Obsession

Chapter Five - Cinque

I sat on the end of the bed, twiddling my thumbs. The sun has now set, and the moon is high. Twenty-four hours have passed since Ales saved me. I lift my head at the soft tap on the door. 

"It's me," the familiar voice calls out from the other side. "Can I come in?" I take a deep breath in and stand. "I bought you some food," he sings.

I open the door to see a smiling Ales standing there, with a plate in his hand. "You didn't come down for lunch or dinner." And hands me the plate. "Figured you must be starving." 

Starving isn't the word for how I feel. "It isn't much." I glance down at the plate to see two sandwiches. "PB and J." 

I raise a brow at the combination. "I know." He smiles, and like those many years ago, my heart flutters when I see his dimples. "It's weird, but trust me." 

I wouldn't even care if the combination didn't go together. The sandwich still looked more enticing than what Marco served me. I wouldn't even care if the bread was stale. Ales reaches out and takes my hand to place the pate on it. 

"Just leave the plate outside on the table." He points to a table out in the hall. "Someone will collect it in the morning." Ales turns to leave, but I reach out and grab his hand. He turns his head and looks down at our entwined hands before looking at me. 

"Can you stay?" I ask. 

I don't want to be alone. 

"But if you have somewhere you need to..." 

Ales places a finger under my chin and tilts my head up. "I'll stay." 

I step back and Ales follows. He closes the door. "Do you want one?" I ask, offering him a sandwich. He smiles and shakes his head. 

"No, you need the food more than me." I walk over to an armchair situated by the window and took a seat. 

"When will Stefano be back?" 

If he was back already why hasn't he come to see me? I would at least like to get to know who my future husband was. Ales runs his hands through his hair, then scratches his jaw.  

"So eager to meet him?" 

I shake my head. "Not really, but it's inevitable for us to meet." 

"You don't want to marry him?" I place the sandwich back down on the plate and look up at Ales. 

"I don't want to marry him," I say honestly. "But Lorenzo and my father tell me I have to." My eyes close when Ales becomes a blurred image. 

"What if I were to tell you, you don't have to?" I open my eyes when I feel the weight on my lap lessening and see Ales holding it. He places it down on the side table and kneels. Our eyes connect. His grey eyes study me carefully. 

"I can make it so you don't have to." 

My brows press together, not following what he is saying. Ales takes my hand in his. "If you don't want to marry, just say the word." 

But my father said I have to. "I have to," I croak out. "I have never once disobeyed my father." 

"But he isn't here, Angel." My heart thuds at the nickname. Once Lorenzo gave me. Mia Angel.  "You can do what you want." 

I can do what I want. I've never had the freedom to do so. Everything was dictated by my father. What I was taught, who I was able to talk to, and I guess who I married. 

"I don't want to marry Stefano Moretti." 

The corner of Ales's lips twitch. "Your wish is my command." He rises slightly and presses his lips to my forehead. Butterflies form deep inside my stomach, but I don't dwell on them. Ales is like a brother to me. He was Zo's friend. A familiar face. My childhood crush dissolved the day he stopped coming around.