Apennine Summer [19Th Century]

Quando il diavolo ti accarezza, vuole l'anima. When the devil caresses you, what he wants is your soul. ——Italian proverb * When Willow, a high-profile lady in London social circles, faced one of the biggest marriage prizes in the city - the proposal of the Duke of Lavenham, who was over fifty years old, she resisted in her heart. She didn't want to marry an old man who was older than her father, even if he was extremely wealthy, even if it would allow her to join the royal social circle, and maybe become a maid to the queen. There was only one thought in her heart: to escape, change her identity, and support herself with her own hands. However, fate always seems to play tricks on her. Just when she was in the middle of her plan, a strange man stopped her and said with a foreign accent: "My master would like to invite the young lady to spend the night with her." She refused coldly, and the next second, her mouth was covered and forced into a carriage. When the Italian Duke finally showed up, Willow saw a man who was handsome, elegant, and extremely dangerous... Willow hated Alessio Palavicino, without a doubt, the person she hated the most in the world. She hated that he treated her dignity lightly, hated that he regarded her resistance as a taste, and hated that he still asked her at her most vulnerable moment: "Do you love me?" She hated her even more for knowing what the answer was on the eve of her escape. Odi et amo. Hate and love at the same time. * Alessio is the most notorious and most popular Duke in Italy. He plays the game of life, never being rejected and never really longing for anything. Until that day, he saw a girl in black smiling and spinning in circles on the streets of London. He thought she was just a beautiful poor girl, and he thought she was probably used to this kind of transaction. So, he pointed his finger casually, and the servant understood. As a result, he made a big mistake. He tried his best to convince himself that it didn't matter, as long as he gave her jewelry, gave her fine clothes, gave her everything he could to compensate, she would melt in the hotbed of money and desire like any woman. But she didn't expect that she was just a stone, cold, stubborn, and never compromised. "I'm not yours," she said. "I want to go home," she said. "You disrespect me," she said. Every word felt like a knife, but he couldn't hear it. He was so used to hearing only his own voice. Until she really disappears. Disappeared completely, leaving no trace behind. * British lady × Italian Duke, nine years apart in age. The male protagonist is cliché and bad, very irritating. The beginning of the two is the biggest highlight of the whole story. If you can't stand it, don't force it. After all, no matter what, the ending is he_(:з∠)_ Motto: Love never ends.