect of that was her closeness with Natalia.

Sometimes, she wanted to storm back to her father’s house and give him an earful for kicking out her brother and for causing her to nearly lose out on a relationship with her niece. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t have the desired effect. Their father had stubbornly ignored them since they left and at no point had she really felt the loss.

Lia walked back to her room and started on her own hair. Before she could do anything more, Amadeo was in her doorway again.

“You’ve made a little princess very happy. Thanks, sis.”

Again, Lia smiled that dumb smile that made her look foolish. “It’s no problem. You know I adore her.”

Amadeo came inside and took a seat on her bed. “She adores you. I think it’ll take a little time for her to adjust when you get your own place.”

Lia bit her lip. “Oh, you know about…”

He nodded. “Saw that you’ve been looking at listings. It’s really cool.”

“You know I don’t want to leave her, right?” she said. “I mean, I love living with you and I love being around here, but I do want my own place now that I can pay for it.”

Her big brother patted the bed next to him and she sat down.

“I’m proud of you. Big time. Doing this internship, looking for a flat… It’s awesome, Lia.”

She blushed. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you and Naldo. Or Vinny, for that matter.”

“Sure you could.”

“It’s sweet of you to say, but…”

“I’m not just saying it, it’s true. Enzo gave you the push to leave dad’s house and we helped you find an education you liked. Everything beyond that—that was all you and it’s all awesome.”

He poked her shoulder and she waved his hand away with an eyeroll. Despite it, she smiled.

“You do speak strangely, brother.”

“I think you meant to say awesomely. I’ll let you do your hair.”

Lia did her hair while her brother looked on and as soon as she was done, he offered her an arm. Natalia and Rinaldo were already waiting at the door. Some chaotic minutes later, they were at their mother’s house and not long after, they were in the car, headed to the wedding.

Natalia babbled all the way, the sun shone brightly, and Lia’s heart was full.

Carlo

Carlo had been staring out of the window for several minutes, only half dressed for the wedding, and Vittoria had noticed. He set his jaw and ignored her, but her smile was becoming insistent so he looked back over his shoulder.

“Are you amused, darling?”

She stood from her seat and walked over. “You’re going to cry so hard at the ceremony,” she said, nuzzling into his arms. “Like Giulio’s wedding, but even worse.”

Carlo brushed his hands over the fabric of the shirt she was wearing—his shirt, of course. His thieving wife never changed.

“You mock my tears?”

“No,” she said. “I wish I could cry like you.”

The statement, said so simply, made his breath catch for a moment. He’d seen his wife cry, but it was rare and only when things had been at their worst. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel or that she wasn’t happy to see her kids married—as she put it, the tears just wouldn’t come.

“You don’t have to. They know you love them.”

“I hope so. I’ve never been good at it. Can’t help but think I’m doing this whole mum thing wrong—I should have been the one crying.”

Carlo held her tighter. He moved a lock of caramel hair, brushed by strokes of grey, out of her eyes and kissed the top of her head.

“That’s a stereotype, darling. I’m happy to cry for both of us.”

She grinned. “I do think you’re crying for two.”

“Good.” He bent his head and kissed her neck. “We wouldn’t want there to be too few tears at the wedding.”

“I wouldn’t worry. Enzo’s going to cry, I bet.”

Carlo smiled. “You’re probably right. He’s a good kid.”

“Mm, a good ‘kid’ who’s thirty and has kids of his own. Speaking of which…” A loud wail cut through the house. “I think Adria’s up.”

He raised an eyebrow. “It could be Francesca.”

“Nope, that’s Adriana. She’s a drama queen, I can tell you that much.” Vittoria walked over to the stairs and took the steps quickly. She stopped halfway and looked down at him. “I’m a shitty mum, but it doesn’t mean I can’t be an awesome grandma.”

Carlo looked at her and smiled tenderly.

“Darling, if you were a bad mother, your daughter wouldn’t have turned out like she did. She’s smart, strong, and beautiful, just like you. I love you.”

Vittoria smiled one of the radiant, infectious smiles that made him fall for her back in the day.

“I love you, too.”

Georgette

Georgette awoke several hours before her alarm, feeling an odd buzzing in her limbs. In her half-asleep state she wasn’t sure why at first, but then it hit her.

My son is getting married and I’m invited.

She leaned over to press a kiss to Bastien’s cheek, but he didn’t even stir. Georgette laughed, tucked the blanket up over his shoulders, and smoothed the hair away from his face. She used to have many sleepless nights after leaving her ex-husband and on those nights she had spent a lot of time looking at her new husband, loving every little detail about him. Nowadays, she rarely got the chance as she slept soundly through the night and woke up with him.

