His Collateral

Chapter 16

Bella's POV:
It was almost 9:00am in the morning and I hadn't seen Alessandro. He wasn't in the room this morning when I woke up. I had my bath and threw on a white polo shirt and a black spaghetti strap dress on top. Then I styled my hair in a low bun and made my way downstairs where Mary was preparing breakfast.

"Good morning Mary." I smiled subtly

"Good morning dear. How was your night?" She asked. I know she had heard the shouting coming from I and Alessandro's room last night but decided not to pry.

"It was okay." I replied and deliberated whether I should ask her about him or not.

It's worth the shot!

I grabbed a slice of bread and threw it into the toaster. "Um Mary..."
"Have you seen Alessandro this morning?" I asked

"No, I haven't seen him. I thought he might be in his study but it's almost 9am and he usually requests for his breakfast as early as 8am." She answered. Really?

I don't think he slept at the house last night.

I felt a knot of worry form in my stomach as I wondered where Alessandro had gone. Had he gone to confront aunt and uncle about my scars?

If I wasn't in trouble yesterday, I was definitely in trouble now!

I was just about to say something when we heard the front door open and footsteps approach the kitchen. It was Alessandro. He looked disheveled, like a mess. His hair was messy, his tie was loose and his buttons were undone half way down. He stood by the door of the kitchen for a few seconds before looking at me.

"I need you to bring my coffee to my study in 15mins." He said. I felt my heart pound against my chest on hearing his request. I couldn't believe it. He had always warned me, never to touch his food and now, he is asking me to bring him coffee.

Feeling a mixture of dread and anxiety, I answered him. "O..of cours—e"
And he slowly walked back upstairs. I looked at Mary and she had the same expression that I had.
She turned to face me and I'm sure she could read the palpable expression on my face.

Was he okay?

She quickly completed breakfast and when it was time she brewed a hot cup of coffee for Alessandro and handed it over to me. I took the coffee in a saucer and nervously made my way to his study upstairs.

Calm down Bella, he asked you to do this.

I got to the door and knocked on it gently. I heard a tired come in. I twisted the door knob open and made my way in, shutting the door with my foot. I placed his coffee on his table and turned to leave when he stopped me.

"Bella wait." He called

I turned around to see his attention now fully on me.

"Yes."

"Have a seat." He pointed at the chair in front of his desk.

"No it's fine. I'm going downstairs."

"We need to talk." He stated and I gulped.

He wants to talk about last night.

I slowly walked up to the chair and sat down in front of him. He took a sip of his coffee while staring at me, which made me uncomfortable.

"About last night..." he started, placing the cup back.
"I need to know the truth."
My heart was pounding again in my chest. I knew I had to tell him the whole truth eventually but I was terrified of what he was going to do after that.

"Are they your real parents?" He asked

I fidgeted with my fingers, as I shook my head slowly. "N-no. My biological parents were killed in a car accident. But they're the only family I have."