Arianna’s POV.
After a sleepless night, morning finally came and I crawled out of my bed. I was sure that I looked horrible because I barely slept. I didn’t have the heart to see it in the mirror so I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. As I brushed I looked into the mirror. My eyes had such scary eyebags and I cursed Gabriele Andino endlessly in my mind.
I finally finished and took a shower and wrapped myself inside the bathrobe. Just as I was about to get dressed, I heard a knock on the door. I guessed that it was Sofia, so I went to the door and directly opened it and sure enough, it was her. She looked scared and I understood perfectly, my eyebags gave me quite a scare myself.
“Come in Sofie.” I waved and went on to dry my hair, she stood behind me and closed the door. “Are you okay?” I sighed. “Yup I’m great. Just lacking decent sleep.”
She sighed with emotion. “Mr. Andino wants you downstairs for breakfast.”
Almost after I heard what she said, I remembered yesterday and what his fingers did to me and his eyes. I shook my head and scolded myself fiercely. He seemed to have put some sort of curse on me as I thought of him, a lot!
I still looked indifferent at what Sofia said. He sent her to me like a gentleman, but I knew that deep down it was all a charade. He wasn’t a gentleman but a scoundrel in a suit.
I didn’t argue with her. I nodded “I’ll be right down after I’m done.” I saw her nod through the mirror and she turned to leave. Once she had left I let out a sigh. I wore a tee shirt and a pair of jeans then came downstairs.
And there he was, seated at the head of the table, a mug of coffee in his hand as he read a magazine. The suit he wore emphasised the width of his shoulders and made him look so hot. The Patek Philippe on his hand glinted as sunlight brushed it and it gave him this look of a successful businessman.
He had this air of unmistakable power and danger that was fatally attractive. His honey-brown hair was unruly, my friends called it sex hair. It made him have his edgy sexiness. All of a sudden he turned and our eyes met. He smiled a little and I was even more stunned. As I descended the last stair I tore my eyes away from him. I was painfully aware of the tension in the air and I knew he was too.
I calmed down and went towards the farthest chair from him and before I could sit on it, I heard him call out. “Sit right next to me Arianna.”
I turned to look at him. “How do you know my name?”
He smiled “I know everything about you Arianna, your name isn’t a problem.” I shivered as I realised he had me investigated. I didn’t argue and sat down right next to him.
I was aware of his gaze on me but I pretended that I didn’t know what was going on. I scooped up some pasta to eat and at that moment he spoke. “So, about our conversation yesterday, have you thought about it?”
I stopped scooping and looked at him. “No matter how horny I am, I won’t let a total stranger get into my pants, Mr. Andino.”
He smirked. “So you do admit that you’re horny Bella, finally we get to the truth. Why don’t you take it as a compromise, you’re horny and I can help you with that.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “If I were so sex starved trust me I had a lineup of people to choose from, so don’t put it like you’re doing me some kind of favor.”
His eyes narrowed dangerously. “How many sexual partners have you had Arianna and how often did you have sex.”
“Oh my god, can we drop this? I thought we’ve established that it’s none of your business.”
He leaned on the chair and fixed his eyes on me unblinking. “Well Bella, it is my business since we’ll be involved with each other.”
I decisively ignored him and stuffed food in my mouth. I was glad that none of the helpers were around to hear our conversation.
“So I believe that we’ve gotten a few things straight. One, you won’t fuck me ’cause I’m a stranger, that one’s easy to settle. Two, we are going to have sex, and a lot of it after the first issue has been settled. Any other concerns you have can be brought up and discussed.”
I looked at him in disbelief. Yes, I was probably going to give in to this guy one day, but it certainly was not now, but he was already convinced that I was going to sleep with him. “Woah woah woah, calm down I never agreed to sleep with you okay. I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”
He smiled. “You don’t have to say it, Bella. It will happen.” Before he could say another word, his phone rang and he raised his hand to signal that I was quiet. He stood up and left the dining room. I kept eating till I was fully stuffed and I stood up to walk around the house. I didn’t know where I was going, but I was curious about the huge mansion I now lived in. I didn’t see anyone on the way so I was shocked when I heard a voice behind me.
“Who are you? And what are you doing here?”
I turned around to face the source of the voice and found out that it was a very beautiful redhead. She was dressed in a very short red skirt and a crop top, her hair falling in waves on her shoulders, and her eyes were a beautiful shade of brown. She seemed to dislike me judging from the look on her face. Seeing that, I had no intention to talk to her.
Immediately I turned to walk away. She called out from behind me. “I see you’re the woman Gabriele brought back.”
I stopped in my tracks and turned to her. Before I could speak, I saw her face contort into a mask of hatred. “Stay away from him, he’s mine. I’ve been by his side the longest so don’t you dare try to steal him from me.”
“Point of correction lady, first I’m not connected to Mr. Andino, neither am I sleeping with him if that’s what you think. Second, I have no interest whatsoever in stealing him from you, I even tried to leave but he brought me back okay. Third, I don’t care who you are so if you don’t mind I’ve got to go.”
“Everybody knows that he never brings a woman into this house and doesn’t sleep with her except the helpers. So don’t give me that shit.”
I stopped in my tracks as the words she spoke reverberated in my mind. All of a sudden I felt nauseous and simply wanted to leave that place.
“Stay away from him or else I’ll make your life a living hell bitch.” She spat and swaggered away.
I ignored her and found my way back to the dining room. I saw Sofia walking towards me. ” Where were you miss? I was so afraid that you had run away again.”
“It’s okay, I was just wandering around the house. Hey Sofie, I met a redhead in the house, who is she? She seemed to hate me.”
She frowned a little. “Did she do anything to you? Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “She just warned me to stay away from Mr. Andino and a bunch of nonsense.”
She sighed. “Let’s go to your room, I’ll explain it there.” I nodded and we went up together. Once we arrived in my room I sat down on the bed and she stood as she began. “The girl you just met is Sara, Mr. Andinos…umm”
She must have been searching for a word to use when I helped her out ” sexual partner?” She blushed a little and nodded, then continued. “I heard that she’s been here since Mr. Andino was a very young man and had been here since then, she’s not the only one, there is Nadia and Elena as well.”
I nodded in understanding and suddenly felt sick when I remembered yesterday night. It steeled my resolve to never be involved with him. So, I was just one of those women who are there to satisfy his sexual needs. I felt like throwing up at that thought. Sofia must have noticed my discomfort and stopped. “You don’t look well, are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
“Actually Sara is pretty okay, but just gets a little .. possessive when Mr . Andino is involved. Nadia and Elena are very nice too and are not so into Mr . Andino because of Sara.”
I nodded as I took it all in. “And one more thing, miss…”
“Arianna,” I cut her off.
She looked a little confused. “What?”
“Call me Arianna. Miss sounds really weird.” She smiled a little. “Okay, Arianna.”
She continued right after that. “No one is allowed into the west wing of the house except Mr. Andino and Mr. Cirillo.” I frowned. “Who is that?”
She mumbled lightly “Basilio.” I nodded and asked her. “Sofia I’m so bored here, do you have magazines or books that I could use to pass the time?”
“I think we do have something like that here, let me go get it for you Arianna.” She turned to leave but stopped in her tracks and stared at me “Are you really okay?”
I smiled a little. “I’m really alright Sofie, now hurry up. If you have romance novels, get some for me alright.”
She blushed a little. “Okay, I’ll be back shortly.” Then she closed the door as she left.
Once she had closed the door, I lay on the bed and closed my eyes in exhaustion. What was I going to do about Gabriele Andino?