Because he still didn’t stir, Georgette got up herself and showered. By the time she got out, Bastien was awake, but barely. He was at the table, a cup of strong coffee in front of him and he stared into its depths, bleary-eyed and semi-conscious.

“Morning, love,” she said, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Bastien awoke a little bit and smiled at his mug. “Are you happy, Gigi?”

Georgette put her arms around him and squeezed him hard. Just thinking about it made her tear up, so she didn’t reply and instead buried her face at his neck. Happy didn’t even properly express it, she thought. She had lost her children years ago and then she got them back. The one thing she had been sure would never happen miraculously came to be, and now her son was getting married. She was going to be at the wedding and she was going to be with her granddaughters.

Sobs racked her body and Bastien truly woke up to return her hug.

“Gigi…” he said, stroking her back.

“I never thought I’d see them again,” she bawled. “And now my little boy is getting married and it’s s-so beautiful. He and Gina love each other so much, I’m so happy for them.”

“Me, too,” Bastien conceded.

She pulled out of his embrace and grabbed a tissue from the box on the table to wipe her eyes. Ever since her divorce, she had been wildly emotional. She remembered sobbing while she held her first grandchild, not to mention at Amadeo’s wedding. Then when she got her children back, it started all over again, as though someone had opened the floodgates to all her feelings and they poured out.

“Maybe you should have coffee and get dressed,” Bastien said.

He stood from the table to pour her a cup of the coffee, but she stopped him. Her husband made it so strong, you could stand a spoon up in it.

“Gigi, I’ve boiled water,” he said, pointing at the kettle. “I’ll dilute it so that it’s drinkable by regular humans. You know I always do that.”

She smiled fondly at him. “Thank you. I thought you were too tired and I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Nonsense.” He poured the coffee, then the hot water, and set it in front of her. He sank into his seat again. “It never bothers me. You know that.”

Georgette wrapped her hands around the cup with a smile while a fresh deluge of tears sprang from the corners of her eyes. Bastien took a tissue and gently wiped her cheeks before kissing her deeply on the mouth.

He had kissed her one million times at least, she was sure, and it still felt the same. It was always fresh and familiar at the same time, equal parts comforting and exhilarating. When he drew back, she put a hand on the side of his face and smiled, letting her fingertips graze the freckles on his darling face. She knew all of them and never got tired of looking at him.

She hoped her son would always feel like this, too.

“My son is getting married,” she said.

Bastien nodded. “He is, my love.”

Author’s notes: Hi guys! I’m finally back with the second-to-last chapter. Oof, saying that it’s really hitting home how close we are to the end and how close I am to having to let go of my art thief and rich boy. This chapter was a bit of a different one, which came about basically because I wanted to write the Lotta and Rosalia segments. I considered having it as a side thing, but since it at the very least adds a little to Lia’s arc, it would be a nice one to have in here. If you’re on Tumblr, you may know that I’ve recently developed… a little bit of an obsession with Lia. Just a bit… or a lot, to be honest. Basically, there’s a good chance I’m not jumping straight to gen 3, so I can focus on exploring Lia and her life after this in more detail. 🙂 But more on that when I feel ready to say something more certain!

With that said, I think all I have to say is that… well, there’s just the wedding left. I’m already taking pictures for it which is a huuuuuge amount of work, but also very satisfying, since I’ve planned it for so long. For now, the plan is still to post the wedding chapter on the 28th of September, that is next Saturday, and I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that I can start posting some pictures of all the people at the wedding (41 sims, you guys – it’s madness) to Tumblr very soon. Ideally, I’d like to start posting a few a day on Monday. I’m saying this with some hesitation, as I also have other things going on – if I have to delay the chapter, I won’t make a post about it, but I’ll change the date on my front page, so keep an eye out. If my plans hold, you’ll get to see some pictures during the coming week. I’ll have a big old post with all the guests here as well, but if you want them earlier, you should head to my tumblr and follow me there.

Anyway, that’s about it for now. It’s still really weird to think this generation is almost over. Thank you to everyone who’s made it through this far. I hope everyone is having a great old time and I’ll see you in the next post.

Cheers!


30 Comments

Violincat · September 21, 2019 at 10:57 am

I want to give Georgette one huge hug. No wonder she is emotional – she almost lost everything and got it back practically by miracle.
Totally shipping Lotta and Marco.
And good job, Lia. I think she really came far from the person we met at the start of the generation.

    NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 6:14 pm

    Georgette has been through a lot and I definitely want to hug her. She hasn’t handled everything perfectly, but she deserves this break. ❤️
    Same! They’re so fun to write, it’s crazy!
    Absolutely, Lia has come a long way. She’s got a ways to go, but she’s grown.
    Thank you for reading! ❤️

bmitjessesue · September 21, 2019 at 2:02 pm

Beautifully written and my kind of story because you catch everyone’s point of view. I’m jumping in to the story with this chapter so I have no idea of the chapters before. You can tell you take time on your pics (I wish I did half so well) but I will tell you that first pic under Georgette gave me a sore neck just looking at it! LOL. Can’t imagine what you will do for the wedding chapter!

    NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 6:18 pm

    Thank you, Bee! 😊 I quite enjoyed writing this as well. It was a nice change of pace and a good way to catch people up on what was happening for the secondary characters.
    Thank you! I definitely spend a lot more time on my photos these days because of editing. Sorry to give you a sore neck though, lol. 😬
    I’m so excited to share the wedding, since I’ve been working on the venue for ages and I’m having a ton of friends’ sims there. It’ll be great!
    Thank you for reading. 😊

      bmitjessesue · September 21, 2019 at 6:28 pm

      I will admit, even though I am loathe to say so, I am jealous of the time you have to do all that! In the mean time for me, I love looking at everyone else’s fabulous creativity, until my life load lessens.

        NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 6:33 pm

        Heh, unfortunately, the time I have for all the editing and especially for creating my own objects has lessened severely since I started school again. Thankfully, I don’t have so many obligations besides school, though.

Magpie2012/Ravenangel888 · September 21, 2019 at 3:00 pm

Happy belated birthday Dear Louise! I hope you had an amazing day <3

I can't wait for the wedding chapter but this was definitely a great segue for it! A chance to see our favourite side characters from Gen 2 in action (not that they're really side characters but they're not our Art Thief and Rich Boy are they!)

    NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 6:20 pm

    Thank you, Mags. 😊 My birthday was pretty great, even though I got ill on the evening of. At least I’m finally getting better!
    I’m glad you liked it. It was nice and refreshing to do some different perspectives and I’ve wanted to do a chapter from Lotta’s POV for a while.

    Thank you for reading. 😊

audreyfld · September 21, 2019 at 3:33 pm

Ohhhh. I adore the way you time jumped and this was such a grand way to ‘catch up’ on where everyone was in their life and what they are thinking about the wedding. Well done! But I wanted more….. I wanted to go right into the wedding!

    NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 6:22 pm

    Thank you, Audrey. 😊 Yeah, I think it was nice to do something a bit different and to get a bit of a different perspective on things.
    I can tell you I’m hyped for the wedding myself though. Hopefully it’ll be ready for next weekend. 😊

    Thank you for reading, Audrey. ❤️

      audreyfld · September 21, 2019 at 7:13 pm

      I’m doing a wedding too right now so I feel your pain! Good luck! I know it will be amazing.

        NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 9:41 pm

        It’s a lot of work, for sure. I’ve been working on this since summer and I had to make it even harder for myself and make custom content for it myself. 😅

          audreyfld · September 21, 2019 at 9:42 pm

          Ohhh. The cupcakes! It’s going to be gorgeous!

          NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 9:46 pm

          Yup – and I made a few things for Gina’s wedding dress as well some things for the table settings. 😉 So much work, but I’m not going to lie – I enjoyed it. 🙂

          audreyfld · September 21, 2019 at 9:46 pm

          Sooo cool. ❤️

Kymber · September 21, 2019 at 4:25 pm

Woot! I’m so excited about this wedding! 😀 I love how much Lia has changed. It’s so good to see her getting along with her brother, loving her niece, and ready to have a place of her own. She’s come so far. I’m also totally on board with the Lotta/Marco ship!

    NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 6:25 pm

    Same! ❤️ Can’t wait to show it off – I’ve been working on the venue and Gina’s dress since this summer. 😂
    Yay, so glad you like the change Lia has gone through. She’s grown so much and it’s absurd how much I’ve come to love her. 😊
    And I’m so glad you’re on board. Oh, how I love Lotta and Marco. ❤️ They’re really fun to write.
    Thank you for reading, Kym. ❤️

sempreviva · September 21, 2019 at 6:37 pm

This was so sweet to read! <3 <3 And super exciting, as we're finally getting closer to the wedding! Aaah, I'm so hyped!!! 🎉🎉
I loved Lia's scene. She's the same Lia we know, but more confident, more self-assured. I'm sure even she wouldn't expect to land a job, and I'm so glad she did. Because I think that was the last obstacle her father had placed before her that she needed to overcome. Her niece is a cutie too! 💕
And of course Lotta and Marcos's scene was🔥Lol, I love her sass so much! And Carloooo 😍😍😍 That's it, it's out of my system, lol!
I can't wait for the wedding! It's gonna be epic!!! ❤❤

    sempreviva · September 21, 2019 at 6:43 pm

    Oh, and I didn’t comment on the kidssss!!! 😄😄 So exciting! Enzo and Gina did not waste any time, lol!! 😉

      NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 6:54 pm

      Nope, they did not. ❤️ And I have pictures of them in cute lil’ party dresses for the wedding. Can’t wait to show them off. 🥰

    NotJustaBook · September 21, 2019 at 6:48 pm

    Thank you. I’m sooo excited as well. It’s so weird that it’s finally getting close – I’ve been working on it for so long!!!
    As you already know, I’m so absurdly fond of Lia right now, so I’m glad you liked her scene. You’re right. That was one hurdle she needed to get past to move on with her life and she’s come so far. ❤️
    I freaking love those two. ❤️ Writing them was just so damned fun. If only I had a few more hours to spare, I’d be writing more about all of these characters. ❤️
    Ha, ha, let it out, lol! He’s quite the delight. ❤️
    I’m so excited toooo. I’ve been taking pictures of the last of the friend sims today and they all look so damned fine. 👌 I got quite emotional.
    Thank you for reading! ❤️❤️❤️

twinsimskeletons · September 23, 2019 at 7:03 pm

“He blinked. “I’m so turned on right now.”” Lmao, that made me love him. I, too, like to write men who are turned on by badass women 😛
This was so utterly beautiful! I’m very happy you did this chapter. It really helps us to feel like it’s a happy, glowy, shiny end for our loves. CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE?! I sure can.
Gah!! Loved it.

    NotJustaBook · September 23, 2019 at 8:03 pm

    Ha, ha, that’s pretty much all of my male characters as well. And Lotta and Leoni were surprisingly fun to write – sometimes I write some of my side characters and wish they were my mains. Then I remember I also love my mains so I just need more hours in the day to write about everyone…
    Thank you so much, Carys. 🙂 I really liked giving everyone a little bit of a chance to shine to show that everyone’s happy. Feel the lurve. 😀
    Thank yooou and thank you for reading. <3

amyqueen · September 29, 2019 at 7:47 am

It was cute to see a peek into everyone’s – except for the lovebirds’ – lives after all the time that’s passed. Lotta and Marco’s totally-not-serious, serious relationship is hilarious XD For people so opposed to the prospect of marriage, they sure are acting like a married couple already, hehe. They suit one another quite well. Natalia and Lia’s relationship is just the most adorable thing ever. Every time she said sunflower, it tugged on my heartstrings 😩❤️❤️❤️ I’m so proud of Lia, she seems so much more carefree now. It’s great that she, Amadeo, Enzo and their mother have this solid relationship with one another. They all deserve to be happy, and they are. I bet Vicente is seething somewhere, even after all this time, and the thought makes me happy. Bastien is just husband goals, man, Georgette is lucky to have him. Speaking of lucky… Carloooooo 😍 I love how even after all this time, Vittoria is still wearing his shirts, such couple goals. Their conversation was so sweet and heartfelt. Vittoria – relatively speaking – wasn’t so terrible a mother. Some people genuinely aren’t as expressive as others; that doesn’t mean there’s an absence of love. She’s a good balance to Carlo’s softer nature, and she’s no doubt going to be a kick-ass grandma. I’m so, so excited to see how it all ends, but before I go, I have to ask, why were all the men here so perfect? They’re all so different personality-wise, but they compliment their partners well. I’m jealous, lol.

    NotJustaBook · September 29, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    I really loved getting to write this particular chapter. All of these characters are so fun. 😀
    Lotta and Leoni’s relationship is my favourite, he, he. 🙂 I think they’re happy to have a special someone without the marriage and babies part, but I don’t think it was Lotta’s plan to stick with one guy so long. 😛
    I loooove their relationship, too. <3 Lia's really showing her soft side with her niece. 🙂 <3 I imagine that Cavalcante kids and Georgette have built a really solid, warm relationship since and they lean on each other a lot. <3
    I'm glad you like Bastien. <3 He's a very different guy from Vincente (thankfully). 🙂
    And yup - still stealing Carlo's shirts after all this time. 😛 Vittoria is definitely better than someone like Vincente. At least she's aware of her shortcomings and does her best. 🙂
    I think maybe the men are perfect because they're written by a woman as wishfulfilment, loool. XD XD And also because I have a boyfriend who complements me super well - write what you know and all that. 😉
    Thank you for reading, Amy. <3 :D

