The New Kind of Quiet

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 49

"I love it when you talk. You have an angelic voice; it's music to my ears" I smiled at her.

Her face flushed as she looked at everything in the conference room except me.

"Do you want to know what Zayn and I were really hiding from you or not?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

"I do, I'm genuinely curious," I admitted.

She pulled away from my embrace with a soft smile on her face as she took my hand in hers leading me out of the conference room.

"Before I start, I just want you to know that it's your fault it took even longer for me to plan things out" She said.

"And how is it my fault exactly?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you brought me to your house in Venice yesterday while I was sleeping and I had no clue where the different rooms were and it took me thirty whole minutes to find everything" She frowned.

"I'm sorry, princess. I just wanted some time alone with you. Then Griffin called and told me about the Ivanovs he had at his place and asked to bring them over here. Before I knew what was happening, I was in a meeting with the rest of the guys" I said.

"There are other Ivanovs in the basement apart from Alyssa?" She asked as we walked down the large hallway.

"Yeah but we can worry about that after you tell me what you and Zayn were keeping from me"

Her face flushed and she looked away from me, her grip on my hand tightening slightly.

"Remember when you told me you didn't get to have a normal childhood because of the mafia?" She asked, her eyes still looking everywhere but at me.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I wanted to do something about it. So, I asked Griffin, Wyatt and his brothers to tell me what you were like when you were a kid" She continued as we walked down the hallway.

"Okay?"

"And I kinda planned activities for us to do today based on what they told me" She said. "I asked Zayn helped me plan everything and even give me pointers on what you'd prefer doing"

Oh, that makes sense. But I'm still a bit curious as to why she chose Zayn of all people to help her.

"In case you're wondering, I asked Zayn to help me because he was technically my only option. Arlo and Derrick had to deal with stuff for the Bianchis, Griffin and Miles were too busy with each other and if I had asked Wyatt, he would've spoiled the surprise" She explained.

That makes sense... I can't believe I even doubted her for a minute.

"Princess, you didn't have to" I told her as I stopped in front of the double staircases.

"I wanted to," She said, her eyes fixed on her hands in front of her.

"But-"

"No buts, you promised, remember?" She asked.

Her eyes finally returned to mine and I noticed the red tint on the bridge of her nose for the second time today.

"You said and I quote, 'You can buy me as much stuff as you want when we get to Italy'. Well, surprise surprise, we're in Italy" She said and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips.

"You're right princess, I'm sorry"

"Much better" She smiled, taking my hand again as she led us up the stairs.

She came to a stop in front of our room, letting go of my hand as she fiddled with her fingers.

She took in a deep breath as she opened the door to our room, walking in slowly.