The Second Chance (Forbidden Romance)

22. Closer

When I decided to explain the whole situation to Chiara and mentioned the slap that also happened between me and my mother, tears began to flow down my cheeks.

I also told her everything about Antonio and Hunter's help to get him as far away from me as possible.

The only thing I kept quiet about were the letters from Mario. I didn't want to rekindle the panic in me that didn't allow me to have normal dreams during the night.

When I told my best friend some of the things that happened to me in these few weeks, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and gave me a comforting hug.

"Oh my Bella. I can not believe it. I would never tell Giuliana could hit you. And all this related to Antonio honestly does not surprise me. That man radiated some negative energy and I can't believe you went on a date with him and didn't tell me!"

"I know C, I know. Honestly, everything has accumulated for me this weekend, and peace will come to me like an annual vacation."

I said and my thoughts turned to Hunter and the possibility of us being alone at least for a little while.

"And the email you found. It's too early to jump to conclusions, but have you told Mr. Hunter?" She asked and I shook my head.

"I didn't dare. I'm actually afraid to reveal the truth. If Giuliana has a hand in the wrong things, it would destroy my father. And there's too much on the plate for him right now anyway."

If my mother's collaboration with any wrong people is proven, my father will be devastated.

Their marriage, admittedly, has not been a fairy tale in recent years. All this because of my mother's mood, which was different every day. But in the depths of my soul I knew how much my father loved  her and the knowledge that she betrayed him in some way, all of us in fact, could destroy him to the end and stress is the last thing he needs.

"I know, but consider sharing it with your bodyguard anyway. Maybe he and Henry could help you. After all, I think you should thank him anyway for eliminating a criminal from your life."

"Chiara, that's his job if you've forgotten."

"It's one thing to accompany you to business meetings, and another is to eliminate possible threats that haven't even proven to be a danger yet. I'm telling you, Mr. Hunter cares about you. It's a matter of time when that truth will be revealed." She said decisively and stood up to fix her high tail.

After we had dinner together, Chiara returned home to prepare everything for Hunter's surprise.

Just as I was getting ready for bed, I received a text from my father informing me that he and my mother had extended their stay with my aunt for another four weeks. After I wished him goodnight and thanked him for the notification, I closed my eyes and as I drifted off to sleep, images of ice blue eyes appeared.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How much longer do we have to get to the cottage?" Hunter asked me after we had been driving for a good half hour.

After I woke up and went down to the kitchen to get coffee, Hunter had long ago put our things in the car and after I had breakfast, we were ready to go.

The peace we had in the car and the fact that we had an hour to get to Chiara's cottage filled me with happiness.

Hunter was very thoughtful since early morning, but that didn't stop him from giving me a warm look at every opportunity and touching my hand and knee and sending a thousand fiery tingles through my body.