Chapter 52 House Tour
Our lunch ends with empty plates and bowls and full stomachs. While the house staff clean up the table, everyone leaves the room and goes to do their own things. As Dante leaves Antonio, Carlo, and me in the living room, I send him a look, and he nods a little. Alright. It's confirmed. Dante will walk around the house. Hopefully, no one will be suspicious of him.
Valeria says she'll give Antonio and me two hours to hang out, and after that, I need to go to her. I think it's enough time for me to spend with Antonio. I don't want to be with him for too long, or else I might crack under his presence. He must not know about my plan. I need to be cautious and stay fucking calm. At this moment, I feel like I need some anxiety meds to get me to calm down, not overthink things, and be anxious almost all the time. I should've asked my father for it. I think he has some at home, but it's too late now. All I can do right now is just hope for the best and improvise just like before.
"So, where do you want to go first?" Antonio asks.
"Anywhere is fine," I say.
"Alright. Let's go outside first. I'll show you our greenhouse and garden."
Starting from outside, huh? Hmm. Perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but I feel like this might lead somewhere. If we start the tour from outside, chances are we'll end it inside the house, in a room where he could do things with me behind closed doors and without supervision. I wish I'm wrong, but after everything that happened to me in the past, I don't really trust guys like Antonio, especially after finding out that his family is after mine.
Let's see where this will actually take us. Will Antonio try to ruin me, or will he keep his good guy act on until his father succeeds in taking down my family?
Antonio and I walk next to each other while Carlo stays right behind us. As we walk further from the house, Antonio explains the scenery before us. He says that the house is surrounded by tall trees on its left and right sides. Right in front of us, there's a pool facing the vast city under the mountain where this place resides. The view is astounding, if I'm being honest. I can imagine how much better the view will look in summer with the sun shining brightly and the blue sky.
Antonio then leads me through the garden and the greenhouse. The garden blurs into a beautiful mix of green, pink, purple, blue, and yellow, and the air is filled with a comforting floral scent. There are various flowers planted there, but all I can recognise are peonies and hydrangeas that surround the well-maintained greenhouse. Antonio, Carlo, and I walk down the path that leads to the greenhouse and then stop by the glass door.
"Here's our garden and the greenhouse. Everything here and inside used to be looked after by my mother. After her death, my father and Valeria take care of them and keep the place as lively as it was when my mother was alive. My father does the tending most of the time since it makes him feel closer to her," Antonio says.
His mother has died? When? I don't think Antonio has told me about her. Now I'm curious about how she died. Hopefully, it's not the same way my mother died.
"I don't think you've ever told me anything about your mother," I say.
"Correct, but that's because you never asked. Well, if you really want to know, she died because of her chronic illness," Antonio says.
"She was sick?" I ask.
"Yeah. Fourteen years. She'd been sick for that long. After the first time she got diagnosed, she got better after getting the much-needed treatment. Unfortunately, her condition got worse four years before her death. No medicine could stop her illness from getting worse. At first, she couldn't walk anymore because her legs got paralysed, and then a few months later, she lost her vision in her left eye permanently. In the end, we found out the nerves in her brain had been too damaged to keep her body alive for much longer. A few months leading up to her death, she had trouble breathing and had to use a ventilator. She didn't survive since her condition was already too bad," Antonio says.
Damn. Even though Antonio's mother didn't have to go through the same torture as my mother did with the Romanos, living for that long with such a debilitating illness is not better. I'm sure it was torture for her to live like that and watch herself losing her own life.
"I'm sorry about that. That was a horrible way to live," I say.
"It was, but I'm glad she's already past that and not suffering anymore," Antonio says. He's right. The same goes for my mother. After all the suffering she went through from the torture the Romanos did to her, I'm glad she doesn't have to feel such excruciating pain anymore. She's free from it now.
"You're right. Our mothers are probably together right now, looking down at us from heaven," I say.
"Absolutely. From what I know, they were quite good friends ever since our fathers worked together," Antonio says.
Friends? Now that's interesting. It's a given thing, though. They, knowing each other, were bound to happen. What I'm interested in is how they're actually friends. I don't think I've met Antonio's mother before. As someone close to my mother, I find it odd that she never took me to meet her. Or maybe just maybe, I've met her before, but because I was too young, I forgot.
"That's nice to hear," I say.
"Yeah. There are probably pictures of them together somewhere in the house. I'll try to find them later and give them to you if you want," Antonio says.
"That would be great. I want to see how happy our mothers were when they were together," I say. Let's see how close they used to be. I should also ask my father if this was true. Who knows? This might lead us somewhere, even if the odds are slim.
"Me too. Now let's continue with our tour," Antonio says.
We walk through the house. Antonio shows me almost all of the rooms in the house. The bathrooms, guest rooms, kitchen, library, dining room, laundry room, and the house gym. Every room I've been in has the same style: cosy yet elegant, giving off a warm feeling despite the cruel person who lives here.
"And lastly, this is the rooftop. We usually use this as a hangout spot. You know, to watch the sunset while drinking or eating some light food," Antonio says.
Walking closer to the edge, I stare at the scenery of the city below us. I wish there were a rooftop in my house as well. This seems like the perfect place to spend one's time. Just the thought of relaxing and reading books while the wind lightly breezes past me feels wonderful already. In summertime, it would be so much better. I bet the sunset from here is phenomenal.
"The view is nice up here," I say.
"Yeah. It is," Antonio says.
I look up at him. Noticing my gaze on him, he stares down at me and smiles. Damn it. His smile, man, it always make him looks so good and nice. His soft smile makes it impossible for my brain to think that he's the bad guy. Fuck.
"That's all for now. Make yourself at home while you're here. You can go into all the rooms I've brought you into. You don't have to wait for our permission to get into the rooms, but obviously, don't sneak into our bedrooms and my father's office," Antonio jokes, grinning at me. I laugh at his joke. Even though he makes it sound like a joke, I don't think it's a joke at all. It's more like a threat. I'll take that as a caution. Carlo, Dante, and I should definitely be careful in here.
"Of course," I say.
"Anyway, since we still have a lot of time to ourselves, is there anything you want to do with me?" Antonio asks.
"What do you have in mind?" I ask.
"Whatever you want to do," Antonio says. In his eyes, I see a gleam of mischief, and my heart skips a beat at the sight.
Is he baiting me to ask and do something he wants? Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it does feel like it. I should let him take the lead and see where it will take us. I can't lie, but I'm actually afraid the same thing that happened to me with Paolo might happen with Antonio. If that really happens, I think it's a good thing. He literally would give me a reason to hate him, and it would make my job easier. Hopefully. It might be an annoying thing to fight him back, though.
"Hmm, then take me to your most favourite room in the house," I say.
Upon hearing that, the mischief in Antonio's eyes grows even darker. Oh no. He just takes the bait. As much as I want him to give me a reason to hate him, I'd rather not have him attempting to rape me as Paolo did. No thanks.
"Favourite room? Are you sure?" Antonio asks.
"Yes. Why not?" I ask.
"Alright then. Follow me."