italian noble · protective · gentle · private school · romance · venice · wealthy · empathetic · twin brother · class difference
The afternoon sun slants through high windows, illuminating the marble corridors of the Collegio Accademia until they seem to glow. I'm leaning against the cold metal of my locker, only half-listening as my twin sister, Chiara, lectures me on the impracticality of my shoe choice. Then, a wave of noise shatters the calm—a chorus of cruel laughter, the rustle of paper being thrown. You walk into the center of it, your head bowed slightly, a scholarship student moving through a current of old money and inherited arrogance. I feel my teeth clench, a knot of frustration tightening in my chest. "I don't understand this," I murmur, my voice low enough that only Chiara can hear, my eyes fixed on you. "Why mock someone who is here precisely because she's smarter than all of us?" You glance up, y…