Chapter 26: Back Off

Chapter 26

Anna sat on her sofa in her room while Chiara helped her undo her hair. Despite the fact she was currently in her room, she could still hear Leone’s voice, who stood right outside her room talking to the now recuperated butler. 

She felt anxious, exhausted, and overwhelmed by how the night had unfolded. Her head was in a mess, and it was all because of one person—Leone Vicenzo.

She had fully convinced herself that his number one motive was to make her lose her mind—and watch it happen. 

“All done, ma’am,” Chiara said, and it was then she noticed her hair had been unclipped and it fell down her back. “Should I proceed with helping you take off the dress, ma’am?”

Anna shook her head. “You can leave. Goodnight.”

Chiara bowed politely and turned to leave, but even Anna easily noticed how scared she was to walk out the door—probably because the man who had been so hellbent on ending her life stood right outside. 

Her shoulders were stiff as her trembling hand held the doorknob. “You don’t mind taking me to the kitchen, right? I need water.” Anna stood up from the bed and Chiara gingerly nodded.

“Of course not, ma’am.”  

With that, they both went outside the room, and Leone spared Anna a glance. Chiara’s head was completely bowed, and if it were possible, it could have rolled off her neck and fallen to the floor. Unknowingly to her, Leone had even forgotten her existence. 

Anna accompanied Chiara down the stairs. She refused her from bringing her water, and with that, Anna bid her goodnight and ascended the flights of stairs.

She finally got a good look at Steward, who seemed considerably fine now—except she intended on going through the glass doors again. 

He bowed at her politely, but Anna completely understood if he held a great level of resentment towards her. Steward walked away from them, leaving her with just Leone.

She cleared her throat, staring at everything else but him. “We have to talk.” Anna said nothing else before she got to her room, and as she had expected, Leone followed her inside.

Her heart hitched once he closed the door behind him, leaving them with nothing but silence.

Anna had made sure to create a huge distance between them, and she was glad he didn’t try to cover it up.

“I don’t like the way you touched me,” Anna spoke softly, and it took everything within her to stare into his gray eyes. “I won’t tolerate any more of it from you, Leone.”

Even if he had seen her try to leave home that night, even if he knew she had gone through those doors late at night, and he knew she hadn’t slipped and she had shot Steward to cover it all up—as terrible as it sounded—she couldn’t let him do whatever he wanted with her because of that. She wouldn’t let him use that as leverage. She was better off telling the Don himself than let that happen. 

He began taking slow, deliberate steps towards her, and Anna’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart raced. She stretched her hand towards him. “Don’t come any closer,” she warned, but it all fell on deaf ears as he covered the distance within short seconds.

She found her back pressed against the doorframe. He held her outstretched hand, placing it on his chest as his eyes held hers. At this rate, she might just develop a heart problem at how fast this man made her heart race.

He gently squeezed her smaller hands. “I’m sorry, Peach,” he said softly.

Anna almost couldn’t believe what she heard him say.

She blinked several times to make sure it was Leone standing in front of her—it was really him, and he had just said that.

“If you want me to back off, just say the word, Peach.” His thumb grazed the back of her palm, making her toes curl.

She took her lips in, her eyes continued to hold his. “Back off, Leone,” she breathed. 

A short silence followed—one where her heart thumped loudly. The air suddenly felt too cold, and goosebumps started forming on her skin. 

Leone nodded, and a gasp tore through her throat when he tugged her hand slightly, making her head almost crash into his chest. 

When she finally recovered from what happened, she turned to see Leone make his way through the door, shutting it with a dull thud.

So it had been that easy to get rid of him? Anna sighed. What was going to happen now? Was he going to spill all her secrets? Would he really do that? Well, she better prepare herself for anything that might unfold soon.

But to the exact opposite of her thoughts, nothing happened. Weeks passed, and she didn’t even lay her eyes on him.

She felt something different. Something odd. She missed him? Hell, no way. How was that even possible? He was too crazy to even keep as a friend. Anna sighed tiredly.

She had convinced herself that she hadn’t seen Rocco that night at the party—it had just been a figment of her own imagination. At least now she could concentrate on escaping from here.

“This would look absolutely lovely on you, ma’am,” Chiara’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Anna stared at the red dress she held. It was indeed beautiful, with well-intricate designs. “It is a lovely dress,” Anna dully responded as she brushed her hair.

She sat in front of a mirror from which she could see Chiara folding the new set of clothes that had been brought in for her.

Something snapped in her head, and she quickly turned to face Chiara. “Do you speak Italian?” Anna asked, and she nodded while holding more dresses that needed to be folded.

“Can you translate something for me?” Anna asked, only to be replied with another nod from Chiara. Anna had told herself she would definitely find out the meaning of the last word Leone had said to his friend that night, and she struggled to remember it.

“It’s ‘La ragazza bionda begli occhi azzuri mia.’”

Chiara had a thoughtful expression on her face as she tried to put the words together since they sounded a bit misplaced. “Ahh,” she smiled after a minute of thinking. “It probably means the blonde-headed girl with pretty blue eyes is mine.”

Anna’s face paled, and the brush she held slipped out of her hand with a loud clatter.