Chapter 15
Andrea’s POV
Emil had led me to the room and then he had left me Wilma and I had not heard from him since then and right now, it was almost midnight, one of the maids was in the room trying to fix the bed, I had been sleeping for the better part of the day so they had not had time to fix the room and the bed.
I was seated in the chair by the window and the night’s breeze was gentle today and I enjoyed the gentle feel it had on my skin.
“I am done Donna, you can get into bed now” the maid said to me.
“Thank you Julia” I said to her.
“You are welcome Donna, is there anything else you need before going to bed?” she asked me.
I was really not ready to go to bed now, I had been in bed most of the day and I really wanted to do something else.
“Can you take me to the library please?” I asked her.
“The Library Donna? Isn’t it a little late for that?” I heard her say.
I smiled and said “I like to read so I do not mind, you just need to show me the library and then you can go to bed”
She was quiet for a while, I figured she was thinking about the best way to handle the situation.
“Madam Wilma will be very upset if I left you alone Donna” she said.
I smiled again and said “Don’t worry about Wilma, I will tell her it was my idea, you don’t have to worry”
“Okay Donna but you will let me know if you need anything” she said.
“I will Julia” I said with a smile.
The journey to the library was short and it was not long before we got there.
“Okay thank you Julia, you should get some sleep now” I said to her.
“Are you sure you want me to leave you here Donna? Will you be alright here?” Julia asked, she sounded skeptical but there was no need for her to be, I had been here before and I knew the section to find the braille books, Wilma had ordered some when I arrived at the mansion and I told her I enjoyed reading.
With a lot of skeptic feelings, Julia finally decided to leave me alone.
When she had closed the door behind her, I began my wondering around the library, the Severino mansion had huge library and I spent most of my time there, my father always made sure they were new books for me to read and I could easily find my way around since I had basically grown up on there.
But I was slowly trying to find my way around here as well, the library was almost as big as the one in the Severino mansion or perhaps it was bigger, I was not sure yet because I had not explored every corner yet.
I got to the section that contained the braille books I was searching for, I ran my finger down the spines of the books until I came across the one I was looking for.
Beauty and the beast was one favorite books of all time and for some reason, I was relating to it now more than ever.
I was beginning to feel a lot like Belle, trapped in a castle with a beast who looked evil at first but then turned out to be kind.
I wondered if Emil Ferrari was like the beast in the book or perhaps he was something else entirely.
“Why are you here alone at night?” I heard a very familiar voice say from the darkness, I jumped and let out a yelp because I was startled, the book slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.
I felt a hand on my arm trying to steady me “I am sorry, I did not mean to startle you” Emil said.
“I am sorry, I just did not hear you come in that is why I was scared” I said to him.
“It’s not your fault, why are you here alone in the middle of the night? Where are your maids? They know better than to leave you alone” he asked.
“I asked to be left alone” I said.
“It is for your own good to have them at all times” he said
“I am capable of handling myself” I said with a hint of annoyance, I did not like it when people behaved like I could not handle myself.
He was quiet for a while then he said “It may seem hard to believe but I am not trying to pick a fight with you all the time, I am only saying this because I am worried about you” his voice was calm as he said this.
I felt like I had received a gentle reprimand and he was right, he was probably saying it because he was worried.
“I am sorry, it is just that I do like people worrying about me so much, it makes feel like a burden” I said.
“Would you like to have a seat?” he asked.
I nodded and said “Yes please”
I felt him bend down to retrieve my fallen book before he held my hand and led me to the sitting area, I sat on the sofa and then he sat on the chair beside me.
“Andrea people are bound to worry about you whether you want them to or not, people who care about you will always worry about you” he said.
I was quiet for a while then I said “So you care about me now?”
He was quiet for a while then he said “You are my wife so that makes you my family and my family is my responsibility”
I smiled a bit and said “That does not really answer my question”
“Yes it does not but at least it begins to answer the question” he said.
We lapsed into silence after that and I decided to ask “Why are you here so late at night?” I said to him.
“I guess I was having trouble settling into my new bedroom so I could not fall asleep” he said.
I felt heat creep into my cheeks when he said this, it was my fault he had to move in to another bedroom since I was currently staying in his bedroom now.
“You can move back into your bedroom, I will ask Wilma to prepare another room for me” I said.
“It is not a problem really, you should stay there since that is where you are most used to” he said.
“But I feel bad causing you inconvenience” I said.
“If you feel bad about it then do me a favor” he said.
I hesitated when he said this, what could he possibly want from me.
I heard him laugh and then he said “I am not going to ask for your hand and leg I can assure you, you don’t need to look so scared”
I had never heard him laugh and it was an interesting sound to listen to, it was a sound that made me smile so I said “Okay, what do you need me to do?
He was quiet for a while then he said “I will like you to give me a chance, I am asking for you not to pick a fight with me at every turn, just give me a chance to show you that I am not as bad as you think”
I was quiet for a while then I said “Okay Emil Ferrari, I will give you a chance and try to know you better”
I could not see him but I could tell he was smiling and for some reason, that brought a smile to my face.
“So what are you reading?” he asked.
“Beauty and the beast” I replied.
“Interesting choice” was his reply.
“You know it?” I asked him.
“Isn’t everyone familiar with the story of beauty and the beast?” he asked.
“I just did not peg you for a person who knew stories like beauty and the beast or a man who enjoyed reading at all” I said to him.
“And yet, here I am in a library at midnight” he said.
“Touché” I replied with a smile.
“I want to ask you about something but I am not sure if it is the right to do since our friendship is newly formed, I will hate to ask something that might offend you” he said.
I smiled and said “You can ask me anything”
“It is about your eyes, I am certain that the Severino fortune is vast so it could have been a financial issue that stopped your eyes from getting healed so what is the problem?” Emil said.
A sad smile crept into my face “Well actually, my father tried his best to make sure I could see, I have lost count of all the Doctors I have had to see, I have been to many countries just to meet Doctors who claimed to be able to fix my eyes but none have been successful so far, I have a total of five surgeries in both eyes and still they don’t work so I have decided to just let it be” I said.
“But do you want to see?” he asked.
“I am not sure, it is actually a situation of you can’t miss what you never had so it does not really bother me” I said.
He was quiet for a while then he said “I am sorry”
I smiled and said “You do not need to be”
We lapsed into silence again and then he said “Can you read to me?”
“You want me to read Beauty and the beast to you?” I asked with a small laugh.
He laughed as well and said “Is that such a bad idea?”
“Not really, I have never read out loud for anyone before?” I said.
“Then I will be your first audience” he said.
I smiled and picked up my book and opened to the first page and then began reading to him.
I was not sure how long we sat there like that but it was well into the night before we decided to get some sleep.
He walked me to my bedroom door and then said “Goodnight Andrea”
“Goodnight Emil” I said to him as I closed the door behind me.
For the first time since I came to the Ferrari mansion, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.