*Lucia*
I walked out of my room, hurrying down the stairs. My slippers hit the heels of my feet as I held the rail, trailing my hands on it. Bruno was already downstairs when I got there. I heaved a sigh of relief. “I thought you had gone,” I said as I walked towards him. He was still in his gym clothes. A towel around his neck. His skin was tanned with sweat.
“I would not go out without eating the dish you prepared for anything.” He said. That brought a smile to my lips. He closed the gap between them and gave me a quick peek on my cheeks. He smelled of cologne and a faint smell of sweat.
“Come down in thirty minutes. I should be done by then,” I said. He nods. “Go take a bath, you reek,” I moved closer to his ears to whisper. I walked past him before he could react and pin me down there. The last thing I wanted was to go back to bed and get punished. Not that I don’t enjoy the punishment, but my legs are still sore from last night.
I heard his receding footsteps.
He had gone and had surprisingly not said anything. Well, for now, I think I should be referred to as a housewife, though we are not properly married yet. After the incident that happened two months ago, he has refused to let me step foot into the club. Reasons unknown to me. I tried telling him that I got into a fight outside the club, just so that he would allow me to go there and not sit at home bored all day. But he refused. This made me think that there was something he was hiding from me, just like he had hidden Sarah’s death.
Sarah.
My heart aches when I think of her. She was dead. I had killed her. I have killed someone while I stayed awake. My hands that were behind my back, tiring the rope of the apron weakened. I was breathing fine, but Sarah was no part of this life. Bruno has tried to comfort me, reminding me of all the things she has done to me. The truth is I’ve never forgotten the things she did. But still, I thought she didn’t deserve to die.
Though I said, one of us had to die. I didn’t mean it.
I inhaled sharply. Trying to calm myself down. I walked towards the cook, I needed to distract myself. Picking up the veggies at the side, I started chopping. It didn’t take time to finish preparing the food. Bruno came down and we had breakfast together. He was dressed in his usual black trousers and jacket.
His hair was neatly styled, with a few strands falling on his face and stopping just on his eyebrow. I smiled. This handsome man is mine. “I have somewhere to take you to today.” He said.
I nodded.
I’m always looking forward to those words. He never disappoints when he says, “Anywhere new?” I asked, wanting to get a bit of information out of him. But he didn’t seem to want to say anything. “tsk, tsk, always impatient. You won’t be disappointed,” he said.
I walked with him down to the basement and watched him get into his car. I waved at him as he drove. I watched him until he drove out before walking inside.
I could feel a shadow following me behind.
I knew it was one of Bruno’s men. Ever since that incident, he has refused to allow me to go anywhere without anyone. I had men by my side all day, even inside the house. At first, it felt overbearing, but it was better now as I have gotten used to it over the past two months.
When I got back, I collapsed on the sofa in the sitting room. I had various TV shows to keep myself busy. Fetching for the remote control on my side, I pressed a button, switching the show to another. I tried to concentrate, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t. My phone lay by my side, and I picked it up.
I went on Instagram and scrolled through some reels. I didn’t chat there even though I received tons of messages. It was just to keep them safe, though, because Bruno was ready to burn down anyone who tried to talk to me. Time flew by so fast, and soon it was evening. I had taken naps at several intervals.
Maybe I should have gone out to spend his money. That was my new hobby.
Bruno called, reminding me of what he said in the morning. I had not forgotten, though. I walked inside, and he asked me to wear something nice. I couldn’t stop smiling all through as I got ready. To my surprise, he sent a makeup artist and a stylist to assist me.
I frowned at them in the beginning, wondering if it was because he didn’t trust my style or something. But I knew he did everything for my good, so I pushed my anger aside and focused on looking good.
“Wow, you look so amazing. Gorgeous, like an angel, a goddess, oh… I have no words for you,” the stylist said. She has been by my side all through watching the makeup artist and has selected my clothes. She was quite talkative and had made the entire time hilarious. I like her already.
“It’s all thanks to both of you,” I told them. I was wearing a black gown, which stopped at my thighs. Bruno has gotten them for me. He picked them himself. The gown was handless, with a few designs. I held a black purse. “Moments like this need to be captured,” the makeup artist said. I took a few pictures before walking downstairs, where Bruno was already waiting for me. He wore a gray tux suit. His hands were combed to the back, and a golden Rolex wristwatch lay on his wrist. He looked dazzling and charming, and handsome and… I just couldn’t find the right words to describe him.
His mouth was parted. His eyes sizing me up.
“You… you look so.” He couldn’t find the right words. I walked to him, standing on my toes; I met his lips with mine. His hands wrapped around my waist to pull me closer, but I placed my hands on his chest, pushing him away slightly. “Let’s go. We’ll have plenty of time. I don’t want to ruin my makeup,” I said.
