EZEKIEL
I spent five minutes pounding at her door but when that didn't work, I slumped down on the floor with my back against the door, legs tucked under me.
My eyes burned from crying so much. It's funny how I was so against marrying her but now, I didn't want to go back home without her.
What's a home to me if not her?
A pair of shoes came into my view which I recognised as Cyrus's. I was angry at him for not taking my side but right now I didn't have the energy to argue with him.
"Come on, get up now." He said in a gentle tone.
"I am not going anywhere without her," I stated.
"Sitting here won't make her forgive you. Now, get up, Ezekiel. You need to give her some time."
Bending down, he extended his hand to me which I ignored.
"Dad's waiting for you downstairs."
I didn't want to face anyone but my wife but it wasn't an option.
He grabbed my shoulders, forced me up on my feet, and started dragging me down the stairs.
Dad and Uncle were talking in the living room, both looking frantic and worried.
I couldn't even look them in the eye as Dad came over to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder, led me out of there.
We both sat in his car in silence and he pulled out his handkerchief and tenderly cleaned the dried blood on my throat.
I stared blankly at the dashboard and Dad ran his fingers through my hair, stroking it. "I believe you, Ezekiel. But you need to give her time to come to terms with everything and you need to prove to her that you love her regardless of what the contract says."
"How am I supposed to do that?" I whispered through the lump in my throat.
"I wish I knew." He sighed. "All I can say is don't give up. Even if it takes you years to win her back."
I slowly turned my head to him. "Y-years? I will die without her."
He gave me a sympathetic look and wiped away my tears. "No. You are stronger than that."
I was not but I kept silent.
"Let's go home now", he mumbled, revving the engine and driving out of there.
How am I supposed to tell him that I have left my home and heart with her?
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Day One Of Grovelling:
The next morning, I tapped my fingers impatiently against the steering wheel, right outside the Ludovica mansion waiting for the guards to open the main gate.
A moment later, they slid open and I sighed in relief that at least I wasn't blacklisted from coming here.
I drove up the driveway and pulled up to the front door, hastily getting out of the car with a bouquet of white tulips--they are supposed to symbolize apology--with a letter tucked between them.
I rang the doorbell and glanced up at the CCTV camera planted just above the door hoping they just open the door.
A minute passed during which I rang the bell ten times and finally, it was opened by Cyrus who regarded me with an exasperated look. "I told you to give her time."
I stepped forward but he shoved me back. "Marcelo left for work leaving me in charge of her and keeping away certain someone from her. Hint: you."
"I don't give a fuck what Marcelo said. She is my wife and if I want to see her, I will. He has no say in that." I gritted out.
"He is her brother, Ezekiel. And she is like a little sister to me so I can understand what Marcelo is feeling right now--"
"Do you have any idea what I am feeling right now?" I spoke harshly. "Am I not your brother? Do you have no care about my feelings?"
That rendered him silent and this time I shoved him and went inside.
He followed me so I asked him, "Did she eat anything?"
"Fortunately, she is not the type to go hungry, so yes."
Thank fuck for that because if she didn't eat anything because of me, I would have just killed myself.
I rushed up the stairs and went over to her room. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on her door. "Chiara? Please open the door, my heart."
No response.
"I know you are in there. Please? I am sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have said those things to Anthony, shouldn't have used you like that. But that clause? It hardly ever mattered to me. I never gave a fuck about it, I swear."
When she didn't reply again, I said, "Just so you know, I am not leaving. I am going to sit right here until you give me another chance."
Just like last night, I sat down with my back against the door and placed the bouquet on the floor.
I relived every moment of our married life, smiling slightly to myself at all the beautiful moments we spent together whether they were spent in bickering, kissing or having sex.
Every moment with her was worth everything.
Hours passed by but I didn't move even though my body ached and I spread my legs in front of me to relieve some aches.
"Do you really think this will work?" Marcelo's voice echoed through the corridor.
I kept my eyes on the floor. "Fuck off."
He sighed and walked away saying, "Fine. Do whatever you want."
He returned a minute later but I didn't look at him and kept my eyes down and he dropped a bottle of water on my lap.
"Good luck." He mocked and went inside his room which was just opposite Chiara's.
Well, I was thirsty after all.
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It was lunchtime already and Cyrus carried a plate of food in his hand and knocked on her door. "Zoe made your favourite chilli garlic noodles, love."
Anger surged through me on hearing him call her love.
A low growl slipped through my lips and he gave me a side eye for that.
I heard the door unlock and open slightly and I was up on my feet in an instant hoping to catch a glimpse of her but she quickly took the plate from him and closed the door again.
"Chiara!" I slammed my fist on the door. "Please!"
"Come down and have something," Cyrus told me.
"I am not hungry", I mumbled.
"What happened to your so-called healthy habits? Skipping food is definitely not healthy."
"I don't give a fuck."
He raised a brow. "And you are cursing a lot too which is again unlike you. In any case, you better get your ass down in five minutes before I force the food down your throat."
He turned around and walked away, grumbling to himself, "And he is the elder one."
I rested my forehead on her door, a tear slipping through my eyes. "Please, my heart, I love you."
In response, her silence mocked me.
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CHIARA
I was not going to listen to my heart anymore. He hurt me and made my trust in him waver.
Even though hearing him beg for forgiveness did make me cry but I can't just trust him again so easily.
He spent the whole day outside my door and I could hear his every word.
Cyrus did end up forcing him to eat which somehow relieved me because my heart's an asshole and it still cared about him.
It was late at night when Cyrus and Marcelo finally forced him away from there and told him to go home.
And he said to that, "My home's right here so how can I leave?"
I cried at that again but didn't open the door.
But in the end, he left with the promise of coming back again.
Only when everyone had gone to sleep, I opened the door and picked up the bouquet he left there.
I took it inside and grabbed the letter stuck between them and opened it curiously.
"I despised you even before I met you. I hated the fact that I had to give up all my romantic dreams just because of you.
But then I met you, a five-months-old baby, I held you in my arms and I thought, 'These are the most beautiful pair of eyes I have ever seen'.
And then, Chiara, I had the honour of being the receiver of your first laugh. A short, beautiful, cute giggle which had me mesmerized and at that moment I wanted to capture that sound just for myself, I didn't want to share such a beautiful thing with anyone.
Every time you shed a tear, I always compared it to your laugh and wanted to take away all your sadness just to see you smile and laugh again.
Your smile holds the power to turn a stone into a flower. That's what you did to me, you wiped away all my bitterness towards you in one meeting even though you were just a baby.
I always cared for you in my own way, I always wanted the best for you. Never wanted to see you cry but now, I am the reason you are hurt and I want to kill myself for that.
But, Chiara, my heart, I have always loved you. Platonically as a child, romantically as your husband.
I have always loved you and I will continue to love you even when hatred is all you could offer me and I deserve it.
My little hellion, you deserve everything this universe has to offer and I am willing to bring them all to you.
All I ask is for another chance.
Let's start over.
You own me, wife. Heart, soul and mind. You always have.
I truly and utterly love you with every cell of my body.
Please have me back."
Holding the letter to my heart, I sobbed the whole night.