Mia’s pov
Bodyguards weren’t a foreign thing in my life, seeing as I literally grew up around them since I could remember. Which was why it wasn’t hard for me to pretend that I wasn’t being monitored by the newly assigned bodyguards by Lorenzo. It was right there in the note beside my head which I sighted as soon as I blinked my eyes open.
My father had assigned new bodyguards to me right before I got married so they’d accompany me to my new husband’s house, but they hadn’t even gotten the chance to guard me because I got taken that same night.
I had been without a bodyguard of my own since then and it had felt extremely freeing. You indeed never realize the worth of something till you lose it, because now that I had guards breathing down my neck every now and then, it made me realize how I had taken those months where Lorenzo hadn’t assigned guards to me for granted.
The fact that Lorenzo had arrived that night to come save me still makes me feel from shock no matter how much I think about it. Along with the fact that he hasn’t hurt me that night like I had been expecting. I had been expecting to be killed that night. I hadn’t counted on seeing the next day that night, but after everything, despite the fact that I made him extremely angry, all he had done was to… spank me, although it was done differently this time.
Despite how much I tried not to think about that night, it still managed to creep into my mind whenever my guards were down. Images of his firm hands on my hips as he steadied me whenever my knees wobbled, images of me making embarrassing sounds into the sheets which kept tumbling out beyond my control, images of how it felt like my entire body had been on fire and how my blood felt like it was being boiled from the inside, images of how I had somehow fallen into some sort of sleep by the time he was done. I had a feeling that made him mad, that I had managed to fall asleep right after the punishment, without his permission. Although that thought got halted in my mind when I realized that he had rubbed something into the soreness of my skin, which left me with just one question.
Why?
The fact that he had been nowhere to be found when I woke up made me sigh of relief because I was sure I wouldn’t be able to face him after the night we just shared.
The note he had left had been extremely simple and brisk.
‘Traveled for a few days. Ointment for your sore skin is on the bedside table. Exit my bedroom without touching anything and stay away from it. Do not starve. Bodyguards have been assigned to you. Don’t do anything stupid.
Enzo’
I had let out a sigh after reading the text, and I had exited the bedroom without wasting much time, and I took the letter and ointment with me.
As I showered that morning, my mind kept drifting back to what had transpired between us in just a few days. While running a comb through my hair after my shower, my eyes caught the notr and I grabbed it and read it once again.
Despite it being brisk and cold, there was undoubtedly warmth emitting from it. Perhaps it was the fact that he included the fact that I shouldn’t starve.
I was still hella confused, which was why I decided not to dwell on it too much and to instead do what was on that note, which was to not starve.
The days went by in a blur and I hated to admit it but the house felt insanely cold and lonely without Lorenzo being in it from day to day.
On the third day, I decided to leave the house a little because it was starting to feel suffocating.
And that was when my newly assigned bodyguards and I properly
Introducing ourselves. They were three in number and all had multiple guns on them. They were extremely stoic and didn’t break out a smile when I tried to crack a joke because I was extremely bored.
The first one went by Jared.
The second one was named Zayn, and the third one went by Liam.
On realizing that they were hellbent on being professional with me despite how much I tried to get them to lose a little of their formality, I ended up giving up.
They accompanied me to the cafe I chose to visit that evening and instead of staying outside or standing at the back of the cafe where they could still see me, they stood around my seat in the cafe. A few people threw me long glances, which made me feel extremely embarrassed as hell. I tried getting them to go stand at the back but they refused, insisting that their job was to be done from a close distance and not a far one.
With a resigned sigh, I began to drink my coffee, knowing that I couldn’t complain to anyone since I was the one who brought this upon myself. I paid for what I got with my card Lorenzo gave me, which he was still yet to retrieve from me. Because of how he has been extremely mad at me, I knew the card was still in my possession because he probably forgot to collect it before traveling. I hoped he wouldn’t be mad that I got coffee and a slice of cake from the card, I thought to myself I made the payments.
By the time I exited the cafe, I felt extremely drained for someone whose reason for leaving the house was to feel less drained.
On getting home, I went straight to bed without bothering to eat. There was food in the fridge but I didn’t feel like it.
On waking up the next morning, instead of feeling stronger and energized, I felt even worse than I did the previous night. I brushed it off to it bring the lingering effect of the drained feeling that engulfed me from the cafe, but my energy didn’t return throughout the day– the fourth day since Lorenzo traveled. In different moments, I found myself wondering if he was fine or if he was in danger, but I forced those thoughts out of my head whenever they resurfaced.
I tried eating something on remembering the fact that Lorenzo asked me not to starve in that note, but my appetite was nonexistent so I couldn’t eat more then a few bites of food.
On the fifth day, I knew I was undoubtedly sick. My limbs felt weak and my insides felt like jelly. Not having it in me to move from the bed, I remained in it for most parts of the day while telling myself that the sickness was gonna pass in no time.
At a point where my fever began to rise, I moved off from the bed to the ground because the bed felt too hot but the coldness of the ground felt calming and welcoming. I had no idea when I drifted off to sleep there when my plan was to just lay on the ground a little before moving back to the bed.
When I became conscious again, it was to a frame crouched beside me on the ground in the dark room, because I had turned the lights off when it began to make my head hurt.
Fear gripped my mind at once and I attempted to scream, but the familiar voice made everything become still inside of me.
“Shh… it’s me.”
It was Lorenzo.
Somehow, that instantly brought a sense of calmness over my entire body.