[Let's recap.
One: Nicolo broke the sacred adolescent identity rule.
Two: Four bodyguards formed the world's stupidest temporary alliance.
Three: Both heirs yelled at each other in perfect stereo.
Four: Uncle Agnelli now has the migraine of the century.
And five? This mess is only getting worse.]
Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. It was the kind of silence that suggested someone was about to get yelled at—or vaporized.
Nicolo slowly lowered his hands from his face. "Okay… nobody panic," he said, immediately panicking. "If we all pretend that never happened, then nobody gets in trouble. Right?"
"No," all four bodyguards said at once.
Giulietta groaned into her hands. "Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic."
Aurelio sank lower in the barber chair. "Can someone please explain how we fix this before my father murders me?"
[Oh boy. Somebody get the popcorn!]
The silence in Agnelli Barbershop finally cracked—not with shouting, but with the soft, dangerous click of Uncle Agnelli setting his straight razor down on the counter.
Everyone stiffened.
Even the bodyguards, who had stared death in the face more than once, sat up a little straighter. Nobody wanted to see what happened when an Italian barber lost his patience. Rumor had it he once kicked a Mafia Don out so hard the man still avoided this part of town.
"Alright," Uncle Agnelli huffed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Now somebody tell me—SLOWLY—how four grown men formed a truce stupider than uncooked pasta."
One of the Bernardi guards opened his mouth.
A Cavallo guard elbowed him before words escaped.
Agnelli waved them off anyway. "Never mind. I don't care. I don't want to care. I don't get paid enough to care."
He pointed his comb at Giulietta and Aurelio like a man demanding order from two delinquent teenagers he'd somehow become responsible for.
"You two. Explain. What exactly were you doin' running around town without supervision when your families would skin me alive if anything happened?"
Giulietta lifted a finger. "Technically, Nic was my supervision—"
"I WAS NOT," Nicolo barked instantly. "I was WORKING. You just barged in and caused chaos like a feral raccoon!"
Giulietta gasped dramatically. "EXCUSE YOU—"
"Children!" Uncle Agnelli snapped.
Both heirs—one with Mafia royalty blue eyes, the other with burning ember ones—shut their mouths.
For two whole seconds.
Then—
Aurelio slumped in the barber chair with a sigh so heavy it fogged the mirror. "This is getting ridiculous. If anyone's going to murder me today, I'd almost prefer it be my father. At least then it would be predictable."
"Predictable?" Giulietta scoffed. "My family would bury me alive for talking to you—talking, Lio! With sentences!"
One of the Cavallo guards cleared his throat. "Actually, Miss, you also ran around town with him arm-in-arm—"
Giulietta whipped around. "Dante, sweetheart… DO YOU LIKE BREATHING?"
He shut up immediately.
Aurelio's guard mumbled, "Could've fooled us, given how fast you two were running."
Another Bernardi guard muttered under his breath: "Honestly, boss, count yourself lucky. If Valentina had been the one to find you, she would've dragged you home by the ear. And trust me—she wasn't smiling when she called for backup."
Aurelio visibly paled. "Oh great… she knows. Ugh… She's going to want to kill me. One more disappointment to add to the board."
He dropped his face into his hands. "I swear, I wasn't trying to cause a diplomatic incident today." He peeked through his fingers. "I just… didn't want to watch the paint dry at home."
Giulietta snorted. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard."
"Not my fault, my father thinks hobbies are a sign of weakness," Aurelio muttered with an exasperated sigh.
The room froze.
Nicolo's jaw cracked open. Giulietta slowly turned toward him, amber eyes softening just a little.
Just a little.
"…That's messed up," she muttered back.
Aurelio shrugged with a crooked smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Welcome to the Bernardi household. We don't do fun. Or emotions. Or joy."
For the first time since the chaos began, nobody had anything sarcastic to say. Not even the narrator's voice in Giulietta's head.
[Shocking, I know.]
Uncle Agnelli sighed and patted Aurelio's shoulder again. "Kid… you need more than a haircut. You need a damn vacation."
"Tell that to my father."
Agnelli waved a dismissive hand. "Bah! Your father needs a haircut. And a therapist."
A Cavallo guard coughed to hide a laugh.
Nicolo wasn't laughing. He was staring between Giulietta and Aurelio like he'd just realized something terrifying.
Something appalling.
Something forbidden.
He jabbed a finger at them dramatically. "No. Nope. Nuh‑uh. I recognize that look. ABSOLUTELY NOT."
Giulietta blinked. "What look?"
Aurelio blinked. "Who is he pointing at?"
"You TWO!" Nicolo wailed, spinning as if performing an exorcism. "You're making EYE CONTACT and having EMOTIONS!" He waved his arms wildly. "That's how it STARTS, Giul! That's how people get SHOT!"
Giulietta rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't fall out. "Oh my god, Nicolo, we just met."
"Exactly!" he cried. "The perfect time to stop THIS—" he gestured between them like they were radioactive, "—before it becomes THAT!"
Aurelio frowned. "What's that?"
"ROMANCE!" Nicolo shrieked.
Giulietta and Aurelio both recoiled.
"We're not—!" Giulietta sputtered.
"I'm not—!" Aurelio protested.
Uncle Agnelli simply crossed his arms and nodded knowingly. "Mhm."
"MHM WHAT?!" they shouted in unison.
Agnelli pointed at them with a smug fatherly expression.
"Mhm… young love. And if you yell at me again, I'll make you both bald."
Both heirs turned red.
The bodyguards all groaned.
Nicolo looked like he wanted to throw himself face‑first into the nearest window.
[And the narrator?
Oh, the narrator was having the time of their life.]
Both of their phones buzzed at the same time.
Aurelio and Giulietta froze—then slowly looked at their screens.
COME HOME. NOW.
Before either of them could breathe, let alone panic, something slid under the barbershop door with a soft skrrt.
An envelope.
Unmarked.
Unsent.
Cold.
Nicolo bent to pick it up—then recoiled like it burned.
"...No. Nope. We're not opening that. Absolutely not."
Uncle Agnelli snatched it instead, muttering in Italian as he tore it open. "Minga…"
The shop went dead silent. Everyone waited for Uncle Agnelli to speak.
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©Lynnifer Ice 2026