9

Chapter 9

Guilia

I listened as droplets of rain beat down on the roof of our two-bedroom bungalow. Alessio had gone out to get us some groceries since the refrigerator was running low on stock, leaving me to wallow in an abyss of endless thoughts. I hated that my mind hadn’t accepted the fact that I’d never see Vladimir again.

Deep down I knew that it was a lie, Vladimir would move mountains to see me again, especially now that he was aware of the child we had created together. Another bone-chilling realization was that I secretly wanted him to find us.

A knock on the door startled me, and after passing a glance at a sleeping Dalian, I pushed myself towards the door and peered through the peephole. Disappointment spread over my chest as I clamped my lips down on a sigh. I really had to stop wishing for him to return after I’d run away like a dog on a wild goose chase.

I opened the door and Alessio stepped in with several white plastic bags in his hands.

“You returned rather early,” I mopped up the look of disappointment from my face and replaced it with a smile.

“Yes,” He headed straight to the kitchen and dropped the bags on the counter while I trailed hurriedly behind him. “I wanted to prepare something nice for us to eat so I had to pick up the items on my list as fast as I could, besides, Dalian hasn’t eaten a proper meal for a while now. He kept crying for you after you were kidnapped and…”

He didn’t have to complete the sentence for me to know what came next. Mama didn’t give two cents about him, neither did his nanny whose acts of negligence I had grown used to, and while he was yearning for my presence, I was busy having a man–his father, eat up my face. I was overcome with shame, but I shrugged it off, consoling myself with the fact that I’d done well by leaving my past behind.

I placed my palm on his. “Thank you very much for being so kind to me even though my son and I might be quite burdensome to you.”

He shook his head vehemently. “Nah, don’t say that. Have you forgotten that you’re also helping me out here?” His reply came with an awkward bout of silence.

And then a weird question tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop myself from asking. “How and when did you find out that you’re gay?” I palmed my lips immediately, realizing my mistake. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you such a sensitive question.” I added quickly.

He chuckled lightly. “You don’t have to be sorry. You’ll be my wife soon and you deserve to know the truth.”

Relief flooded through me. His gentle and kind nature made me forget that he was not only a Made man but the son of a masochist underboss.

“Fire on, I’m all ears.” I urged him on, bringing out the food items from the bag and placing them on the counter.

My stomach rumbled loudly and then he flashed me a knowing look. “Here,” He offered me a bag of burritos. “Fill your stomach up with that.”

“Thank you.” I collected the snack from him, my face pallid with slight embarrassment.

He greased a pan with some cooking oil and placed two pieces of marinated salmon in it. “I’ve never had sex with a woman since I got to puberty.”

My jaw slackened in surprise as the bag of burrito fell onto the counter. I was bamboozled because it was more than strange for a Made man to have little to no record of the countless women he has slept with. From what I heard, it was the next activity after your first kill. Even my late ex did it until he fell in love with me.

“How were you able to escape that ridiculous ritual?”

“It’s not ridiculous,” He corrected me. “I tipped off the whore that was asked to disvirgin me,”

My palm found my lips again. “That’s incredulous! But word goes around fast, how were you able to pull it off?”

He shrugged. “I made sure she never had to talk.”

I gulped and didn’t bother asking for the details since I could already tell what he did. “Are you in a relationship now?” Curiosity made me ask.

A slight crease appeared on his forehead. “A fling. If he's loyal, I might actually date him.”

“Oh,” I hoped to sound more disappointed than hopeful as I was rather grateful that I wouldn’t have to sleep with him, but he was quick to catch on.

He dropped the spatula that he stirred the tomato sauce with and trained a passive gaze on me. Cold rivulets of sweat gathered on my face as I bit my lips nervously.

“Guilia, should I be worried about your relationship with Vladimir?” The distrust in his voice outweighed his worry, and that didn't sound so good.

My throat knotted as I rubbed my palms together, suddenly needing to keep my hands busy.

“Are you supposed to be bothered by that? I’m helping you, remember?” I asked nervously.

The polite smile that had been on his face evened out, a stern frown replacing it.

“You’re not just helping me, I’m also going to be responsible for you and I do not fancy the idea of coming back home each night to a cheating wife.”

I blanched, surprised at this new side of him. Compared to Vladimir, he was just the son of an underboss which gave Vladimir a greater edge over him. Did he also forget that he was the father of my son?

“But–”

He raised his hand sharply, preventing me from speaking further. “No buts,” he thundered. “I can handle seeing you with any other man but not him.”

Absent-mindedly, I took a step back. “He’s the father of my son,” I argued, my heart thumping hard against my chest. I was expecting several things that fueled my fear–a punch, getting locked up in the basement or being thrown out together with my son. All of which I never experienced with Vladimir.

“When I become your husband, I’m going to adopt Dalian as my son.” Alessio stated.

Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. Hearing him speak like this opened my eyes to see how selfish he was and I couldn't help but feel mad at myself for thinking that getting married to him would solve all of my problems.

“You can’t do that, Alessio, Vladimir will hunt you.” I rasped out.

He grabbed my arms roughly, my back hitting the rim of the sink. I held in a scream as a sharp pain spread through my body. “I’m looking forward to it.”

I managed to shove him aside and trotted into the living room where I gently tapped Dalian. “Wake up, baby.”

He stirred, his lashes fluttering open and then I was met with a set of beautiful brown eyes that reminded me of his father. He stretched and I carried him into my arms. He inherited most of his father’s features–his annoying smirk and brown hair, which always unnerved me and delighted me all at once.

I sauntered off to our bedroom with a set of heavy steps trailing after me. After everything he just said to me, I wasn’t sure I was ready to endure another endless cycle of suffering.

“What are you doing?” His voice resonated loudly behind me.

His harsh voice had my feet freezing on the spot, but I mustered some courage and gave him a response.

“I don’t think I want to continue with the wedding plans. I just can’t.” I admitted.

Spells of deep, throaty laughter erupted from his lips while I gazed at him, utterly befuddled by his strange outburst. He coughed, the laughter slowly fading into giggles.

“Darling,” He drawled, “What makes you think you can just waltz in and out of my life as you please?”

“Stop this, Alessio. I’ve come to realize that I no longer need your protection and even though I appreciate your desire to help me and my son, I won’t be happy with you.” I voiced out.

He fixed a steely gaze at me before moving closer to me. I inched away but he held my chin, cupping my cheeks.

“Now listen to me clearly, princess, you no longer have a say in this union. If it hadn't been for Vladimir’s haughty pranks we would have been wedded by now and I know that something happened between the both of you. Here is the deal, bear it in mind that he will never find you. I’ll make sure of it.” He sneered and stormed out. The next thing I heard was the sound of a key plunging into the keyhole and a few clicks followed soon after.

I started toward the door, grabbing the knob forcefully, but it didn’t bulge.

Still lost in a daze after realizing that we’d been locked in, I slowly lowered myself onto the bed, my lips quivering as I tried to make sense of the situation. What started as a friendly conversation had turned into a barrage of threats that filled me with nothing but trepidation. The dinner we planned to have was forgotten while I stared at the ceiling hopelessly, my chances of running away completely shattered.

And for the first time in a long while, I regretted following the voice of reason.