The truth is that I don’t care about the makeup.
I was just shy. The stylist and makeup artist were still inside. The last thing I want is someone walking up on us.
Bruno entwined his hands with mine. “Let’s go,” he said and led me out.
~
*Bruno POV*
I walked her to the car. I have prepared the biggest surprise for her. A car was waiting for us at the entrance. I opened the door for her to step in before walking around to sit beside her.
The car drove off.
“Why send a makeup artist and a stylist, is it that you didn’t trust my style? And you picked over twenty gowns for her to pick from.” Lucia said.
“What? Not satisfied with the princess treatment you were given?” I asked her a small smile on my lips. My eyes met with the driver’s eye from the mirror and he quickly averted his gaze. He was peering at Lucia. Undoubtedly she looked so beautiful. I began wondering if sending those two was a mistake.
“Not that, but I could have done it myself, and you could have saved your money.”
“Says the girl who spent three million dollars on a necklace,” she had nothing to resort with.
“It wasn’t like I stole it. You gave me your card.” She said, her voice low.
I pulled her closer. “Of course, you can spend as much money as you want. For you, I’ll work ten times harder. I don’t want to ever go broke.” He said. She smiled.
“You make it sound as if I love you for your money,” she said, her eyes darting around. “So you don’t like me for my money?” I asked her, though I already knew the answer. “Then why do you love me?” I asked.
“Because you are you.” She replies. Her voice was firm. “Who wouldn’t like you? You are handsome. So handsome that I want to keep you locked up for myself.” She kept blabbering. She had never said this before, and although I knew about my looks, I became more confident and happy that I didn’t look bad. “And also because you have money,” she said. I was about to speak, but she beat me to it, “There’s nothing wrong with loving a man and his money. I can’t love one and leave the other; it will be unfair.” She said.
I burst out laughing.
The way she thinks also surprised me. She chucked, too. “Of course, nothing is wrong. You can love the money and spend it too.” I said. I touched my pocket making sure nothing had fallen out.
I was glad she was happy. Over the past months, she has been sad. Sucking around, especially when she was alone. She blames herself for Sarah’s death and would never listen to me no matter how hard I tried to make her stop blaming herself.
I also know that she was afraid that Steve would retaliate. She knew he wasn’t going to sit still, and I knew that too. He has been cooking something with Jason. I had sent a warning the next day after Sarah’s death. And I think that has kept them away from acting as they have become unusually quiet since that day. No threat from them, nothing.
“We are going to the lake?” She asked. “And you made me dress like this? This is a bit too much.” She said looking at herself. Night has already dipped in. The car pulled up. I smiled at her not knowing how to respond. “You won’t regret it, I promise,” I said to her as I led her out of the car.
“This place is so dark.” She said. “What happened to the light?” She asked, looking around. A cold breeze hit my face. I didn’t answer her question and gave her a look that could be interpreted as I had no idea.
I took off my suit and placed it over her shoulders. “It’s cold.” She didn’t refuse. “But you’ll be cold,” she said. “It doesn’t matter. As long as you are warm and I’ll always be warm when you are this close to me,” I said, pulling her closer. My hands slid down her waist.
“For you, I’ll do anything, sweet girl,” I told her.
“I know; that’s why you are the man I chose. The man I want. The man I love.” She whispered. “I love you,” she said.
My heart melts. This wasn’t the first time she had said it, but there was something different about it. Maybe it was because of the cold night… maybe it was something else. Whatever it was.
I moved my hands away from her waist and held her hands on my. “From the day I set my eyes on you, I felt something stir in my eyes, something different. You looked different and special in a way I couldn’t describe, and I…” I choked on my words. “And then, when we returned to retrieve the rope, though I don’t believe in such stupid traditions, I said to myself, I must make this girl happy. You don’t know what you do to me, but I’m crazy about you,” small tears fell from her eyes.
I wiped it off with my thumb. “Don’t cry sweet girl,” I said, lower and calmer than I have ever been . “You mean everything to me. …” You’re everything I’ve ever wanted and you… I paused looking into her eyes which were fixed on me, “You complete me. I want to be with you forever,” I said.
“Bruno I…” I didn’t allow her to complete her statement before going on my knees. She gasps, shaking her head, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“I’m completely undone by you, Lucia,” I reached for my pocket and brought out a box. She placed her hand on her mouth, shaking her head. “Marry me, Lucia.” I opened the box and immediately lit it up everywhere. I had decorated the place earlier today. There were balloons and a flier hung saying, ‘Marry me,”
“Be my Wife, and let’s grow old together,” I repeated.
She nodded.
“Yes. Yes.” She kept saying as I put the ring around her finger.
We have a wedding to plan.