The Devoted Gentleman (EDITING)

Chapter 12

"Be careful" Valeria was pushing Alessio who was seated on a wheelchair, his body had recovered for most part but the doctor would not allow him to walk on his own just yet until they were sure he could do it. Therefore, on his first day of coming home, they made him use a wheelchair for extra precaution. The moment he left the hospital, Alessio felt like he was a brand new person. It was lucky that he could escape death once. He could still vividly remember what was going on that day, what happened a few hours before the accident. Yet, a part of him was burying those memories deep down on the back of his mind, he thought it was not wise to think or even mention what happened.

No one needed to know why.

"Alessio, are you okay?" Valeria looked at him with a concerned expression as they were waiting for his car to come. Chiara who was walking alongside them also turned her body around and saw her son's bothered expression.

When he came to a realization that both women noticed something was wrong with him, he quickly put on a façade and smiled, brushing off the question with a simple "I'm fine". Valeria thought there was something wrong with him, even after he covered it up, though she did not want to ruin the day by asking him further.

The chauffeur arrived with the limo and they were helping him inside. Once he was in, Chiara was seated across her son while Valeria was seated beside him, ensuring that he was comfortable.

"Aren't you excited? You're coming home" Chiara exclaimed. Though Alessio had his own house in the city, they had all decided it was best if he was not left alone, therefore they had made a suggestion to temporarily hosted him at Saverino's main manor. That way they would have maids to also look after him when they could not. It was a much safer option at least until he fully recovered.

"I am excited, it's just, I feel like things are a bit different since I was hospitalized, it's nothing you have to worry about" he assured. As they were going back, the ride was rather silent. Valeria tried to brighten up the mood by telling stories, which eventually ended in an abruption of laughter for the three of them, but it was just a temporary solution to get rid of the obvious gray cloud in the air.

She did not understand it. Why did she feel so unsure, like there was a heavy stone planted in her chest. Alessio had woken up, they were coming home, what else was there to ask for?

Something was bothering her and she did not know what it was, she had tried to put on a smile but every time there was that voice in her head telling her that something was wrong and she needed to find out about it. She had tried to silent it many times over but the voice just would not disappear. She did not understand why or how, but she knew she needed to do something to erase those thoughts from her head.

"Valeria, are you okay?" this time it was Chiara's turn to ask Valeria, since she was spacing out for a moment as soon as the laughter dissipated, she went back to the present and shook her head. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Alessio staring at her with a worried look. Nothing was fine inside the car. It was such a strange ride. Though the ride did not last long as they had arrived. Once again the women were helping him get in the wheelchair as the in house butler helped him down from the car. Valeria once again pushed his wheelchair and for the time being, until he could walk on his own, they would place him on a guest room on the first floor. This way it would be much easier for everyone to assist him had he needed anything. Alessio felt slightly awful about himself because he felt like his masculinity was ripped away from him temporarily as he had to have people attended to his needs. However the thought that it would all be over soon and things would eventually returned to normal kept him going.

The guest room on the first floor was mostly decorated in wood, as they stepped into the room, the scent of wood was prominent in the air, but it was not an unpleasant scent, as they had placed coffee and vanilla as an air freshener beforehand. Everything just blended in together to create a nostalgic, delicious scent. Alessio remembered he used to visit the room as a child whenever it was empty, so it was not completely unfamiliar to him, though truth to be told, he would much prefer his own childhood bedroom, which was located on the second floor of the mansion.