*Bruno*
I stepped out of the room. A part of me hoped she was fine and had not successfully ended her life. I walked down the stairs; my shoes clicked sharply on the floor. When I got down, I looked around. One of my men was at the side. “Where is Lucia?” I asked, my eyes settled on him for a while before moving away to look around. “Did she leave the house?” I asked him. I had my doubts. I trusted my men to obey my instructions, except they wanted their heads rolling on the ground.
“No, I’ve been on guard since you left, and she has not taken a single step out of the room,” he said.
I looked past him. She could not leave as she didn’t know the password, even if there were no guards. All I was afraid of was her doing anything stupid. I had instructed them to remove anything that could be used as a weapon. I took hurried steps back to the room. I pushed open the door and stepped in. The room was empty, but nobody was there. The window was locked, which meant that she had not jumped out. My confusion doubled, and I blinked rapidly with one of my hands on my waist.
I suddenly heard the sound of water rushing into the bathroom and turned to the bathroom sharply. Why did I not think of the possibility of her in the bathroom? My heart settled a little, and I walked towards the bathroom. I wanted to be sure she was in there safe and not trying to drown herself in the tub. I pushed open the bathroom to see her standing under the shower naked. There was soap over her body. Her head, raised upward as she washed soap from her face, turned to me sharply. Water rushed on her face and sprinkled on me.
She grasped when she finally understood that there was someone in the room.
She moved back and was about to shout but missed a foot and began to fall. I rushed towards her immediately and caught her before she could fall to the ground. My firm hands wrapped around her slender, soapy waist. Water rushed on both of us, and soon the soap came off her face. Her eyes widened when the realization hit her. She was pressing her naked body on me. She pushed me away and tried to stand but slipped again and almost fell. I pulled her closer to myself. Her face was burning red. I couldn’t tell if she was shy or angry.
Slowly, I helped her to stand, my eyes seizing her from head to toe, taking the beautiful body into my heart. When she finally stood upright, her hands flew to her body, covering both the upper and the lower part. Why was she covering what I had already seen? “What do you think you are doing?” She asked her voice a little over the roof, “Get out immediately, are you a pervert, or are you trying to rape me?” She yelled at me.
I didn’t want to respond. I still had not gotten over the fact that I was holding her naked body a moment ago. I stepped back and stared at her body for a long time before walking away. I took off the leather jacket I was wearing and sat on the chair in the room. I was all covered in water, but I didn’t want to go to my room yet. Though the water was a bit cold, I felt hot all over. Holy shit, Lucia was one hot girl. I could not believe that I had held a girl who was stark naked without touching her. I closed my eyes, and the picture of her body under the shower came to mind. I wanted to run my hands over it.
I sat there quietly. I was patiently waiting for her to step out of the bathroom.
After a few minutes, she came out with a tower wrapped over her naked body. She was surprised to see me in the room. She pulled her tower closer to her and then wrapped her hands over herself as she glared at me. “What are you still doing here?” She asked. She had gotten bold. I must say.
For a minute, I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at her as she tried to protect herself from me as if I was some predator about to launch on a prey.
“Why were you in the bathroom? I have been looking for you all over, thinking you had jumped over the window and ended your life,” I said. I didn’t want to sound like I was concerned about her, so I harshly spoke to her. She rolled her eyes, “So, I need your permission before I can shower in the afternoon?” She asked, her voice filled more with sarcasm than surprise.
“And why were you looking for me?” She asked. “You’ve locked me up in this room like a prisoner, placing your men outside, so where should I be if not in the room?” She asked. I noticed a mixture of fear in her tone. She was trying to be bold but shaking within. “I don’t owe you any explanation. You should be happy you are in the room instead of having your own sweet time in the dungeon with roaches and rats,” I said. She gritted her teeth as she had nothing to resort to.
“Know your place and fix your face,” I said harshly. She swallowed the lump in her throat, or should I say the word she was about to say? Whatever it was. She took a deep breath and moved her eyes away from me.
“I’d like to change into something comfortable,” I heard her say and raised a brow. I wasn’t stopping her. Her eyes met mine, and she gave me a look that could be interpreted as, “So, shouldn’t you get going?” “I am not stopping you from changing into something comfortable,” I said.
