Landmarks
Aria's POV
Somehow... surprising I managed to get up from the floor, but I just stared at my surroundings.
Everywhere felt cold, not even the thick, crazy long gown I had on could stop the cold air from penetrating my skin.
But I bit down on my bottom lip forcing myself to move.
I tried to take a step, but before I could, the door was suddenly opened and a head peeped through... Then a body followed.
It was the young guy from yesterday, who had a small smile on his face. "Oh, I can see that you're already up."
"Yeah, anyone with eyes can." I retorted rolling my eyes.
Maybe because he was younger, or maybe it was that small smile on his face... But I didn't feel so terrified when conversing with him.
The guy didn't take offense; instead, he just shrugged. Then his gaze moved towards my injured leg, and he stared at the cloth I used to bandage it.
"Can you walk?" He then asked, walking into the room. "The boss asked for you to be brought to his mansion."
Mansion?
Oh... I nodded mentally.
Just like my father, he was also rich using blood money. Stealing others' blood and sweat.
"Miss?" The guy snapped his fingers in my face when he noticed that I didn't answer.
I blinked, shaking my head to get the thoughts out before turning to look at him. "What?" I asked in an absent-minded tone.
"Can you walk?" He repeated.
I stared down at my leg.
Just moving it hurt. Could I walk?
I tried moving my uninjured leg slowly... I limped. It worked.
So maybe I could walk.
"Also..."The guy trialed and I returned my gaze to him. He had his brows raised, with an expression that seemed a little like disgust. "You also need to take a shower."
I followed his eyes trail and looked down at myself.
I was kidnapped yesterday morning. It had just been a day, yet my white dress had turned into a light shade of brown, and I was already starting to stink.
The stench flowed into my nostrils and I cringed, disgusted at my smell.
It wasn't that terrible... But I still stunk.
It was a terrible mix of sweat, dirt, pain, anger, and frustration.
"I need a shower," I muttered, raising a hand to cover my nose.
The guard didn't look too disgusted; instead, he smiled and shook his head. "That's what I just said."
"So, can you walk?" He returned his gaze to my leg.
I wanted to shake my head. To tell him the truth.
No.
But even if I said no, what was he going to do? Carry me?
That would completely destroy the tiny amount of dignity I had left!
But he wasn't even going to do that. He was part of a mafia. They weren't known to be nice to anyone but themselves.
"I can manage," I muttered instead and even went as far as moving a little to show him.
The guy nodded. "Let's go then."
...
Every single step I took was torture. My ankle felt like it was being torn apart forcefully from the rest of my body.
Despite the cold I was feeling, hot sweat trickled down my body. I moved like a tortoise, counting each step I took while biting down on my lower lip to avoid groaning out loud in pain.
My face creased in pain, but I kept on moving. "W... What is your name?" I asked turning towards the bodyguard guy who was right beside me.
He noticed how I moved and how much I tried to conceal the pain I was feeling from him... Yet he said nothing
Instead, he reduced his pace, moving at my speed.
Which was extremely slow.
I didn't want a conversation with him. If anything, I wanted to keep to myself until I could get out of this hellhole, but anything to distract me from the pain I felt in my ankle.
I wanted to test a theory I learnt back in the day... The theory of pain.
It was a gate something theory which basically meant that distractions could make a person not to feel it.
"Marcus." The man answered after a while, clicking his tongue. "You?"
I stopped to raise a brow at him. "You don't know the name of the person you kidnapped?"
"Yeah, there are way too many for me to keep count," Marcus replied with a grin.
I rolled my eyes, resuming my tortoise walk. "Aria."
"Aria," Marcus repeated pronouncing the name slowly.
I used to love that name.
My name.
Now, all I could think of, as Marcus called it, was Diego Bellani's abandoned daughter.
Which I was.
I managed to get out of the hallway and out of the building I was confined in.
After I got out, I turned back to take a better look at it. I was right.
It was an abandoned building, something like a warehouse, a huge one.
A sigh left my lips and I shook my head.
I wouldn't be shocked if the place belonged to Luca.
"Let's go." Marcus tapped my shoulder gently, gesturing towards the car parked not too far from where we stood.
I nodded at him before limping towards it.
The ride to Luca's mansion was smooth, and I was tempted to fall asleep... But who sleeps on a journey that they have no idea whether or not they're going to survive?
I kept my eyes on the road, memorizing every landmark I could see.
I wouldn't want to be stranded out in the middle of nowhere when I eventually went out.
I marked the trees with my eyes, counting the number of lampposts I could see before we arrived at the main road, then I began recounting it again... How many were there before arriving at Luca's mansion?
"How far is it?" I closed my eyes while taking in a huge breath. I just had to ask after it seemed as though we had been riding for over three hours when in reality it was just a bit over 20 minutes.
I was anxious... Ready to get on with my new life. The faster it happened, the faster I could return to my old one.
"We're here." Marcus suddenly said, I flung my eyes open, returning my gaze to the road... Or rather, the huge building in front of me.
Finally...
We arrived.
It was huge... Bigger than my father's. From almost six miles away I had spotted the huge isolated building, but I didn't think much of it. I was too busy spotting landmarks.
The car drove slower, and it passed through the gates, which alone had over a dozen security men surrounding it, before arriving at the mansion.
"We're here," Marcus announced stepping down from the car when it came to a halt.
I hesitated, staring at the building from where I was seated.
It was highly guarded... Which meant that plans of escaping while in this house were futile.