Chapter 4

Roman

“Understood Don.” Alessio said over the phone. “I'll retrieve you immediately.”

“Alright.” I nodded, “As for the attackers, what is the progress?”

“We’ve interrogated the ones we caught. They're completely unaffiliated with any group. They are a bunch of hired thugs Marco hired to attempt to assassinate you. They don't have much information,  but sure that he hasn't amassed any group keen on complete loyalty.” he paused and added, “Alex is still dealing with them. He's not too happy about being shot in the shin.”

I pursed my lips. 

“In that case, I'll see the situation when I return. Keep me updated. I'm waiting.”

“Yes boss.”

The call ended and I let my uninjured arm fall. Taking a deep breath, I let my mind run.

Alessio was more than a competent second in command, someone I was grateful to have. Once he regrouped and they'd caught several of the men, he'd worked hard in getting rid of every evidence of the incident, including the ruined cars, leaving no traces of our presence by morning light. 

That only left tracking my uncle and the rest of his men. 

He'd drawn first blood. Now there was no going back.

Using my right arm, I slid out of the bed and onto my feet. It had been nothing less than half an hour since she— Eva, I reminded myself —  left for the second time after bringing a tray of food which was admittedly delicious and drugstore painkillers. She hadn't said a word then.

Now that I was  full and well rested with the pain filled to a manageable extent, I was energised enough.

After a few stretches, I moved to put on the clothes she'd given. A pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. 

They fit so perfectly I was impressed, completely covering up the bandages on my left and the tattoos splayed on my right arm. I looked strangely foreign.

Balancing the empty plates with my left hand as carefully as possible, I used my right hand to open the door to step out.

The room was spacious, a two storey setting with a staircase that led me to what was clearly the living area. I followed my instinct and the distinctive sound of footsteps to lead me.

Meeting her wasn't just to return the dishes. With Alessio on his way, it would eventually be time to leave, but I couldn't go without speaking to her properly.

She'd saved my life without any expectations. I owed her greatly. How I was going to repay her gratitude was something I needed to discuss.

I drew closer to the edge of an open door where the slight bum of a freezer alongside some clattering of what sounded like plates. 

The kitchen, I pieced together easily, about to step forward—

"I still have at least 6 months of leeway to pay the rest, don't I? Just give me that time, you don't need to hound me like I plan on running away.” 

I paused in my tracks at her voice, brows furrowing. The clatter had completely stopped, replaced by more pacing footsteps.

“I wasn't born yesterday. Even if I paid partially, the interest will STILL pile up. I'm not asking for you to ignore me. I KNOW what I have to do. I'm working on my shop, profits are slow but it'll be better. All I need is time, PLEASE.” Her voice rang in a strong yet pleading tone. Her footsteps stalled for several seconds of silence before they continued.

“No, I will pay in full then, interest and all. I promise. Now for the love of everything good, see you in the next six months and nothing earlier.”  

The call soon ended because  in no time, I heard the clatter followed by a brief curse. 

“These assholes. You'd think they were freaking loan sharks. Jokes on them, I know their game better than anyone else…” she muttered alongside the sound of dishes. Suddenly, the place grew silent, followed by a sigh.

“This isn't working.” 

My chest tightened. Her voice cut through, more feeble, defeated. 

“Five million in six months.” a low rumble that sounded either like a chuckle or a choke came. “Have to try…”

I clenched my jaw, processing everything I'd just heard. 

She owed money and needed to pay it back in six months. 

Six months. What a coincidence…Wait. 

My insides froze, the realization slamming into me.

Unrelated, intelligent, adaptable and practical.

She was a stranger, completely unrelated and ignorant of my world. Adaptable enough to pretend I didn't exist seconds after seeing me with no prompting and intelligent enough to somehow distract and deceive an assassin despite whatever turmoil she was facing. Most of all, from the brief conversation we had, she was evidently practical, focusing on her own needs despite saving me.

It was insane, given how little I knew her but on paper, she was the perfect match.

Her words came to mind. She was still a stranger who had no business getting involved. 

Not to mention that she'd displayed instant loyalty despite not knowing who I was. I had a feeling that if I did mention my identity, she'd be unimpressed. 

More importantly, overhearing her, I now held leverage she wouldn't refuse for equal benefit.

She needed money. I needed a wife. The terms were clear.

The only other alternative was to waste even more time searching for a suitable candidate, or even worse, risking it with someone who could potentially stab me in the back.

It was ironic to the point of ridiculousness. I'd sarcastically thought about praying for the perfect woman to fall from the sky and now, merely a day after I'd found the most convenient candidate whose timeline matched mine exactly. 

It was like the universe was working in my favour and all I needed to do was get shot first.

