Chapter 20: Night At The Balcony

Chapter 20

Her eyes widened, not expecting him to pull that move, not after all he had done. Was she okay? Hell no! She felt like she was falling apart and no damn person cared.

It was terrible enough that she had all this on her mind, but here this man was, adding fuel to her already burning problems.

“I’m fine,” she took a step back from him, her face twisting into a scornful expression. She wasn’t fine. She might be, if this man could just leave her alone and quit irking her.

Her eyes remained fixed on him. He got back to his feet, placing his hand in his pocket as an enigmatic smile formed on his lips like he owned the world—the ground on which she now stood.

“Please leave,” Anna blurted. Her control slipped, and she didn’t even know how she remained polite at this moment after what he did.

Yes, she had made a mistake going through those doors that night rather than heading back to her room. But why? Why had he dragged the innocent maid into this? He said he wanted to punish her, but why not punish her alone rather than drag someone else with her?

“Huh? But the night has just begun,” he covered the distance which she had earlier created.

Sometimes Anna wondered if this man even thought before he did stuff. She was to get married to his brother—in fact, they would be engaged a month from now—yet he persistently came to her balcony in the middle of the night.

The last thing Anna needed at this moment was an additional problem to add to the already huge pile of problems. If someone caught them here at this moment, it would raise eyebrows. She didn’t want to be involved in any scandal, especially one with him.

Not sparing him another word, she turned to leave, but then his next words brought her feet to an abrupt halt.

“I can get you out of the clan, Anna. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?” Her eyes narrowed on hearing his words.

Captivating, but she couldn’t dare ignore the dagger which hung above her throat. She couldn’t trust this man. All he had done so far was get her into more trouble.

“I don’t want to escape from here. I’m happy with my life, and there’s nothing else I want aside from being next to Domenico as his wife,” she retorted without turning back to look at him.

Her own words left a bitter taste in her mouth. The very thought of it materializing sickened her, but anything to get rid of him.

“And Rocco?”

The two words had her head spinning to stare at him with widened eyes. Mischief swirled in his eyes as he held her gaze and now had her full attention wrapped around his fingers.

Despite how hard she had tried to be nonchalant, her expression easily gave her away—one mixed with shock and fear.

“Don’t you want to see him?” He twisted the rusted dagger in her heart, for it to begin bleeding again.

He could see how vulnerable she had become at the mention of his name, how her defense wall easily crumbled—pathetic.

She pushed her plump pink lips in and out of her mouth as she thought about what to say. He had left her speechless once again.

Unlike the day at the hospital, she now remembered she had uttered his name before passing out that day.

Anna cleared her throat. “Why would I jeopardize my future for a mere friend?” she questioned. Her eyes held unspoken pain, which she didn’t need to speak out before unknowingly conveying it to Leone.

Her words felt like thorns pricking her heart. She was still, in fact, in love with him, and once she got everything settled, she would be with him again. But for now, hiding him from these bloodthirsty mafias was her number one priority.

Unbeknownst to her, Leone easily saw past her lies and had caught the couple together that day at the fair.

He ran his tongue, which now had a pin at the end, across the walls of his mouth as he stared at the little girl in front of him.

“Sure. I also run off with a bag, ready to go, in the middle of the night to meet a mere friend. Who knew we had so much in common?” he said sarcastically.

Anna froze. If she hadn’t figured it out before, she did now. This man’s brain worked faster than lightning. How he easily added the pieces together left her gobsmacked.

She could deny it, but she bet he had read every flicker of emotion that passed through her face. How he had connected the dots surprised her.

She gulped, digging her nails into her palm. She should be walking away, ignoring this man, but her feet had a mind of their own as they remained glued to the floor.

His eyes mirrored hers, as if drawing answers from her—answers she could never willingly say to him. The real question on her mind was why this man was suddenly interested in Rocco?

If only she knew that drinking that bottle of bourbon that night could cause this much trouble, she would never have done it. Not only had she ended up naked in Leone’s bathtub, she had also drunkenly mentioned Rocco’s name.

It felt like this man was patiently waiting for her to slip up so he could use it against her. Her blood ran cold at the thought of what else he might have found out—what else he knew about?

This man enjoyed her plight. Of course he would find more and more ways to make her miserable. She raised her chin, her eyes locking with his.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” her face stoic, her eyes glared at his. “I don’t know if you forgot, but I will be getting married to your brother, Domenico. You shouldn’t be here with me at this hour of the night.”

His jaw ticked. “It’s barely 1 a.m., Anna. That night you were naked in my tub, in my room, wasn’t it 2 a.m.?” He placed his hand on her shoulder. “We still have time on our hands. Don’t fret.”

His eyes bored deep into hers. He squeezed her shoulder, not too hard, but enough to let her know she couldn’t escape from him.