Chapter 10: Consider It A Date

MARIELLE

A sharp, jagged gasp escaped my lips as I tried to shift my bruised elbow. The pain was so sudden and piercing that I froze, my breath catching in my throat for what felt like an eternity.

"Are you okay?"

Vera’s voice was soft, filled with a heavy layer of concern as she sat carefully on the edge of the mattress. I took a few seconds to let the throbbing subside before I could find my voice.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"Everyone was so worried about you, Marielle. You have to be more careful."

I looked away, staring at the shadows dancing on the wall. My mind was a chaotic loop of one person…Cassius.

I had been awake for four hours, and in all that time, he hadn't stepped foot in this room. He hadn't come to check on me. He hadn't even sent a message. The silence from his side was breaking my heart into jagged pieces.

"Cassius..." I breathed his name, the mere sound of it sending a shiver down my spine.

Vera fidgeted with her fingers, looking down at her lap. "He’s been out since you lost consciousness."

It hit me like a physical blow. Right where it hurt the most. My heart. My hand instinctively clutched at my chest as I struggled to pull in a deep breath. He didn't care. He had probably left the second the doctor said I was out of danger.

"Okay, leave everything else for now," Vera said, trying to sound upbeat. "You need to eat. You haven't had a bite since you woke up."

"I'm not hungry."

My appetite had vanished along with my hope. He was avoiding me…I could feel it in my bones. After everything we had shared, he couldn't even stand to look at me when I was broken.

"Marielle, you need to-"

"I want to be alone, Vera. Please."

I slowly turned my back on her, pulling the duvet up to my chin. I needed to clear my head, but the horrible thoughts of a life without Cassius kept crowding in. He was my everything. He was the anchor I’d clung to after my father died. I wouldn't let him leave me. I couldn't survive being abandoned twice.The click of the door handle made me stiff. I didn't turn around, assuming it was another family member coming to badger me with a tray of food I didn't want.

"I told you, I'm not hungry," I hissed, the movement of speaking sending a dull throb through my head.

"Why are you not eating?"

The voice was stern, deep, and unmistakably …him... I froze, the pain in my head momentarily forgotten as I slowly turned over.

Cassius Marchetti stood there, silhouetted against the dim light, holding a tray of food.

I looked into his eyes, and the dam finally broke. My vision blurred as hot tears began to well up. How could he walk in here now, so calm and commanding, and ask me that? Why hadn't he come earlier? Where had he been?

I looked away, clenching the duvet against my chest until my knuckles turned white. "I don't want to."

"That’s not a reason I’m willing to hear."

I looked back at him, a single tear escaping and tracing a path down my cheek. He caught it, his expression softening with a flash of concern.

He set the tray on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed, his weight making me roll slightly toward him."Marielle. Everyone told me how much they tried to get you to eat something."

I closed my eyes, sniffing as the tears began to fall in earnest. "I-I hate you," I mumbled into the fabric of the blanket.

He let out a long, weary sigh before reaching out and taking my arm. I jumped, the contact sending a jolt of electricity through my body that made my skin hum.

"Does it hurt?" he asked softly.

I pulled my arm back, a flare of stubbornness rising in my chest, but he caught me roughly and pulled me toward him. I hissed as the movement jarred my bruises.

"Do not," he warned, his voice a low vibration.

My chest heaved. Being this close to him, smelling his scent of cedar and expensive tobacco, made me feel completely overwhelmed. Without thinking, I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder, sobbing.

"I-I was scared-"

I felt his arms wrap around my waist, pulling me into the solid warmth of his chest. It was an instant relief. I let out a jagged breath, finally relaxing as he caressed my back."You don't need to be scared," he murmured. "Everything is fine."

..I wasn't scared of the fall, Cassius,..I wanted to scream. ..I was scared you wouldn't come back to me…But the words stayed locked in my throat.

"Marielle. Now, eat."

He pulled back just enough to prop me up against the pillows. He handed me a glass of juice, and I took a small, obedient sip. The cold liquid sent a chill through me. Just as I was about to speak, his phone began to ring.

He pulled it from his pocket and answered with a curtness that made me go still.

"Yes, Serena."

The name..a woman's name, cut through the room like a knife. My heart skipped a beat, my gaze locking onto his face.

"Postpone the plan," he said into the receiver. "I'll take you out tomorrow."

My heart clenched. ..Take out? .. A girl? I stared at him in disbelief, my mind racing. Was he dating? No, it wasn't possible. Cassius didn't ..do.. dates.

"Yes," he continued, his voice calm and devastating. "Consider it a date."

A fresh tear slipped out of my eye as I looked down at my trembling hands. The mafia lord who avoided everyone, who treated me like his "dirty little princess," was going on a date.

Did he love someone else? Was this how my story ended? Before it had even truly begun?