Lila Remonn · March 9, 2020 at 12:11 pm

I love Lotta and Marco’s ‘unconventional’ relationship! Shows that even if you don’t go down the traditional, standardised route of marriage and babies, it doesn’t mean the relationship means any less, or is any less loving. It totally suits their characters as well. I laughed at the part where Lotta would happily spend time with the kids when they’re being cute, but would just gap it at the dirty diaper + tantrum-y stuff, because I would do similar 😂
Natalia and Aunt Lia are SO cute together. Well, Natalia is always cute, but the little hairdo moment was very simple yet sweet, and I love that they’ve formed that tender relationship.
Of course Carlo cries bucketfuls, haha, the big softie. And I like the part where Vittoria mentioned her doubts about showing emotion and that connection to her being a good mom or not; while obviously she was a great parent, raising three awesome kiddos, it’s still a nice flip of the typical mother-father image. Your stories always have many refreshing, subtle, and positive gender stereotype reversals, which is one of things I really love about your writing!
Wonderful seeing the different perspectives in this chapter, all happy after years of hardship and turmoil ❤

    NotJustaBook · March 9, 2020 at 3:37 pm

    I loved writing Lotta and Marco in this haha. 😁 And yeah, I feel like it’s becoming more and more common for two people to just sort of shack up and love each other without all the marriage and babies that some would say is obligatory. And lol yeah. I have friends who’ve expressed exactly that sentiment – love playing with cute babies, don’t want to take care of the yucky/troublesome stuff!
    ❤😊 Yeah, Lia’s quite the super aunt, especially to Natalia. The two are tight.
    Lolol, yup. Especially when it concerns his little girl. I’m really glad you appreciate it. Reversing and playing with gender stereotypes is one of my favourite things to do. And hooo boy is it needed, especially in love stories (I swear if I read another romance novel with a controlling ‘man’s man’ kind of protagonist I will flip a table).
    Thanks for reading, Lila! 😁

Jowita · August 17, 2020 at 12:32 pm

I have to admit I had read this, and some of your other stuff way before now, but I never commented, so I’m rereading it, now properly catching up. Yours is the first blog I’m now properly visiting partly because I read some of Lia’s story and now want to experience it in full, partly because I just want to stare at your pretty pictures. I only just saw the new design of your blog and it’s so beautiful with its joyful, autumn-ey colors ♥
Love Lotta and Marco’s relationship. I don’t know why, but some of my strongest memories of your story is that of Lia forcefully reaching for his finger to unlock his phone, lol. I like how they just want to live together and not get married and keepin’ it ‘casual’ with some not-that-casual stuff as well. They’re a sweet couple. The lighting in their room is pretty, too.
Lia is gorgeous as always. I don’t want to hate on Gina, but let’s admit it, she will never be this classy and I’m a sucker for classy dresses and immaculate make-up. Also, I think we share an opinion on beards. I mean it’s not like I hate them that much, but boy, no place for them on a wedding. Maybe I’m just a lil old-fashioned is all. Natalia is such a sweet little girl. I’m so happy for Lia, and that she is doing so well! I already know that her job will be included in the Heartwood storyline, but yeah. It’s great.
It’s good to see Carlo and Vittoria! I see she is still a thief when it comes to his shirts.
I’m glad Georgette managed to escape her awful husband and now leads such a peaceful life.

    NotJustaBook · August 19, 2020 at 7:38 pm

    Aw, so glad you came back to comment. It’s really great to see you around again, even if it took me a few days to respond to aaaaall those comments! Ha, ha. 😀 Seriously, though, they made me happy.
    Lol, I admit that while I was writing them, I had waaaay too much fun – their part could have easily been much longer. 😛 Almost makes me wish I’d written more of them!
    Gina has many fine qualities, but being classy is not one. 😛 Lia is pretty much all about being classy! Ha, ha, yes, you and Lia agree on that – maybe a bit old-fashioned, but then Lia is definitely that in some cases. Her brothers don’t agree, though. 😛
    And yesss, she’ll never stop stealing his shirts, ha, ha!
    Yeah, she has it pretty good. 🙂
    Thanks for reading and commenting, Jowita. <3

      Jowita · August 19, 2020 at 10:17 pm

      I’m so happy they made you happy ❤️ I really wanted to get back to especially your story since I read bits here and there of Lia and Teo and I just needed to get it all together. It was great!
      I love classy, Lia sure rocks at that part!

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