Chapter 109 Coming for a different reason
Serena's POV
I felt a certain chill go down my spin at the sight of his face.
I hadn't thought of how I would react to seeing his face so soon.
Something about seeing him walk in casually struck fear into me, and as he approached me, I instinctively shifted back.
I caught the displeasure behind his eyes at the sight of me shifting, but I couldn't help it.
The mark of last night remained on me despite how much I scrubbed.
He took a seat gently to my right and I adjusted till I was sitting uprightly too.
He didn't say anything at first and I avoided his eyes too, looking away anytime he looked at me.
But lifting my eyes back up anytime he wasn't looking.
We sat like that in silence for I don't know how long, till he finally spoke up.
“Serena,” he called out, reaching forth with a hand but I leaned away instinctively again.
The sight of his hand on me felt like a trauma from abuse.
What happened last night could really pass as that.
He paused, leaving his hand lingering in the space between us as though he was shocked by my sudden retracement.
His lips remained parted for a while like he was looking for a way to say something, then he lowered his hand gently to the space between us.
“Okay, no touching,”he started again. “How are you feeling?” He asked softly.
I couldn't tell whether he cared or he was just asking, so I just nodded in response.
He sighed deeply and put a hand over his hair, lowering his head.
That's when I noticed that he was wearing one of his suits again, green colored with a tie.
I don't think I've seen him dressed in anything other than a suit.
I looked away immediately as he turned his eyes back to me.
“Serena, about last night—”
“You really don't need to,” I cut in, not exactly sure I wanted to hear any apologies.
“Okay, but I want to,” he replied calmly.
“I don't want to remember it,” I countered.
“It's something that would remain with us anyway,” he interjected and I couldn't argue with that.
I looked away instead, knowing what he would say next.
“About last night,” he started again, turning to me slightly. “You got me angry, you should never have tried to run away,” he added and I almost flipped out.
Is he for real, after all he put me through last night, the best he could was to put the blame on me?
He must have noticed my annoyance cause he immediately stretched his hand out again.
But this time, I didn't just dodge it, I leaned back and stood to my feet at once, walking away from the bed.
I didn't bother to see his reaction, I just stood with my hands crossed over my chest and staring out the window.
“Serena,” he called from behind but I paid him no attention.
He didn't have the right to turn me around as he wanted and still ping the blame on me.
I heard him sigh before I felt his weight behind me.
I shifted again, trying to pass the message that I needed no contact.
He sighed again then spoke.
“I had to teach you a lesson, I had to ensure you felt how bad what you did was,” he started and didn't make things better in any way.
“I couldn't lock you up, or starve you, or whip you cause there would be no difference between Marco and I then,” he continued and a part of me softened slightly.
“I thought of the quickest way to teach you a lesson without torturing you, in a bad way,” he added.
As much as I would hate to admit it, I loved it, at least not the part of this morning.
I loved the moment, I longed for the pleasure and that last release hit differently.
“To be fair,” he started again. “I didn't plan to do that. When I heard you ran away, my first thought was to come here, yell the fuck out of you and have your ass locked up for days,” he added and a chuckle nearly escaped my lips.
“But the more I talked to you last night, the less I felt that anger. I was slowly losing the will to punish you just by hearing your voice in that manner,” he continued.
My hands loosed from across my chest with my eyes still facing the large window opposite where he stood.
“I struggled to bring myself to the point where I could do anything to you, except for what I had in mind,” he explained.
At this point, I couldn't even believe that I was angry again.
“I've lost a lot in the wake of this crisis with Luca. I've lost men, I've lost goods, I've lost money, I've lost honour and I'm slowly losing the respect of some of my men,” he added and that got to me.
My hand slowly dropped to my side as the weight of his words hung over me.
I didn't realize how much he had staked for my cause and how much he was actually losing, even to the respect of his men.
I had suspected. I mean, eyebrows would be raised when the once feared Mafia Lord begins to guard a strange girl without putting a ring on her.
Many would ask what he stood to gain, or why he was willing to lose everything for a wanted lady.
A wanted lady that wanted nothing more than to run away for her good.
After a long pause, he spoke up again.
“I know barely anyone would know what happened between us last night, but if anything, I've kept you indoors without putting a leash on you,” he added with a lighter tone that made my heart skip.
I turned to him slowly to find him smiling back at me.
“I’m not asking you to remain with me forever, all I'm asking is that you don't go running off while I'm staking my life to get trouble off your back,” he added softly and it passed more arrows through my heart.
He was right, I was being selfish and inconsiderate.
I know I wanted to be free, but that shouldn't come at the cost of the honour of the man that has risked his life for me countless times.
“I'm sorry, Dante,” I muttered. “I'm sorry for being selfish, I'm sorry for only thinking about myself, I'm sorry—”
I didn't get to finish my words as he forced them back with one move…