CHIARA
I leaned against the door, trying to tame my ragged breath.
I saw it. No matter how hard I'd tried to ignore it, I saw the bulge on his pants, and it was… tempting. My cheeks heated. "Goodness," I fan my face and strolled to the open window, shivering when I was hit by a cold breeze. I felt a little relieved.
The weather here was a little cold at evening or nighttime. I let my eyes wander to the orange sun and keep my dirty thoughts blocked in my mind. I couldn't help but ask. I swear his endearment game was slowly becoming my undoing. First, it was love then baby. But now tesoro? I couldn't afford such a distraction.
Today's event at the castle was enough to bewilder me. The man was unlike the one I recognized. And it was a pure shock to me that a feral side like that existed in him. The side that bled the needs rather than the wants, the animosity and intensity of getting what you wanted at any cost, shone in his eyes. I recognized that look very well because it existed inside me too. It's only then did I realize that we shared a deranged obsession when it came to getting what we wanted.
The phone vibrated on the nightstand. My heart slammed in my chest, and my feet quickly paddled to it. Xander's name displayed on the screen, making me gulp before picking up.
"Xan?"
"Hey, gorgeous."
"Have you seen them? How are they? Are they alright??"
"Yeah, I think so."
"You're a bad liar, Xan."
A deep sigh came from his end. "I haven't seen your mother, but I saw Marco yesterday."
"How…is he?"
"Not in good shape. But he said not to worry about them and that he has found a way to keep your mother safe for the time being."
Of course, not in good shape. What did you expect, Chiara? "What did he mean?" My eyes blurred.
"He didn't give me the details and just asked me to relay the message."
"Okay. Thank you, Xander."
"Wait, how are you doing? Are you okay?"
"I will never be okay. I'm afraid not until I kill Antonio." I said and ended the call.
Tears rolled down my cheeks, my fingers gripping the phone hard.
That was Antonio. The man who didn't care about harming his own flesh to get what he wanted. You couldn't expect anything else from a monster like him. But he needed to expect every possible damage coming from a monster that he had created with his own hands and his ways. I was the monster that he knew but he wouldn't see me coming. I sent a quick text to one of my many connections in Milan. It was about time.
Despite the cold, I changed into a swimsuit and headed to the balcony. It's better swimming than letting my building anxiety take over. There, I found Storm sitting on one of the pool beds. Her one leg was outstretched while the other was dangling down. A bottle of beer in her hand and her eyes were facing the setting sun and the dark clouds around it. Another bottle of beer was set down beside her.
Instead of interfering with her, I untied the kimono and let it fall to my feet. Cold hugged my skin before I dived into the pool. The water pulled me in, deafened my ears, and soaked me until we became one. I took a couple of laps, feeling the tension leaving my body slowly at a time. I loved cold weather rather than warmer weather. Coldness helped me freeze every emotion inside me and shut everything else. Until all I could think about was the prick in my skin and in my heart as though a thorn was poking me. It was very relaxing.
It was already dark when I decided to get out of the pool. Water trickled down my body. Wet hair covering my face and some clung on my shoulders. I pushed it back, my eyes watching Storm, who sat in the same position. You could mistake her for a statue if it weren't for her hand moving to drink the beer.
I used the towels placed on the pool bed and dried my skin before picking up the kimono and wearing it again, tying it tight on my tummy. "It's fucking freezing out here," I uttered before I could stop myself. I took another towel and started to dry my hair. Storm looked at me, at the pool, back at me before rolling her eyes and returning to stare at the dark sky.
A small smile formed on my lips. Yup, I understood whatever she said to me without even moving her mouth. I knew her very well. "You haven't changed at all after all these years," I said. I almost thought she was going to ignore me again until she placed down the empty bottle and said, "Change is a choice, and I can see you've made yours." She said, raising her head, and took my full form in. "I see a lot of changes." She added.
I crossed my hands over my chest, smiling widely. "And in your opinion, what changed?" I asked, regretting it the next second. "I thought you were never one to care about anybody's opinions. But since you're asking, at least now you are less stupid than you used to be." She deadpanned, nonchalance dripping in her tone.
My smile vanished. "You rotten eggs." I scoffed, "I was never stupid. But since we're at it, you are still the ice cube that you used to be, and I refuse to be the one to melt it." I said and turned to leave, but a sly grin tugged at my lips, so I turned to face her. "The only person I'm planning to melt is your boss."
The beer paused before it could reach her lips. She sat upright, glaring at me as she placed down the bottle. That was more like it. Here we go, Chiara. She then stood up, coming face to face with me. "My boss may not see this act that you put on because of his foolish and blind feelings for you, but I see right through you." She paused, fisting her hand. "And I want you to know that my radar is anywhere you go. Give me one good reason, and I won't hesitate to take you down. I don't care who the fuck you are." Her cold tone and her slit siren eyes only made me feel even more daring and amused. Wondering if she was truly into his boss or not.
"Are you sure you're going to get paid for the part-time job? I mean, thank you. I like the service, but there is nothing to worry about, Miss Furious." I let the towel slide down from my hand. "I'm not going to harm your boss, only melting him with love, okay?" I started to walk, but then paused again. "Ah, have a good freezing night, Storm." I walked back inside, a sinister smile forming on my lips. I'll never forgive her for leaving without a word that day.