Chapter 31: Burning Fireplace

Chapter 31

She gulped saliva down her dry throat. How the hell was she going to get out of this now? The last time, Leone had saved her, but this time, she was scared that there might be no saving for her.

The man showed them to their room, and her breath ceased when he left them alone. The room was extremely large and luxuriously furnished. 

Anna’s eyes fell back to him, her back nearly colliding with the door frame. He had taken off his jacket, leaving him with a white inner shirt, and now he busied himself with taking his wristwatch off.

“Anna, come see this,” he raised his head up to stare at her, and Anna reluctantly pushed herself to stand next to him. 

He showed her the golden wristwatch which he had earlier worn. “It was purchased from the first goldsmith in Italy in 1971 by an ancestor from my father’s lineage,” he explained.

Anna nodded. Although slightly interested, the only thing she wanted was to get the hell out of here. But if that was true, it meant the Vicenzo lineage was stronger than what met the eye.

“It looks really good,” Anna mustered a smile.

“So do you,” Domenico chuckled, placing his wristwatch on the table.

Her heart caught in her throat when he turned back to stare at her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her back to face him.

Her heart drummed in her ears, her hands clammy, when his hand fondled the jewelry that adorned her neck. With one swift move, he took it off, placing it on the table next to his watch.

Her heart shuddered when he placed another necklace on her neck, one whose pendant was made of pure diamond in the shape of a pearl. He pinned it at the back of her neck.

“Thank… thank you, it looks beautiful.” Her hands shook as she held the pendant.

Her face paled once his hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her back to collide with his chest. Her skin crawled, and Anna was open to the option of even kneeing his groin just to escape from him.

She dug her fingers into her palm once his lips came in contact with her slender shoulder. And when she thought she would break, his phone began ringing—so loud that he couldn’t ignore it.

He let go of her to get his phone, and Anna let out an inaudible sigh of relief. She watched him converse in Italian with whoever was on the other side of the phone.

When he hung up, a grim look was settled on his face as his eyes fell on her. Anna took a step back. 

“I have to go,” he said, his voice breaking at the end to reveal the untamed anger she knew him for. “You’re to stay here, and my driver will come pick you up in the morning.”

He quickly took his things and rushed out of the room. Anna wondered what had happened, and at the same time, she was thankful. She had been saved from him once again.

What if this was her chance to escape? Not to meet Rocco and drag him into her mess, but to go somewhere far, far away, where no one knew her—where she could start afresh. 

She knew the Vicenzos and the Lorenzos had great connections, but with a good plan, she could hide, escape, start a normal life.

Her hand fondled the necklace Domenico had given her, and then her other golden jewelry which sat on the table. She could sell it for a good amount of money; it would be more than enough.

She picked up her golden necklace from the table. Her hands reached the door handle—shaky, apprehensive—but this opportunity only came once.

She swallowed whatever uncertainty she felt, turned the door handle, and opened the door.

Her heart dropped when she saw two guards stationed in front of her room—of course.

……………

Her hands swiped through the books on the racks. The Vicenzo library was two times the size of the one they had back home in Lorenzo empire.

The wood in the fireplace burned vibrantly, casting a golden glow in the room and radiating enough heat to keep warm in the cold weather.

She wore a white t-shirt and a black flay skirt with silk socks to keep warm. Part of her hair had been braided at the sides, clipped at the back, perfectly done by Chiara.

Anna wanted to learn Italian. It would be of great advantage to her while she was still here, and also it would distract her from running mad or losing her mind.

She stretched, trying to reach the top shelf to grab a book, when she felt a shadow loom over her, easily grabbing the book she had been trying to get.

She slowly turned, her back pressed against the shelf, to see Leone standing in front of her, his oakwood scent invading her nostrils.

His gray eyes fell down on her, his hand placed at the side of her head, trapping her between him and the shelf.

Her heart drummed in her ears, but somehow Leone didn’t make her feel the way Domenico did. Domenico made her skin crawl. As for Leone, it was… different. She didn’t know how, but it was different. She felt oddly safer with him.

His hand reached for the necklace on her neck, fondling the pendant—which was, in fact, the necklace Domenico had given her on their date night. She had worn it because she didn’t want him thinking she didn’t value it. Last thing she wanted was to incur his never-ending anger.

“Had a lovely date, I see,” a smirk tugged on his lips—one that made the hair on her nape stand—as he continued fondling her necklace.

A gasp tore through her throat when he yanked it from her neck with one swift move, and before she could utter a word, he tossed the necklace into the burning fireplace.