The Abandoned Mafia Princess

Hospital

Clara was upset today. She tried to scroll through the job offers but she couldn't focus on anything. She took a deep breath and closed her laptop aggressively. Poor thing.

She should have been spying on Desmond right now but because of Lorenzo, she didn't have time to do it. Guilt was weighing heavily on her chest. Why did she waste her time? She should've been doing something, working on something. She shouldn't be playing house with some damn mafioso.

Suddenly she couldn't stand being alone in her apartment so she stopped briefly in her hallway to put on her coat and shoes.

She decided to go to the grocery store and get some ice cream for herself. She will just spend the night lazing around on her sofa, watching movies. She didn't feel productive today at all. It was already late around 11 p.m. so Clara was grateful for the 24/7 convenience store she had nearby.

🔆🔆🔆

She left her apartment, used stairs to go downstairs since the elevator was broken, she needed to use an extra force to open the front door while holding a car keys in her hand.

She was in the middle of the parking lot, walking towards her silver Toyota when someone stopped her.

"Clara?"

The familiar male voice made shivers run down her spine. She stiffened in fear and discomfort.

"Arturo? What are you doing here?" She asked, taking a small step back.

"Wait, don't be scared. Sorry, it must look a little creepy, me standing in front of your apartment building. Believe me, I know. But I really wanted to talk to you. Look I brought you flowers" he said with desperation in his eyes. He handed her an obnoxiously big bouquet of red roses.

"I don't like flowers but thank you... for an effort" she responded awkwardly and then cursed herself for the forwardness the last thing she needed was to antagonize this man. Did he wait for her? What the fuck. She needed to put on the nice act and get away from here.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I will remember for the next time" he said and smiled. That smile made her feel even more uneasy if it was possible at this point. "Listen, there's something I wanted to tell you for a long time. I was holding back but now I feel like it's my chance, to be honest with you" he said, his eyes glinting with excitement which was completely unfitting to the situation. Did he not see that she's scared? He was always a little creepy but from this side, she didn't know him yet. "There's no easy way to say this but I fell in love with you"

"Listen," she said trying to interrupt his thought process "Arturo I'm not interested, I'm really sorry but I don't feel the same about you"

"Why are you so cold? You have to give me a chance so I can show you how much I care about you. Vincenti is not worth you. He's a stuck-up bastard. They all are. They only let the closest family make decisions other people are just pawns they use. But you wouldn't do something like that, right? You're different I can see it. I admire you, Clara. Please let me show how much you mean to me"

"Listen... I will give you a chance" Clara responded awkwardly.

"Really?"

"Yes. We should meet over coffee sometimes. But today I am really in a hurry. I will see you around" Clara said in an apologetic voice. She turned away to leave.

"In a hurry to go on a date with Lorenzo Vincenti?" Arturo asked darkly.

She stopped. Something was very wrong.

"How do you-?" She asked, her eyes widened. Was he spying on her?

"He's not worth it Clara. He's not worth you. But you were going to meet with him anyway, right? You chose him, haven't you? That's why you rejected my invitation"