Chapter 56

(Lorenzo)

The room is dark when I step in. Mariana is asleep and the floor is a mess. What the hell happened here? I come closer and see signs of treatment at her ankle and cheeks. My nurse must have done her job well. I'm still not sure of how her food ended up sprayed on the floor but I turn around and drop the extra clothes I'd brought for her on my couch in the living room, refusing to acknowledge the anger swimming up in my bones.

I return to the bedroom and begin to clean up the mess on the floor. I do a nice job because the place is looking really neat and then I retire to the bed next to her. For a while, I just stare at her, monitoring her in her most vulnerable state. Her in a deep sleep, unaware of how much I wanted to hold her tightly in my arms, never letting go.

I had been around for how long now? And she wasn't even aware. "I mean you no harm, Mariana. I promise."

So why am I so scared to come close to you?

Seeing her calm face while she slept, her relaxed features, th