Katerina Dale
Four days, nineteen hours and 32 seconds.
With pale glazed over eyes, I stared at the clock ticking on the wall in Arosio's luxrious dining room as he sat across from me with his intense dark gaze never leaving me. The room was in complete silence, much like the last few days. I can vaguely recall becoming unresponsive as soon as I awoke after passing out in the De Luca family mansion. Everyone tried to get me to talk but no matter how much I wanted to, the words would not leave my lips. Images of my grandmama abandoning me as her cold words replayed in my mind over and over again took my heart and mind hostage.
This afternoon, Arosio's parents told him to bring me back to his personal mansion and said that they would keep Elijah distracted with them. They thought that a change of scenery would be better for me because from the moment I awoke in the De Luca family mansion, I ended up returning to the main living room each day while silently staring at the doors my grandmama left through. Adriano and Alanzo had tried to coax me into eating food but I couldn't bring myself to eat anything. I only managed to eat a little bit when Arosio threatened me to do so or else he'd track my grandmama down in Canada and hurt her.
"Eat something, please tesoro," Arosio's deep voice pierced through the silence as he sat at the head of the dining table with me sitting silently on his right. I stared at him while blinking my blank eyes a few times before slowly lifting the spoon up to my lips. I missed Elijah deeply but I knew it was better this way. I don't want him to see me like this, it would break his heart since he still thought of me as his mother.
Dinner progressed in silence as Arosio finished his meal long before I did and bore holes into the side of my head as his dark gaze never left me. I could tell that he was frustrated at my lack of response and the fact that I was barely eating anything on my plate seemed to infuriate him even more. Just as he was about to speak, a maid quickly approached the dining table and bowed towards Arosio before turning to me with her hand outstretched.
"Ms. Avery, your things have been shifted from your childhood home to here. The other maids found your personal belongings in this bag including your cellphone, wallet and passport. They were not sure where to leave these important items so I have brought it to you," the maid spoke lowly, as if she couldn't bare to speak so many words in front of Arosio. I couldn't blame her since Arosio's powerful presence made it difficult to even breathe.
But my mind remained frozen on her first two words as they repeated in my mind over and over again. With shaky hands, I reached out and tightly grasped onto the handles of my bag as the maid stared at me in confusion when she met my teary gaze.
"I...am no longer...Ms. Avery," the first words I have spoken since passing out, left my trembling lips as I slowly opened my passport and saw my picture with the name 'Katerina Avery' written beside it. My hands moved towards the Coach wallet that my grandpapa had gifted me for my birthday last year as I stared at my driver's license and other pieces of identification with the same name written on them.
"Uh...I apologize Ms....Ms. uh... Ms. Dale?" the maid questioned out nervously and I could feel Arosio's anger intensify even more as I choked back a sob. Clutching my belongings tightly, my gaze remained on my lap as tears fell from my eyes and hit my trembling hands.
"I...was never...Ms. Dale," the words left me feeling more broken than ever before and I couldn't bare to sit there for another second. Pushing the chair out, I stood up with my bag held tightly against my chest and ran out of the dining room. Arosio's infuriated voice rang through the silent mansion as he screamed at the maid and fired her on the spot.
In any other situation, I would have ran back into the dining room and asked him not to fire an innocent worker. But right now, the black void in my heart seemed to be expanding with each second that went by, leaving my mind and heart in a blank state.
Just who am I?
***
Many hours went by until I heard the sound of footsteps slowly approaching me from behind but I didn't bother to turn around and greet him. For some reason, I could always tell when it was Arosio who was coming closer to me. Maybe it was the confident stride of his walk or the powerful and demanding presence emitting from his body.
Before, after running away from the dining room, I found myself sitting outside in Arosio's backyard with my feet dipped into the in ground pool. Luckily, I was dressed in a red summer dress that Eliana had helped me into this morning as I stared at her emotionlessly. I wanted to apologize to her and tell her that I could dress myself but the words were stuck in my throat so I helplessly watched as she helped me get dressed with a motherly smile gracing her elegant features.
An hour ago, Arosio's head housekeeper, Mrs. Cavili, tried to persuade me to come back inside and go to bed as it was nearing midnight. She said that Arosio had gone out to complete important business and that he would not be pleased if he came home and saw me sitting outside in the cold weather in a daze. I vaguely remember feeling bitter at the thought of Arosio leaving me alone to go work but I brushed it off and asked her to bring me some red wine instead.
Mrs. Cavili had hesitated for a few moments before sighing aloud and leaving. She returned a few minutes later with a bottle of red wine, a wine glass and a blanket. After draping the blanket over my trembling shoulders and pouring me a glass, she left me alone to my thoughts as I downed the contents of the glass within seconds before drinking straight from the bottle instead. That's how the next hour passed, until I just heard his footsteps slowly approach me.
