CHAPTER 73: Would you?

CHAPTER 73: Would you?
CHAPTER 73
SOFIA.

“Welcome, Benedetta,” the masked man said, turning to face the woman who stood still, staring at me. “Why not get some food for our guest? I guess she must be hungry by now.”
I made to protest, refusing his offer of bringing me some food but I remained mute as my lips pressed firmly together in fear. The woman nodded to the masked man's words, walking to the door and stopping briefly to take one last disgustful glance at me.
I remained seated, my hand clasped and placed on my lap as I looked on quietly, my heart beating faster than usual. My head felt heavy as a myriad of tangled thoughts ran wild in my mind, and I did my best not to betray the fear I felt within me by my look. The masked man continued to stare at me, muttering to himself in low tones.
“Got into Italy, met your father, he disappeared, and then next minute you're getting married to someone else?” he said with a bemused tone in his voice while staring at me in disbelief. “You really agreed to get married to a man less than a week after you met him, really? Whatever made you do that must have been something really solid.”
I said nothing in response, lacking words to defend myself with. I looked away from him and fixed my gaze to the floor, breathing silently.
The room was quiet for a while, and my thoughts became loud in my mind as I wondered what Benedetta's mission was. Was she going to have me killed, probably to get even with my father for abandoning her and her son just like he had abandoned my mother and I? Or was she going to hold me hostage, using me as a bait to lure Giovanni in? My heart raced with panic as I glanced at the masked man, who was already at the window, and closed my eyes briefly, making a silent prayer.
“Did you ever meet anyone from Lucas’ past?” he asked, suddenly his back still turned to me. I opened my eyes to look at him.
“What?” I asked.
“Did you or have you ever met anyone from Lucas’ past?” he repeated, turning back to face me. “Friend, family member, anyone?”
I hesitated as I tried to juggle my memory. “Riccardo? I only know Riccardo. He's always around Lucas, and they seem very close. He's the only one I know of.”
He let out a small, dry laugh. “Riccardo? No, not him. Well, if you must know, Lucas has a family — a mother and a sister — and he left them abandoned for a long time now.”
I flinched, looking at him in surprise. “A family?”
“You didn't know?” he asked, walking towards me with gentle strides. “He's always had them. They're alive, but he doesn't take care of them, unfortunately.”
My brows knitted together in surprise as I listened to his words. I stared at him suspiciously, wondering how he knew this much.
“Can I ask how you got to know all of these?” I asked, maintaining my gaze on him. “You definitely weren't close to him too, were you?”
“How did I get to know all of these?” He let out another laugh, and then he walked closer to me, squatting to meet my eyes with his. “There's nothing hidden under the sun, young lady. There's nothing I can't and won't know about anyone who catches my interest.”
“Great. So tell me what you know about Giovanni, then,” I said pressing on. He shook his head, and then got up.
“The only thing you need to know for now is that I worked for him, and he betrayed me, like I told you earlier,” he said, his voice calm and cold. “Every other thing you need to know would be made known to you in due time.”
I swallowed hard as I suppressed the urge to push forward with another question, my curiosity taking the better part of me. I made a mental note of Lucas' family in my head, wondering how in the world I'd never ever found out about them, even when I'd asked Mariella.
“What you don't know and what you should know, though, is that the devil you know, and who you prefer to be with is actually much worse than the devil himself,” the masked man said, cutting through my thoughts. “Again, you should be filled with gratitude that you're here, safe and sound away from that man.”
“I still maintain that I'd rather be with the devil I know than the angel I don't know,” I replied sharply, cutting him short. “You could be out to kill me for all I care. You literally had a gun pointed in my head a few minutes back.”
“Whatever you say, miss,” he said, shrugging as he leaned on the wall, looking straight ahead.
“You said something about knowing a lot about people who catch your interest,” I started to say, picking my words carefully. “Does that mean that you're interested in me? If that's what it is, I'd love to know why.”
He said nothing, hesitating for a while before turning to me. “Is that your third question?”
I shrugged. “Well, it could be.”
He pushed himself off the wall and walked back to the window. He stared up at the sunny skies, and slowly he lifted his hands to his face, taking off the ghost mask with his back still turned to me.
“I'm going to ask you a question, and I just need a simple and direct answer,” he said, his voice calm and steady. I furrowed my brows, annoyed that he'd dodged my question.
“What question?” I asked slowly.
“Would you walk away from your marriage with Lucas, if you had the chance?” he asked calmly, his back still turned to me.
I gave no response as I sat in silence, staring at the back of the back of the man who stood still at the window, my heart heavy with confusion.