Leaving soon
Aria's POV
Soup?
'Why soup?' I asked myself staring at the bowl skeptically.
I hadn't eaten in days, Luca... Luca would have sent something much more... Wouldn't he?
Or maybe I didn't know him as much as I thought I did.
The thought made me feel a sharp pain in my heart.
Whether or not he was being considerate with this, it only just affirmed things... I didn't know him as much as I thought I did.
Pressing my lips together, I picked up the spoon on the tray.
This soup... Surprisingly, it didn't make me want to puke or nauseous... It actually smelled nice.
Maybe Luca was just considering my illness when sending me food.
Maybe he already consulted someone in order to know what was good for me to consume without feeling like throwing it back up.
Thinking of it... It was kind of considerate.
A small smile appeared on my lips as I stirred the soup, watching the contents move.
I was so hungry. But there was something... An intuition perhaps... I just felt like I shouldn't eat it.
But why not?
If Luca had wanted to kill me, he would have done it back when I was in the dungeon. Why would he waste so much time getting me out of there and settled back in my room if he only wanted to kill me?
Luca was a murderer, but would he murder me? He claimed he loved me didn't he?
My thoughts were conflicted as I stared at the soup. A part of me wanted to eat it. The part of me that was hungry.
While the other part... The part that was still hurt wouldn't budge.
Maybe I shouldn't even eat it.
Aish!
I sighed in frustration dropping the spoon back on the bowl. It made a 'Clank' sound as it collided with the bowl.
Then I looked away, pushing my hair back.
"What do I do with him?" I asked myself, staring at the ceiling.
I was so lost in my thoughts...
The sound of the door being knocked on loudly jolted me out of my thoughts.
I snapped towards the door.
Before my mind could think of him, the person outside spoke.
"It's Marcus." He announced.
Marcus?
I blinked still staring at the door. How was he here? Didn't Luca punish him? Or he didn't find out Marcus had been to see me more than a dozen times when I was locked up?
I shook my head, shoving all thought of Luca to the back of my head before getting up.
I opened the door with a small smile on my face.
"Hey..."
It was him. "Hey..."
I had never seen Marcus disheveled before. He was always well dressed in a suit and tie... With a small smile on his face.
He always looked optimistic. Even back when I was at that place.
"I never thought I would see you here again. With a small smile on your face, in this room." He said with his own small smile adorning his face.
How could an optimist say that?
Unless... Unless he didn't want me to come back here. He wouldn't want me to be under Luca's roof again, as his captive.
But I was.
My smile was forced, he couldn't see it. "I never thought I would be here again," I answered thinking back to my time at the dungeon. "I thought Luca was going to let me die there, or rather I was going to die from not being able to eat."
I really think that would be the case.
It was as though my words reminded him that I hadn't eaten in a while and that I was sick. His expression turned gentle and worried. He reached out to touch me. "Are you alright now? Are you feeling dizzy or nauseous?"
He didn't touch me.
Marcus's hands stopped halfway... Almost as though he remembered something else.
Then he squeezed his hands to form a fist and then retracted them.
I pretended not to notice and answered. "No. It was probably just the place."
I hadn't felt pain since I came back.
Maybe it was because my body was getting tired of being in that place. Or maybe it was the air or the hallucinations...
Whatever it was, I didn't...
"I wish it were I heard Marcus whisper, breaking into my thoughts.
He... He wished what?
"Huh?" I pretended as though I didn't hear him. He didn't answer the question; instead, he changed the topic.
"Aria, I'm glad you're okay." He said with a small smile.
What? Why would he just...
He wished it were just the dungeon. Did he know it was something more? Did he know what was truly wrong with me?
I knew those doctors were hiding something from me, I just knew it.
But I also knew Marcus wouldn't tell me the truth.
So it was best I just left it like that.
"Thanks." I nodded at him taking a step back.
Then I remembered something else. Marcus...
Was he okay?
"What about you? Did Luca do anything to you?" I asked scanning his body with my eyes. "Did he find out that you've been seeing me this past few weeks?"
The only way he would still be fine was if Luca... If Luca didn't find out, right?
But then Marcus surprised me with his reply.
He scratched the back of his neck as he answered. "Yeah. He did."
He what?
I scammed Marcus' body again. "Fuck... Are you okay?" I moved closer to him, turning his shoulder with my hands to see his back. "Does anywhere hurt? Did you..."
"Relax." Marcus grabbed my hands to stop me from touching him. "He didn't do anything to me."
What?
I blinked in surprise.
Luca... Didn't Luca? "He... He didn't?"
So he doesn't even care that much anymore?
Marcus's lips pulled to form a small smile. His large hands caressed mine..."Wait, don't tell me you're sad because he didn't beat me up for talking to you."
"No, it's not that." I pulled my hands back before it would get too awkward between us. He had been trying to resist for a while... I was the one who initiated it while trying to check his body for injuries.
"It's just... He..." I tried to justify my words, but Marcus didn't mind.
He just smiled at me. "It's not like that Aria. He cares about you. He truly does."
Yeah...
Should I believe that?
"Yeah. That's what people say." I said dismissively.
It wasn't that I wanted Marcus to get hurt, it was just... Even before he confessed his feelings to me, he had always been overprotective.
I had gotten used to that thinking that was the way he showed his love to me. By being like that.
So if he wasn't like that anymore.... Did that mean he didn't love me anymore?
'Why was I overthinking this way?'
And what's worse... Why was I thinking this way in front of Marcus, a man I knew had feelings for me?
"Aria, relax. Luca's hasn't changed." Marcus comforted me.
Why... Why was he comforting me? Didn't he feel hurt that I was thinking of another man?
"...He's growing." He continued. "He's evolving, probably because he's leaving soon."
Was that the reason? "Yeah, I know, but..."
"He has less just than 29 days left."
Did I... Did I just hear what he...