“I can’t change under your watch,” she said. Her voice had grown softer, and I wondered what type of trick she had under her sleeve. One minute, she is angry, and the next, she suddenly behaves like a meek girl. Well, she couldn’t change my mind. I didn’t plan on leaving the room anytime soon. “It’s either you change into something comfortable or stand there with a towel,” I said, emphasizing my point. She sent a slight glare. “What are you even trying to hide? Did you forget that I was holding that same body without a towel or any piece of clothing to myself a while ago?” I asked, reminding her I had already seen her in case she forgot.
Her face reddened immediately.
Was she blushing? I wondered. “Can you not bring that up? Is it enough that I am not angry that you barged into my bathroom when I was having a quick bath? Do you know that you can be charged with attempted rape?” She asked. She sounded like she was well-versed in the law. One side of my lips pulled to the side.
“Is that the way you show your gratitude for my kind act? You had almost knocked your brain on the floor, and I had prevented that, only to be threatened that I’ll be sued because of it?” I asked her.
“I never asked for your help,” she stated firmly.
“This is the reason a lot of people don’t help others. I have saved you three times in a day or two, and that’s how you thank me?” I said, my voice mixed with anger and disappointment. She was such an ungrateful girl.
She scoffed, “I never asked for your help. I knew the implications of all my actions, and you ended up being a barrier to my plans,” she said. Her hands were still firmly wrapped around herself as she spoke.
“You should be grateful that I have not blown your skull away and grant you the death you wish,” I said. Deep down, I wanted to draw her closer and ask her the reason she tried to kill herself. Was she depressed or something? I wondered. But that was not my way.
She was about to speak, but I cut her short, “Do you think you are the only one who has something wrong with her?” I asked. “There are millions of people like you who think the world is unfair to them, so it is better to end their life,” I paused to study her expression for a while before I continued, “They think they are useless and not needed in the world and yes they are. They are useless and deserve to die,” her expression finally changed.
I don’t know what she was expecting.
But it seemed like my words affected her. “But such deaths are too easy on them. They deserve a more painful death since they are stupid and useless.” I taunted her.
“If that’s how you feel, then why didn’t you let me die? You should have allowed me to jump down the pavement this morning,” she said.
“Why should I?” I asked her while staring at her like an idiot. “I told you that you are very expensive. I didn’t buy you so you could jump down the pavement. If that’s what I wanted, I would have thrown my money through the window,” I told her.
“What were you expecting that I’d have allowed you to jump? I am not here to comfort you; why should I? I am here to remind you of your place. I don’t care what you have been through or are going through. So put that aside and disperse any thoughts of ending your life.” I said.
Her eyes were red. It seemed like she was trying to hold back her tears.
I stood up and walked out of the room. I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn’t mind. I only hope she can feel a bit of anger and hatred in her so that she would be able to come out from whatever was disturbing her. I wanted to bring life out of her, and taunting her was the only way I could think of doing it.
When I got to my room, I called Rave and instructed him to do a quick search on Lucia.
I was sitting behind my table in my study with a glass of wine in front of me. I couldn’t get Lucia’s naked body out of my head. I gulped the drink down my throat. My phone rang, and I picked it up immediately. It was Rave.
“What did you find?”
After listening to Rave, I felt my blood boil. I wanted to skin this Jason guy limb by limb and his bastard uncle Aldo that dared to lay his fucking hands on Lucia. I vowed to cut off his hands. He didn’t deserve them.
These emotions were strange. I now understood why Lucia felt the way she felt. I stepped out of the study and closed the door behind me.
I walked straight to Lucia’s room. I passed by a window, and my eyes quickly looked out. It was evening. I sighed as I increased my pace to her room. I pushed her door open to see her standing before the window, staring outside. She turned slowly, and when her gaze met mine, she furrowed her brow. Her gaze was cold, and I didn’t know why I felt a little bad that she wasn’t staring softly at me.
I wanted to comfort her. I walked towards her. She stepped to the side as I approached her. When I got closer, I paused, then took a step forward while she took one back. I kept walking forward, and she stepped back until her back hit the wall. I placed my hands on the wall, caging her. “What do you want?” She asked.