“Madone mia.” I muttered under my breath as appreciation and preparation, bracing myself before stepping out. 

 She stood at the sink with her back to me, completely unaware of my presence.Standing barefoot in her kitchen, completely absorbed in the mundane task of washing dishes.

My gaze lingered before I could stop it. The line of her shoulders. The effortless way she moved. Her hair, still in a bun glowed against the sunlight.

Something warm and entirely unwelcome stirred in my chest.

Snap out of it.

I blinked and quickly came to myself.

This was not happening.

It was ridiculous. I had seen beautiful women before. In my world, it was hardly rare. She was, at best, average amongst them.

Taking a deep breath, I raised my free hand and lightly knocked on the doorway.

“Holy shit.” She practically jolted and cursed out loud, spinning back. My heart skipped a beat, she raised a pan with both hands like a weapon, as if ready to chuck it at me.

Thankfully, she didn't.

“For fuck’s sake, you scared me.” She spat out, still holding it firmly even as her shoulders relaxed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

I stared at her, utterly bewildered for the second time. Had I just avoided certain death?

No, at worst it would've been a concussion but if just been shot. Suffering both would be worse. Alessio finding me in either state would be inconvenient.

Focus. I blinked, trying to reinforce the training instilled in me. 

“Do you have a filter on your mouth?” Was what left my lips instead, “you've cursed a lot within the past hour.”

There came a moment of silence before her eyes narrowed.

“My mouth's perfectly fine.” She shot back, defensiveness in her tone. “I don’t curse that much.”

And my arm wasn't shot. My jaw clenched.

“In that case, could you at least put down the pan?” I said in a neutral tone, “You could hurt someone with that.”

Only then did she seem to realise she was still holding the wea— the pan in her hands. She slowly put it down.

“Sorry about that. Excuse me for being alert given that my home was raided less than a night ago, thanks to you Mr Ricci.” she snarked in a tone showing she was NOT sorry at all.

“I'm much better prepared when a stranger pops out of nowhere. Now, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting.”

“I wanted to give you these.” I gestured towards the plates I held in my other arm. Her eyes widened before she rushed forward and took them out.

“Youre straining your arm.” she said, sounding like she was scolding me. I looked down at my arm and turned back to her.

“I was careful and the painkillers dulled most of the pain anyways..” I stated, “I’m fine, thanks to you and am  more energetic than ever.” 

She looked over at me carefully, eyes narrowing into a look I couldn't decipher.

“So you're better now. You're sure about that?” She asked carefully,  I didn't think too much about it though as I nodded.

“Since you say you're fine and you're clearly energetic enough to scare the shi—... to scare me.” She adjusted her sentence halfway and I knew it was because of my comment. Something about it made my lips lift a fraction in amusement before her next words hit.

“I suppose you can leave now.”

Wait… what?

My brows furrowed in shock as she placed the plates on the table and took my uninjured arm to pull me away.

“The clothes are yours.” She said, “Consider them a freebie. You obviously can't go through the front so the back end it is.”

I didn't process it at first, her words blurring as my insides churned. It wasn't until I found myself moving that I realised.

“What the fuck are you doing?” This time, I was the one to curse as I stopped in place. She turned back to face me, her expression brightened and fulfilled before nodding towards the path.

“Obviously,” she shrugged. “I'm releasing you back into the wild.”

Disbelief rolled through me in waves. She was really serious, ready to boot me out. 

“Hold on.” I said, trying to stop her. “Ive already contacted my… someone to arrive—”

“You've contacted someone? Even better.” She cut me off, smiling brightly whilst still dragging me away. “In that case I don't have to lend you money for transportation. You can wait for them wherever you want, AWAY from here.”

This crazy woman. 

There was no time to ponder anymore. If I did, she would find a way to throw me onto the streets before I could even fashion a proposal.

Before she could move any further, I straightened, holding her back to face me.

“I overhead your call.” I said, keeping the look I'd held . “And I know about your debt.”

That stopped her in her tracks. She turned towards me, gaze narrowed and satisfaction brimmed. 

“How much did you hear?” she asked, releasing her grip from mine. 

I'd faced countless negotiations and staring battles with me being on the upper hand, regardless of who it was. Dealing with the slip of a young woman, no matter how audacious she was no problem. 

It was all about leverage, and that was what I had.

“Enough.” I said, pulling my hand back to settle on one of the pant pockets as I looked down at her. “Enough to know that you're in dire straits for the next six months, and I have a proposal.  A perfect solution that can suit both of us.”

Her eyes narrowed, but she fell silent. 

“What is it then?” she asked, face dead serious. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself before I spoke.

“Marry me.”