"Why are you sitting here alone, tesoro? It's cold outside and your wounds are still healing. Let's go," Arosio spoke softly as he stalked towards me and tried to help me up but I brushed his hands away. My wounds on my forehead and feet had already healed and the bandages were taken off yesterday by the De Luca's family doctor. He was just overreacting and being overprotective as usual.
I could feel Arosio glaring into the back of my head with waves of fury radiating off of his body for disobeying him but I couldn't care less what he does to me at this point. However, instead of dragging me away by force like I expected him to, he simply released a sigh of frustration before wrapping his black suit jacket around my shivering body and sitting down beside me while dipping his own feet into the pool. His black dress pants were rolled up to his knees with his white button-up dress shirt also rolled up to display his muscular forearms and tattoo sleeves.
By his attire, I could tell that he had just returned from completing whatever work he had but I couldn't care less. Of course he had work that was more important than me. I am nothing but a stranger to this man and that's how it should be. But why did this thought make my heart ache even more?
Silently, I stared across the pool at the full moon and stars dancing across the night sky. The view was the same just a few moments ago but suddenly, with Arosio seated beside me, I felt at peace for the first time in a long time and didn't want it to be ruined by anyone. Taking another big gulp of the red wine, I sighed in content but frowned lightly when Arosio suddenly ripped the bottle out of my hands and threw it aside onto the grass.
A minute passed by in complete silence before five minutes and then ten minutes. Unlike what I thought he would do, Arosio remained perfectly patient as he sat beside me with his dark eyes staring at me the whole time. I half-expected him to get angry with me and yell at me for being so unresponsive but he remained quiet and left me alone to my own thoughts. Not being able to feel his intense gaze on me for another second, I turned away from the shining moon and gazed into his dark eyes instead.
"Why?" the questioned left my lips before I could stop it and he stared at me with confusion etched onto his handsome face. The light stubble on his typically clean-shaven face showed that he had been distracted for the past few days but I refused to believe that it was because he is worried about me.
"What do you mean, cucciola?" Arosio's deep voice sent shivers down my spine as he leaned closer to me and raised his warm hand up to gently caress the side of my slightly flushed face. He held a small smile on his usual cold, stoic face and I found myself leaning into the warmth of his hand as such a small action on his lips filled me with light and happiness.
"Why, Arosio? Why are you being so kind to me? Just a few days ago, I slapped you and ran away from you. Don't you know that I am a curse, my loved ones always abandon me so why would you--" my words were cut off by Arosio gently pressing his warm lips against my cold lips as my eyes widened in shock. Not sure if it was due to the wine, but I found myself leaning into the kiss and wanted to deepen it but he had already pulled away. He stared down at me with darkened eyes and leaned his forehead against my own as he breathed out heavily.
"Never call yourself a curse, my sweet angel. If you ever do that again, I will punish you and I won't be so gentle next time," Arosio stated huskily as my cheeks burned red and I pulled away hastily from him once my eyes landed on his perfect lips again.
I want to kiss him again.
And this thought alone, terrified me tremendously.
"But...I...I don't even have a family name...everyone left me..." I whispered through fresh hot tears and avoided his dark gaze. His presence alone filled me with warmth and filled up the void in my heart. I was even talking more now than I had in the past few days and I could tell that this pleased him greatly as the corners of his lips curved up into a wider smile.
"You do have a family name, tesoro. You will forever be Mrs. Katerina De Luca," his shocking words left me speechless as my gaze snapped up to his and I could see every bit of sincerity in his eyes that matched his voice. Never leaving my stunned gaze, he slowly took something from behind him and placed them into my trembling hands.
My wallet and passport.
"Wha...what do you...mean..." I trailed off in shock as my heart finally began to beat again for the first time in a while. Opening the wallet, my mouth fell open as I saw my driver's license and other identification pieces replaced with brand new cards holding the name 'Katerina De Luca'.
With shaky hands, I took my passport and saw the same name written on it as well. My teary gaze snapped up to Arosio who was gazing at me in anticipation and it was the first time that I saw slight fear on his attractive features.
Wait, is this why he was gone for several hours tonight? Was he preparing this for me to make me feel better?
Shocking the both of us, I tackled him into the biggest hug and he wrapped his strong arms around me within seconds. The sudden force used took him by surprise, making him fall back into the pool with my arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
Breathing heavily, Arosio pulled me flush against his body after we resurfaced from under the water. My legs automatically wrapped around his waist as I clung onto his neck with our faces only inches apart from each other. For the next few seconds, only the sound of our heavy breathing filled the silent night as we remained perfectly still in the water and continued to stare into each other's eyes.
Arosio's intense gaze traveled from my wide eyes to my full lips and I shivered as his gaze darkened considerably when I licked my lips unconsciously. My heart was racing faster than it ever had before and for the first time in many days, I finally felt alive again. I wanted to hold onto this feeling longer which encouraged me tighten my hold around Arosio's neck before doing something that both of us never expected me to do.
I took one look at his handsome face before crashing my lips onto his.
