Chapter 59

Alessia.

For the first time in a while, I felt lighthearted as Angelo reciprocated my hug by wrapping his arms around me. We stayed like that for some time, discarding everything in the background but the feeling of our warmth. I itched to do more than hug but held myself back. I want him to make the move first. I have a lot I want to pour out but prefer to indulge in the moment first. I don’t know when next he will hold me like this.

“Oh my! Did I interrupt something?” Annie’s voice was fast followed by the door closing again. We pulled away. I cast my head down suddenly feeling awkward.

“Um…you should come down. You haven’t eaten.” Angelo said making a walk to the door. “Can you ask Lillian to bring it to my room? I don’t feel like going out.” Angelo’s eyes darted left to right before he nodded and left.

I inhaled a deep breath. There are a lot of things that need to be solved now. I need to know the reason why my real parents abandoned me. Why they didn’t want me in their lives. I have to meet the man. I was still in a standing position thinking about how to tackle the situation when the door was opened. I thought it was Lillian arriving with my food, instead, Annie was the one who stepped inside. “Hey,” she flashed out a smile placing the plate on my nightstand. “Your dinner.”

“Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?” She asked forming her lips into a thin line. I copied her action. “I’m good I guess. Even if I’m not, I will eventually be alright.” I ended with a light chuckle.

Annie nodded her head. “Right. I heard everything from Kelvin. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing when you did nothing wrong? It’s fine.” Annie grabbed my seat on the bed taking me along with her. She didn’t let go of my hand.

“Listen Alessia. I know this is a whole lot of load to take in. I fought with Angelo all these while he pushed you away but after hearing about this, I feel like I could understand him a bit. He doesn’t want you to get hurt which was why he wanted to send you away.”

I clenched my jaw recalling the way he behaved coldly towards me back then. When I thought I was the problem. When I thought I wasn’t good enough for him. “But Annie, why did he choose to push me away instead of confronting me with the truth? He doesn’t see me as a strong woman but a weak one who can’t fight her problem. What my father did was bad and up to him. He deserves to face the consequences of his actions. I am in no support of that.”

“And I am also a victim. Because all the life I thought I’d lived in the past was all a lie. His ruthlessness wasn’t only for innocent people but for his family too. So, I feel like Angelo should have trusted me enough before doing what he did.”

“I understand your pain and I’m not trying to take Angelo’s side. I’m just saying this should not define your relationship with him.”

“I don’t know how he’d see me as now. What if he hates me.”

“Don’t say that. The Angelo I know loves you so much that it’s hard for him to hate you because of what wasn’t your fault.”

I cast my head down in thought. It would pain me if Angelo hated me because of what my father did. Even though I hadn’t confirmed whether it was true or not. “Do you still love him?” The question from Annie made me look at her.

“Do you even have to ask? You know how miserable I’ve been because of his love. I still love him, Annie. And I’m ready to fight this with him.” Annie heaved out a sigh. “I’m glad you two still love each other. This is the time to make peace and not blame one another. There are a lot of things Angelo sacrificed to get to where he is now. And I feel like you’re the only person who can crawl inside his heart and heal him. He’s still miserable.”

“Do you think he would let me in again? He didn’t plan on telling me about my father in the first place. And when we visited his mother the other time, he shut me out. His way of handling problems is by pushing people away. I don’t want to fall into that again.” Annie squeezed my hand for a long time. “This is why you’re here. To be his rock, a shoulder for him to lean on, and his best friend. We are the only close person to him but you’re his closest.”

“And as for his mother, I think you two need to talk about that. To understand how to prove himself to her. So she would start blaming him.”

I had been thinking about what Annie said for a while now. I know she has a point. The only way for Angelo to get his revenge is by bringing the people that hurt his family. After pacing around for some time, I walked out of the room. I know the rest had already gone to bed and it’s a high chance Angelo is still awake. I fisted my knuckle on the door and awaited his response.

A few seconds later, the door was pulled open. I held in my breathing as my eyes landed on his naked chest. “I…” I trailed off not knowing what to say. “I couldn’t sleep.” I finally said.

I didn’t know whether I was mistaken but I think I saw him smirk. “Come in.” He opened the door for me.

“Why are you still up?” I decided to start a conversation. “Same reason.”

“Same reason?” I repeated. “What reason is that?”

Okay, Alessia looks like you’re looking for something. Angelo’s eyes darted left to right. “You said you couldn’t sleep. It’s the same for me.”

Did he also have a lot to think about like I did? I wanted to talk about the situation but decided to leave it for tomorrow. “I’m off to bed then.” I hopped into his bed, pulled the bed covers over my body, and faced the other side. I could feel his eyes on me but I pretended not to notice.

The next moment, the bed dipped with his weight. I gripped the hem of the bed covers. I was using the larger part of it and doubted if the rest would cover up his body. But I couldn’t care less. Silence then fell in the room. I know the silence meant something. We both have something to say but want the other to start talking first. “Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?”

“What?” I abruptly spurned my body around. “I am a baby?”

His smirk finally came on full display. “Of course. You’re my baby.” My body was then pulled into a strong naked chest with strong arms wrapped around my body. The scent of his body engulfed my nostrils. “I know you missed my warmth.” He whispered in my ear.

“No, I don’t.” I tried shifting my body away but Angelo held me back. Tightly.

“Do you think I will let you go after you escaped from my arms once?”

“I didn’t escape. You push me away yourself.”

“I know. And I regretted that. Because life has been hard without you in it. I tried lying to myself that I did the right thing but deep down, I was in pain. I regretted letting you go. Especially when I saw you with Ryan. It made me jealous.”

A giggle erupted from me. “When was that?”

“At the convenience store. I was pissed and jealous when you told him we’re siblings. And when I saw you two the other night, I knew right then that I had messed up.”

My giggle widened and I lifted my head to look at his face. “But you acted as if you didn’t care.” He pushed a strand of my hair from my face. “I was trying to hold my pride. You know I’m a man of pride.”

I trailed my fingers over his chest. “Do you love me that much?”

“I love you more than you can imagine. And I realized that the day I found out about Enzo. I knew hurting you would be the last thing I would want to do. That was why I tried getting you out of my life. But I’m glad you didn’t leave.”

“But I will still leave. I’m planning on leaving tomorrow.” The way he was fast in jolting up didn’t fail to make me chuckle. “Why?”

“I thought that’s why you wanted all these while.”

“I had a change of mind. I don’t want you out of my sight. I’m protecting you with everything in me, Alessia.” His words warmed up my heart. I gulped down an emotional saliva.

“Promise me you won’t let go of this hand.” I pushed my hand forward. His eyes shifted down to my hand before looking at me again then placed his hand atop mine. “I am never going to let go of this hand. Never. I promised.”