All Chapters of The Pensive Gentleman: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Angelica My eyes flutter open to unfamiliar surroundings.The air feels and smells different. Masculine, but fresh and clean.Staring up at the ceiling, I blink twice, and suddenly something hits me. I’m in a room that isn’t mine.I sit upright immediately, and sure enough, this is not my room. There’s a photo of a little girl on the bedside table, and another hanging on the wall right next to the closet doors.“Oh lord!” My stomach churns, bile rising to my throat as understanding dawns on me. This is Marciano’s room.Cold dread creeps through me, holding me hostage. And my head bangs, as if the sudden movement woke a beast up.My fingers fly to the empty space beside me. The bed is cold, meaning he’s been awake for a while, or maybe he didn’t even sleep here. How and why am I here anyway?With a sigh, I peel the duvet off my body, and the second my eyes connect to the rest of me, I return the duvet to the way it was.Because on my body is…Marciano’s shirt. Unbuttoned.It can only

Angelica My small pink journal feels heavy in my hand. Yet, I can’t bring myself to close it.The weather outside is bright and vibrant, though the air has a little dampness in it, as if it rained somewhere last night or the early hours of this morning. My laptop sits open on my bed, and movements on the screen gain my attention for a split second, quick enough for me to see Alex packing his books into his bag. We just finished with our second lecture for the day, and though it’s twelve in the afternoon it doesn’t look like it.I return my attention to my journal, ignoring Alex who has recently been showing himself more. Like now, he could pack his books from behind the camera like he always did since before the call that day—when he asked if I was coming for graduation— but he decided to go around the camera, just to lean over and show his features.“What are you doing? You’ve been quiet for a while now,” he says, pulling the zippers on both ends of the bag close.I drop my journa

Angelica At the end of the day, I am no match for Marciano.I realize this as I shift in the car-seat, adjusting my crystal blue dinner dress. It’s long and flowy, the fabric giving the illusion of ocean waves. It was sitting on a box on my bed when I stepped out of the shower. I didn’t ask any questions, I put it on and it fit like a glove. And since I’ve been practicing, my makeup has come out well.Marciano is sitting beside me, clad in a black suit that fits his body like a second skin. It’s crisp and properly pressed, like he just stepped out of a runway in Paris. But it’s not his body in the suit that’s my issue, it’s his scent. It fills my nose, lodging itself deep inside so much that I can’t even smell my perfume. And he’s chewing gum. A mint gum.“What is it?” He asks, his voice deeper than the ocean, one brow raised. My gulp is almost audible as I look away quickly. It’s not like I was staring at him directly, it was from my peripheral. And yet he caught me.“W—where. You

Angelica “Ignore him, Signora. He’s mad he didn’t come with us yesterday,” Ky says with a laugh as he puts the car in drive. “He wouldn’t stop sulking about it.” “Watch your mouth, stronzo. I didn’t sulk,” Gypsy shoots back with a slight huff. I can’t help but chuckle lightly.It’s two in the afternoon, and I just got into the car to go to the main house when I noticed Gypsy wasn’t talking. When I asked what his issue was, he claimed he was fine. Until Ky opened his mouth.“That’s what you’re doing right now,” Ky presses. Gypsy turns slightly to face me.“I was only worried about you, Signora. Anything could’ve gone wrong,” he says and I quickly swallow the memory of that Russian standing too close. “Ky is not enough. You need someone with actual combat experience guarding you.” Ky doesn’t say a word, and this pleases Gypsy.Before now, I knew them as my driver and bodyguard who were always sporting hard frowns on their faces and never said more than five words to me, but now they

Angelica Marina means well. I know she does, but I can’t help the nervousness she instilled in me yesterday. It was enough to make me return home and lock myself in my room, pacing back and forth, while wondering what my next course of action should be.It was a threat. I either come clean with the name of my abuser, or Marciano will find him himself.But will he though? Another thought settles. He seems busy lately; been on more calls than usual, like he’s up to his neck with work. So there’s a chance he might not even take an interest in my matter if Marina were to tell him.But what if he does?I slump into my bed with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling and reeling in my confusion.What should I do?I’m here thinking of how to escape this life, but it seems that with every step I take forward, more obstacles appear in front of me.A single drop of rain falls on my window, then another, and soon, it starts drizzling.Grabbing one of my novels quickly, I drag my duvet to the windo