Chapter Forty

LUNA

When I came to, I was back in my room, still in my evening gown, dizzy, and hungry; I could feel a slight bump on the side of my head.

I took deep breaths and rolled onto my side, the sound of the chains reminding me of my bondage.

Somehow, I wasn’t surprised that Guillermo was the one behind this madness. To be honest, I wouldn’t have been surprised at whoever I saw. I just wanted out of there.

But finding out that it was Guillermo presented me with a new worry. Would Giovanni even look in his uncle’s corner at all? Assuming, of course, that he was searching for me.

I heard the sound of car engines, and I rushed to the window that was locked tight and burglary-proof so I couldn’t escape. My race was cut short by the chain and I fell to the ground. I cursed at the offending piece of metal, dragged my body across the ground, and grabbed the window sled with all my strength. My head was the only thing that could make it above the ledge, while the chains were pulling on my ankle with a vengeance. One thing was certain: I was going to bruise.

I looked down as much as my limited movement would allow and saw the last person that I expected to see. Alessandro. The last place I had seen him was at some party with Giovanni and Bianca.

What was he doing here?

I shook my head as though to clear the question from it. Now wasn’t the time to ask unnecessary questions. Maybe he would take word back to Giovanni about where I was. I took a deep breath and screamed as loud as my voice would let me.

“Alessandro!!!” He stopped just as he was about to enter his car and looked around. I could see his ears work. The guards around him had frozen too, looking around. I tried again.

“Alessandro!!!” He turned his head and looked in my direction, but because of the angle, and the fact that my head was barely above the window ledge, he didn’t see me.

“Alessandro…look up!!!” I began waving my hand erratically, hoping that he saw it.

I heard the key in my door unlock, and then my guard came inside. I began screaming more and more, calling out his name, and waving my hands, hoping he saw me.

The guard yanked my chain, displacing my hold on the ledge, and my face was sent straight into the stone floor. I swore as he began dragging me across the floor with the chain, and then when I was close enough to him, he yanked me up by my hair till I was face to face with him, my feet not touching the ground.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, you stupid bitch?!” he seethed in my face. My hands held onto the hand that was holding my bun; tears blurred my vision.

“Nothing…” I could feel a bump from where my head had hit the floor, and I could feel something trickling down my face. Coupled with the fact that I hadn’t had anything to eat and the hand that was holding me up by my hair in a death grip, I was beginning to feel rather light-headed.

“Nothing? You’re fucking lucky it wasn’t the boss that heard you yell out. You would have witnessed firsthand the reason why he killed your stupid whore of a mother and your father.”

I froze. Even though my head wasn’t where it needed to be, I could still make out words clearly, and I had heard what he said.

“What?”

He released his hold on my hair, and I crumpled on the ground. He laughed at me. “Prepare yourself. You have dinner with the boss again tonight. Do not stress me, and I won’t be telling the boss of your shenanigans today.”

He left the room, not forgetting to lock me in, leaving me on the floor to deal with a banging headache and a grumbling stomach. Tears flowed freely from my eyes. I wanted Rose.

The door opened again, and the guard came in with Ophelia in tow. She gasped when she saw the state I was in and rushed to me. The guard unlocked the chain, took his usual seat at the table, and began reading a book.

“What happened to you?” she whispered to me. I looked at the guard, and her eyes trailed to him too. When she looked back at me, she nodded in understanding and helped me get on my feet.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” We went into the bathroom and she helped strip me down.

“I can wash myself, I’m not a child.”

“I know. And I would like to keep my head too.” I sighed, entered the bathtub, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the ministrations on my person.

After the bath, she saw the bump on my head and began applying ointment after ointment.

“Please, don’t provoke these men. You’re human, there is only so much beating you can take from them. And they’re not holding back. I’m surprised you don’t have a broken bone somewhere.”

I opened my mouth to argue but she gave me a look, and I kept quiet. We finished and she dressed me in a simple cotton gown that came down to my knees. Just then, my stomach grumbled loudly again. Ophelia laughed.

“I’ll head down to the kitchen and see what I can get for you.” I nodded in gratitude while holding my hands crossed tightly over my midsection. We headed back into the room, and Ophelia left to get me some food. I sat at the table opposite the guard and waited for Ophelia.

She returned with a steaming bowl of pasta and fried chicken alongside some orange juice and water. I dug in as soon as the plates hit my table and didn’t stop till I had shoved the last fork of spaghetti into my mouth. When I finished, I looked up to see the guard looking at me with a concerned expression.

“You eat like an animal.”

“Says the animal.” I held my breath after the words were out of my mouth. He smiled and nodded.

“You have dinner with the boss tonight. Ophelia will get you ready.” He stood and dropped the book back on the table. “Try to behave yourself. I don’t want to carry another dead weight up the stairs again tonight.”

Soon enough nighttime came, and it was time to meet my captor. Ophelia came and got me dressed in another evening gown. It was another dress from my mother; I had seen it in one of the paintings in the dining room.

One thing was certain: Guillermo was obsessed.

The guard escorted me to the dining room where the bastard was already sitting and waiting for me. “My princess…you look so beautiful.”

I gulped and went to my seat opposite his. He laughed and clapped his hand twice, which summoned the waiter.

I took a deep breath. Let’s get this over with, so I can return to the safety of my cage.