***
Stirring awake, I winced at the soreness in my lower body while my eyes took a second to adjust to the bright sunlight shining through the window. It looked as if the sunrise had just occurred moments ago, making my eyes snap to the alarm clock on the black nightstand beside me, only to see that it was five in the morning.
Lifting my body from the silk covers, I gasped in pure shock when I realized that I was completely naked underneath the bed sheets. There was a tight grip around my waist and I turned around and almost screamed when I noticed the man who I had been snuggled up to just a few moments ago.
My eyes instantly widened in surprise when I took in Arosio's sleeping form beside me and I didn't have to peak underneath the covers to realize that he was just as naked as I was. My heart began to beat incredibly fast while I slowly removed his tattooed arm from around my waist and thanked the heavens when he only stirred a little bit before going back to sleep.
I couldn't help but stare at him for a few moments longer since I had never seen him look so vulnerable before. There were slight bags under his eyes, indicating his lack of sleep for the past few days and my heart clenched at the thought of me being the cause of that. Almost on instinct, my hand reached out towards his handsome face but just as I was about to gently caress the side of his face, my eyes caught sight of what was laying beside him on the other nightstand.
A gun.
Holy shit.
How could I be so stupid? How could I forget who this dangerous man was?
Within seconds, I had shuffled away from the bed before picking up my red summer dress from the floor, only to realize that it had been ripped into several pieces. My face instantly flushed as the memories from last night invaded my mind but I quickly shook them away and ran into Arosio's walk-in wardrobe.
There was a long mirror on the side and I took a second to look at my naked body with my neck and chest covered with red love bite marks almost everywhere. I fought the blush from creeping up and looked towards all the expensive clothing.
I couldn't find any of my clothing which made me realize that Arosio had ordered the maids to place them into a guest bedroom yesterday afternoon since he wanted me to feel more comfortable. I was both shocked and grateful for his gentleman behavior but that didn't help me right now since I had no clothes to wear. Sighing, I quickly pulled on a pair of his black sweatpants and a designer black button-up shirt before tip toeing back into the room and releasing a sigh of relief when I saw that he was still fast asleep.
Without wasting another second, I ran out of Arosio's bedroom and headed towards the backyard. Thankfully, Arosio takes his privacy seriously so the housekeepers only clock into work at seven in the morning. Right now, only his guards should be working at the front gate but I can sneak out the back gate since Arosio didn't tend to keep any guards there.
My frantic wide eyes kept wandering around my surroundings as I pushed my aching legs towards the backyard. Once I reached it, I thanked the heavens because my passport, wallet and cellphone were laying on the ground exactly where I had thrown them yesterday before I had hugged Arosio. Quickly gathering them into my arms, I sprinted towards the back gate and looked around for a guard before sighing in relief when I saw none.
Once I was out the gates, I took my cellphone out and booked an Uber before sprinting further away from Arosio's mansion. He literally lived almost in the middle of nowhere and I cried out in joy when an Uber actually connected with my location. I stopped running when I was two streets away from Arosio's personal mansion and waited impatiently for the driver to show up. My breathing was coming out in short pants and my whole body was still sore from last night.
"Kat, babe is that you? Why haven't you returned any of my calls?" Ethan's frantic voice yelled into the phone once I called him as I waved the Uber driver down when he passed me by accident. The car stopped as I ran towards it and quickly shuffled inside while looking over my shoulder for anyone who may have followed me.
"The airport please, drive fast!" I instructed the driver before turning my attention back to my phone.
"No time to talk, honey. I will be flying to New York in a few hours, can you please pick me up from the airport and let me stay with you for a few days?" I pleaded in the phone and could practically feel Ethan glaring at me from the other end of it.
"Of course but I want to hear every detail once you get here," Ethan demanded as I kept looking into the car's rearview mirror to see if anyone was following us.
"I promise, I will. I'll call you once I get to New York. Bye, I love you," looking down at my phone with only ten percent of battery left, I quickly bid him goodbye and focused on checking the mirrors again. Good, no one is following us, hopefully that will remain the case until I safely board the flight afterwards.
"Miss? You okay? Seems like you're running from something, should we call the cops?" the driver, an African-American who looked to be in his early 30s, lifted his brow at me with a small smile.
I wanted to scream yes and tell him that I wasn't running from something but rather from someone. A very powerful and dangerous someone.
However, I kept silent before shaking my head at him and sending him a reassuring smile. Calling the police wouldn't solve anything, besides I'm sure the Mafia probably has ties with the police anyway.
'Forget whatever happened last night, Arosio De Luca. I had momentarily lost my senses and forgot who you really are. Up until now, I have lived for others and kept seeking the shelter and warmth of a family. But from now on, I want to live only as Katerina and have a happy, peaceful life with people who accept me for who I am. That is something that you and your tainted, dangerous world will never be able to give me' I thought to myself as I leaned my head against the window and prayed to be able to successfully escape from the Mafia Boss this time.
****
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