Revegenful Billionaire

Chapter 1 | Past Carlotta

It had been ten years since he last saw her, yet the man was still clinging to Carlotta's memories. Growing up as a high-class girl, Carlotta never lacked the handsome, wealthy men around her. However, for some reason, only one man could pull his heart out. The man is not even from among the people. He was just a gardener at one of the Carlotta family mansions in Verona.

At the age of sixteen, Carlotta fell in love with flowers. He lingered in the garden of his late grandmother. Many roses grow there. Also daisy and lily of the valley. All the pretty flowers that make his life not too stifling.

The demand of being the perfect young lady of the Marinelli family that is well-respected throughout Italy makes Carlotta not free to be herself. His appearance is blameless. His behavior must be perfect. His behavior is not allowed to deviate from manners. The value in school should be high. His friends can't hear him complain. And most importantly, he should be able to be a role model for his two younger sisters, Ciara and Carina.

At that time, someone approached him in the garden.

"Do you know the meanings of flowers, Miss?"

Carlotta. A dark brown haired youth spoke to him. His face was more beautiful than the marble statues of Greek gods engraved on the gates of his mansion. The young man was wearing shabby clothes. A loose white shirt that opens up to the third button. Brandless. And a pair of torn jeans in some places. The thing is, all that does not interfere with the young man's genius in Carlotta's eyes.

The girl's heart was racing. Fizzy cheeks. He tried to answer in a stammer, like a stuttering girl who never learned manners. Brain freezes. Not a word came out of his mouth.

"If you want, I can drive you around the garden while explaining the meaning of these flowers." The young man said again.

Without waiting for anything, Carlotta accepted the young man's helping hand.

The young man's hand was so warm and reassuring. His hands are big and strong. So is his body which is included stocky for the size of an eighteen-year-old teenager. As the demands of the job may be, Carlotta thought, trying to normalize her breathing which was always hunting beside the young man.

"Do you work here?" Carlotta asked when she finally managed to rediscover her voice.

The young man laughed as he looked at the odd Carlotta. "Of course, Miss. I've been working here since you were eight. Maybe you don't know me, but I know you very well."

Carlotta gaped in disbelief. There was a handsome young man who lived in his own house since eight years ago, but the girl never knew! How vain.

"What's your name?" Carlotta asked.

"Alessandro Ferrara, at your service." The young man answered politely, bowing his body a little.

"Ferrara's? Like the billionaire Ferrara's surname?"

Alessandro laughs. "No, Miss. It just so happens to be the same name."

Carlotta nodded in confidence. There's no way the famous Ferrara family would let one of their children work as a gardener, right?

***

Since then, Carlotta has been playing in the garden more and more. He was always excited to go home after school. His friends often invite him to hang out or just go to the coffee shop, but Carlotta prefers to spend his time in the backyard garden of the mansion. With Alessandro.

Alessandro just graduated from school. Carlotta did not expect, that in addition to being very handsome, Alessandro was apparently also a smart student. Every day, for months, Carlotta held an afternoon picnic in the garden. Sometimes, Alessandro taught him algebra. If not, Alessandro will strum a guitar and play beautiful songs for him.

"Don't you have piano lessons today?" One afternoon Alessandro reminded.

Carlotta sighed lazily. "I don't like his teacher, Alessandro."

"He's a flirtatious guy trying to seduce me." Carlotta nodded again.

Alessandro's face turned thick. "What if I take part in your pianom lessons? He wouldn't dare to mess around if you weren't left alone, would he?"

Carlotta smiled sweetly. Then, his smile turned into a carefree laugh. "Well, what's going on? Are you jealous, Alessandro?"

Alessandro was aghast "What do you mean? Where might I-"

"It's okay." Carlotta looked amused at the face of Alessandro who was as red as a boiled crab.

"It's okay what?"

"It's okay if you want to accompany me to piano lessons." Carlotta replied calmly.

Alessandro. He immediately cleaned up their picnic equipment deftly. Fabric blankets, wicker baskets filled with food, as well as bottles of fresh fruit juice. The piano is nothing new to him. At school, he often sneaks into piano lessons in music classes.

"And it's okay if you're jealous of me." Carlotta said again. This time, his sentence successfully made Alessandro drop the bottles in his hands.

***

Carlotta's closeness with Alessandro was getting more intense. The pain and loneliness of his mother who remarried to a film producer made Carlotta need a friend. He could not let go of Alessandro who understood him so much.

And he could not let go of Alessandro, for he realized that he had fallen in love with the young man. His feelings were so strong that he did not care what others would say.

His relationship with Alessandro was first sniffed by his arch-nemesis, Gretta Mancini. At school, Gretta comes to Carlotta blatantly and corners the girl.

"In front of all your friends, tell me, do you have a boyfriend?" Gretta fishing Carlotta.

Carlotta fell silent and lowered her head. He didn't choose this. He does not want to be hostile to Gretta just because her family is involved in a business rivalry with the Gretta family.

"I heard you were dating your own gardener, Carlotta. Is that true?"

Carlotta was surprised, but kept quiet.

Carlotta's silence confirms the truth of it. Rumors spread immediately and reached the ears of Robert Mancini, Gretta's older brother who planned to be betrothed to Carlotta to strengthen the relationship between the two families. Robert did not accept and complained to his father. Then things got out of hand when Robert's father complained to Carlotta's father.

That night, Carlotta was beaten to the ground by her father. Not stopping there, his father also threatened to beat his sisters if Carlotta did not want to break up with Alessandro. Alessandro was fired, but he did not want to leave. Before he died, his mother worked in the mansion. The Marinelli mansion is home to Alessandro. He couldn't leave all his mother's memories here.

And he also could not leave the sweet Carlotta.

Therefore, Carlotta's father gave Carlotta an ultimatum. "If you don't manage to get that damn kid out of here for good, I'll finish him off. Get that, Carlotta!"

***