beyond the glass wall

“Are you crazy? I’m still standing right here.”

I swiftly turned away from him and focused all my attention on the gold tiles on the wall. I didn’t know how long I stared at them. I heard the sound of the water being turned off. I heard Lorenzo getting into the bath. But I still didn’t move from my spot. I stayed fixed, staring at that wall.

“Are you going to get out or do you want to look?” Lorenzo said.

Those words were enough incentive for me to get moving again.

I walked out of his bathroom as fast as I could, making sure to shut the door on my way out. I didn’t need him to appear half naked before me again. My head was already swimming with images of him and his bare chest. What I needed right now was to get rid of them. What I needed even more was some fresh air.

I was on my way out of Lorenzo’s bedroom when the view from his glass wall caught my attention. It overlooked the city and the… garden. Lorenzo had a rooftop garden. Why hadn’t I noticed it sooner?

I slid open the glass door and walked out. What greeted me was an abundance of exotic plants. I loved plants. They had always calmed me down whenever I felt stressed. But what drew me most to this garden was the abundance of rose bushes, all in various colors—pink, yellow, blue, and red.

They were all so beautiful I couldn’t stop admiring them. I plucked one and brought it to my nose. The scent took me back to my dream of that boy with heterochromia eyes, and I smiled, missing him already. Would he appear again in my dream? Would he still smile at me like before? Would he—

“What are you doing here?”

I startled at the sudden intrusion and snapped my eyes open to see Lorenzo glaring at me. He had his hand wrapped around my wrist, and I could feel his wrath in waves.

“Lorenzo, you scared me,” I said, my eyes wide with fright.

“You are not supposed to be here,” he growled in my face.

“Lorenzo, let me go. You’re hurting me,” I winced, but he didn’t listen. Instead, he tightened his hold on my wrist even more.

“You do not have permission to enter this garden. Get out. Now!” he shouted.

I didn’t need to be told twice. I raced back inside and locked myself in my room.

Lorenzo woke up at four this morning. He felt unsettled. He didn’t know what to do with Amelia. He had so many plans laid out for her prior to her arrival, but now that she was here, he was at a loss as to what to do first. All he knew was that he despised her. He despised everything about her, because she was the one who took his brother away from him.

And yesterday, he couldn’t get away fast enough. The moment she signed the contract, he took off. He had only returned late into the night. He slept for a couple of hours, nightmares of his brother and father plaguing him. He got up and went to the gym to clear his mind.

He didn’t know how long he was on the treadmill, running and running until he was out of breath, until he couldn’t run anymore and literally collapsed on the gym floor, just staring at the ceiling in a catatonic state, wishing and wishing that his brother would come back to him.

Would he ever hear Gian speak again? Would he ever see Gian smile again?

Pain wrenched his heart and tears flowed down his cheeks. Why couldn’t he be strong? Why did he have to cry whenever he was alone? He just wished the people he loved would come back to him. But no matter how hard he wished, they would never return from the grave.

Was this his curse? Was he meant to go through this again and again?

As soon as he loved someone, loved them enough to want them as his family, they died.

He couldn’t take this pain anymore. This was the last straw. He vowed he’d get back at the people who hurt his brother. He’d crush them in his palms until they died a painful death. And that included Amelia. She had begged him to die, but death was too easy a way out. She needed to experience the same suffering he’d gone through. And her suffering must start now.

Lorenzo exited the gym and took the elevator back to the top floor. He got out and pushed the door open, and the first person he saw was Amelia, amber pupils staring wide at him.

“Planning to escape?” he said, catching her red-handed.

“No. I…”

He didn’t listen to her. He grabbed her arm and dragged her into his bedroom, throwing her in and shutting the door.

A woman like her had too many excuses. He was so fucking tired of hearing excuses. If he caught her trying to escape again, he’d lock her in her room like a prisoner.

He went into his walk-in wardrobe and grabbed a towel. He told her to make his bath. But she was ignorant. She was a fucking daydreamer. She was constantly staring off into space or staring at him for no particular reason. And it fucking pissed him off. Even when he was just inches apart from her, she looked like she was staring through him, as if she could see right through his soul, and he fucking hated it. He needed her here in the present, not daydreaming about some pathetic shit in her head. How could Gian fall in love with this kind of woman?

After much urging, she ran off to make his bath. But she was taking far too much time. He stormed in after her, seeing her daydreaming again. And the tub wasn’t even half full.

He started stripping. He didn’t have time for this. He was sticky and dirty. He needed to be clean. He got in the tub and was already settling in when he saw she was still standing there, staring at the wall.

“Are you going to get out or do you want to look?”

That kind of woke her up, and she exited the room. He relaxed against the headrest.

Fuck! How was he supposed to deal with her when he was so wound up every time he saw her? He couldn’t understand himself right now. And it fucking scared him, because he was usually so sure of everything. But seeing Amelia rattled him, and he didn’t like it.

He scrubbed himself clean and exited the bath before heading into the shower to wash off all the dirt. He felt much more refreshed. After dressing himself, he headed outside, expecting Amelia to be in the kitchen. Except that wasn’t where he found her. She was outside, in his private rose garden.

“What are you doing here?”

He rushed into the garden and pulled her back from the ledge.

She gazed at him like she was lost in a dream before reality dawned on her when she registered his face. “Lorenzo, you scared me.”

And that was when he saw her holding the rose. He was furious. How dare she pick his rose.

“You are not supposed to be here,” he lashed out at her.

He was so fucking pissed he couldn’t think straight. He clamped onto her wrist and jerked her toward him.

“Lorenzo, let me go. You’re hurting me,” he heard her say.

But this only fueled his anger even more. He ignored her plea and shouted at her.

“You do not have permission to enter this garden. Get out. Now!”

She retreated, staring at him with fright before she turned tail and ran off.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

She had rattled him again. He needed to calm down or else he’d combust.

He plucked a rose and brought it to his nose. This would help him calm down. This would help—fuck! The scent of roses didn’t calm him down one bit. It only elevated his anger because now he associated Amelia with the scent of roses.

After a good ten minutes out in the open air, he’d managed to calm down. He headed back inside, expecting Amelia to be in the kitchen, but it was Ming-May who greeted him.

“Master Niko, would you like your fruit juice?”

“Do your other tasks, Ming-May. I’ll make it myself.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ming-May nodded and left.

He liked Ming-May. She was a good housekeeper. She didn’t intrude in his personal space and didn’t ask questions. That was how he liked his staff to be.