Chapter 60: Mind Games

"I can't do this anymore. I have to tell you something," Antonio says.

Is this it? Is he going to confess about what his family has been up to? About how his father has been using him to get to my family and me, or something like that? No. I can't put too much hope on his words and have high expectations. He hasn't even said anything. It could be about something else and not what I expected.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Uh, it's about-" Antonio says, seemingly in doubt about saying whatever he wants to say to me. His gaze turns blank as he stares at the duvet. Come on, Antonio. Say it. Say whatever's on your mind right fucking now.

Antonio lets out a quiet sigh and then turns to me. Doubts and nervousness clearly show themselves on his face. What has gotten him all nervous like this? He's making me worried. I swear, if it's nothing bad, I'm gonna fucking punch him.

"It's about my birthday. It's on Friday next week. Wait, I haven't told you about it, have I?" Antonio says.

"Antonio!" I say, glaring at him and punching his arm. He winces for a second, and I pinch him. Damn it. I shouldn't have too many expectations. I mean, why would he sell out his own family? Even if they do something bad towards my family and me, I don't think he'll be good enough to let me know about it. If he lets me know that something terrible is going to happen, he's dumb, like, why would he risk the safety of his own family for me?

"What?" Antonio asks.

"I thought you were going to tell me something awful!" I say.

"Sorry for worrying you. It's just- I've been wanting to take you on a quick vacation with me. You know, just the two of us and no one else. I was thinking my birthday would be the right time to do it," Antonio says.

"You know that it's impossible. I have to have my bodyguard near me all the time," I say.

Vacation? He wants to take me on vacation for his birthday? Oh hell no. He can't do that. Not anytime soon. I need my rest. Staying too close to Antonio is bad for my sanity. I don't want to let him play mind games with me anymore. I feel like I'm going to go insane if I stay anywhere near him for more than an hour. I need to keep my distance from him.

"I know, and of course, they can come with us, but just like any other day, they'll stay in the background, right? So, it'll feel like it's only you and me," Antonio asks.

"Well, actually, yeah," I say.

Damn it. Now that he's reminded me of my bodyguard, which is Dante, I can't let myself forget about my confession tonight. I need to do it today, not tomorrow or anytime later. He needs to know how I feel about him. I don't want to lose him just because he thinks I like Antonio and not him.

Okay. Now, back to Antonio.

"Uh, where do you plan to take me anyway?" I ask.

"It's a surprise," Antonio says with a grin.

Nope. Definitely not. He can't keep our destination a secret. I need to know where we'll go if I decide to go on his little birthday vacation. If he won't tell me, then I absolutely won't go. Who knows, it might actually be a trap for me. What if Antonio and his family planned to kidnap me or something while we go on this vacation? Yeah, that would be a dumb decision. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't go whether he's going to tell me where we will go or not.

"Man, come on. Tell me. It's your birthday, not mine. Why am I the one getting a surprise?" I ask.

"Okay, okay. Fine," Antonio says, smiling at me. "We'll go to the Amalfi Coast. We have a villa there, and I think it would be the perfect place to spend the weekend with you. My family would probably plan a surprise party on Friday just like they always do on my birthday, so we'll leave on Saturday morning and be back Sunday night or Monday."

Amalfi Coast? Okay, it's nowhere far, thankfully. However, I'm not sure if I should go. I'm scared his family has a terrible plan for me once we get there. I don't want what happened to my mother to happen to me. I don't want them to torture me because of something I barely have anything to do with. I don't want them to hurt me for what my father does. I don't deserve it. All I ever wanted was to leave, but my father forced me to stay.

"So, we'll only stay there for the weekend? That's it?" I ask.

"That's right. We can stay there longer if you want to," Antonio says.

Only for the weekend, huh? I'm not sure why, but I'm actually considering going with him. Despite the fear of getting hurt, I think going on a vacation with Antonio would be beneficial for me. As much as I don't want to believe it, the little part of my heart tells me that this vacation thing is not what Antonio truly wants to say to me. Who knows, he'll probably open up to me more while we're on vacation.

Damn it. It happens again. He's already messed with my mind. Why does some part of me still want to believe that Antonio is the good guy? It's already proven that his family is connected to the Romanos. They literally planned my mother's and mine kidnapping. For all that we know, they probably planned her death as well. So, no. There's no way he's the good guy.

"It sounds nice, but I have to ask my father about that first," I say.

Yes. I have to discuss this with my father first. I'll ask him about this later when I'm back home. I don't trust my own judgment anymore when it comes to Antonio. He has fucked up my mind with all his sweetness and charm. I seriously need to keep my distance from him, or else I'll like him even more than I do now.

"Alright. I'll wait for your answer," Antonio says.

"I'll ask him once I get back home," I say.

"Okay. No rush," Antonio says.

My eyes suddenly feel heavy as a yawn comes out of me. Now I'm sleepy again. I should go back to my room right now, or else I'll fall asleep right in Antonio's fucking bed. There's no way I'll let that happen again.

"I think I'm going to go back to my room now. I'm still sleepy, so I'll get some more sleep before breakfast," I say.

"Go now. I can't have you pass out in the hallway," Antonio says.

"Right. Can't let that happen to myself," I say.

"I'll see you at breakfast," Antonio says.

"See you."

I leave Antonio's room and see Carlo instead of Dante. Well, I guess their shift has changed. I hope Dante is resting in his room right now. He's been working his ass off these past few days, so he deserves a good rest.

"Where's Dante?" I ask as Carlo and I begin to walk towards my room.

"He's in his room. Probably sleeping," Carlo says, shrugging.

"Okay," I say.

Turns out I was right. Dante's sleeping now. I won't disturb him. I need him to get some rest so he can be prepared for what I'm going to say to him tonight. Before that, I need to think about how I'll confess my feelings to him. On second thought, no. I should just let it happen naturally. No more overplanning my plan, especially not for tonight's plan.