Now in his life

Chapter Five

Fabiola’s POV

I froze.

Was he awake? But he just spoke. Does he sleep talk? I held my breath as I watched Alessandro slowly sit up, and I sat back on the bed, wrapping my arms around me, giving him as much distance as possible. My eyes went wide as he began to stare at me. I quickly looked away.

“Erm… is.. is this your bedroom?” I muttered.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I stole a glance at him and saw that he rolled his eyes. He was staring at a picture of himself by the bed. I swallowed. He was grumpy. I take it he was not a morning person. My heart was pounding. I clutched the sheets tighter to my chest. What do I do now? What do I say now? Did we… did I…

I tried to steal another look, and we locked gaze. I quickly looked away. It felt like the duvet around my body was now made of embarrassment. Alessandro chuckled.

“I took your clothes off,” Alessandro drawled. My face went bright red. What!

“Oh… okay,” I muttered, unable to look him in the face while clutching the blanket tightly around my body.

“Erm…” I looked up to see him staring at me. His pupils had dilated. What was he thinking of? “Did… did we…?” I began.

Alessandro began to smirk. “You don’t remember, do you?”

Oh God!

*******************************************************************************************

“Come on, Fabiola, spill it all!” Isabella grabbed me as soon as I made it into the club. I chuckled and cleared my throat. This was exactly what I needed after what happened with Alessandro this morning. So I told her everything from the beginning. I thought about it before I got into the car, heading to the club. I knew there were questions on everyone’s lips, but I felt I owed only one an explanation.

When I finished telling her how everything happened, Isabella replied with a weird look before she plastered a smile on her face.

“That was nice,” she said. I raised an eyebrow. I was not one to brag about where I am now. I mean, being debt-free and Sienna responding to treatment with the money Alessandro gave me was enough for me, but the reaction from Isabella was the last thing I expected.

“No wonder you looked beautiful in that gown. It could only be money,” she said, taking a sip of her drink. I froze.

“Isa… erm… we cool right?”

“Perfectly,” she laughed. “I’m obviously happy for you. I know you will see me as beneath you now,” she pointed at me, smiling.

Suddenly, it felt like I had divulged my secrets to the devil. A few minutes later, my other colleagues at the club came around to say hi and express their surprise. They joked that they never once thought Alessandro—the most eligible bachelor, billionaire, and eye candy was my boyfriend. While they joked that I had the real power because Mariano was fired, all I could see was the faces Isabella was making. I think I heard her snort at some point.

I knew I had made a mistake telling her everything.

“Fabiola!” I turned in the direction the voice came from. It was Ella. She was the youngest and funniest in the club. My lips were beginning to spread into a smile until she moved aside, and I froze. It was Alessandro behind her.

I swallowed. His face was a thunder rumbling before the rain. And it was not the quiet thunder. My heart raced. What did I do this time?

The ride back to the house wasn’t any better. When he asked the driver and his assistant to leave the car and asked that I get in, it felt like a trap. Like he was going to take me to some remote place and hack me to death. I couldn’t say no to him because I didn’t know what he could do to me. Alessandro slammed the door shut and went over to his side.

As he drove, I watched his hands clench tight around the steering wheel. He looked straight ahead, refusing to spare me a glance.

“Ales… Alessandro, is everything alright?” I squeaked. He didn’t reply. It was just a long, icy pause. His silence was louder than a gong. I blinked. What was wrong now? Did he regret bringing me into his life?

I had noticed this look right before he left the room this morning. He got a text, and suddenly his face changed entirely. I was restless. Going through social media to distract myself was the worst thing I could have done. Tell me why my face and that of Alessandro were plastered on pages. People were talking about us. Suddenly, I felt naked. They were like vultures, and I was the carcass. Amidst all this, I was happy it was just insults — until I saw a picture.

My heart skipped a beat. It was of me carrying a tray in the club. And from then on, people began to call me a hooker. I wanted the ground to open and swallow me. I never once thought agreeing to Alessandro’s plans would do this to me. And then the insults piled up as I read. I knew I shouldn’t, but I read them. As I read, it felt like I was a second-degree burn survivor edging closer to fire. Every word hurt. They said I didn’t deserve Alessandro, and all those things they said ate at my fragile self-esteem.

A tear dropped down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it off. I glanced to the side, and there was Alessandro, and then it hit me. No wonder.

As soon as we were in the elevator, away from the maids and bodyguards, I tried to find out what was wrong. So I blurted the first thing on my mind.

“If you regret all this, don’t you think I should leave?”

Alessandro stared at me. His same old cold eyes and deadpan look. I wrapped my hands around myself, suddenly feeling small.

The elevator dinged, and he walked out without saying a word to me.

That night was the longest night ever. Sleep seemed to have eluded me, and so I sat up playing what-ifs in my head. By morning, I ran straight to his room and knocked. I needed to know where I stood in all this. I was prepared to leave, but I was not going to pay back anything. I didn’t ask him for all this. He proposed this.

I knocked softly, and there was no answer. Just before I could knock again, the door swung open. A woman opened the door. My eyes widened in horror and pain. He had someone to warm his bed?

I swallowed. It was none of my business, but… but why was I feeling hurt?

“Hi,” she smirked. I blinked. Wait, I know her. Was she not the one at the club launch — the one Alessandro left me to dance with? Only then did I see her outfit. She was in an oversized white shirt.

Wait — that was Alessandro’s. My chest tightened. I could see Alessandro behind her. He was backing me, his phone pressed to his ear.

“I’m sorry to disturb,” I mumbled. “I’ll come back later.” I turned.

“Oh, I know you. The fake girlfriend.” I stopped. She smirked. “The ex that can’t let go.”

“Excuse me?” I felt my cheeks redden with embarrassment.

“You heard me,” she chuckled. She turned around and came back to me. “Alessandro is too busy now,” she said sweetly, leaning on the doorframe, hands on her waist. “Busy making plans to take her.”

I froze. “Who?”

She laughed. It was cruel and painful. “Don’t play dumb. He knows your secret.”

My heart crashed. “What secret?”

She leaned in close and whispered, “Your daughter.”

I stopped breathing. My eyes widen.

“Alessandro knows — and he’s going to take her away from you.”

My heart pounded, and I could hear the blood rush to my ears.

“He has money, he has power. You stand no chance.”

My throat closed. It felt like I had a noose around my neck. I was losing oxygen by the second.

My Sienna.

Take her away?

No.

No.