Chapter 30

Isabella slowly opened her eyes as the sun shone through the curtains, illuminating the room in a soft golden light. The pounding in her head reminded her that she had definitely indulged in one too many drinks the night before. Groaning, she sat up and ran a hand through her disheveled hair, trying to piece together the events of the previous evening.

But try as she might, the memories were hazy and disjointed. She remembered drinking a few glasses, nothing more, the more she tried to remember her head ached.

With a sigh, Isabella swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, wincing at the sharp pain in her temples. She stumbled towards the bathroom, her reflection in the mirror revealing tired eyes and a flushed complexion.

As she splashed cold water on her face, the events of the night slowly started to come back to her in bits and pieces. A blurry image of someone she couldn't place her hands on yet.

But try as she might, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was missing. A sense of unease settled in the pit of her stomach, as she tried in vain to recall the last incident that had led her to this hangover-filled morning.

With a resigned shrug, Isabella dried her face and forced herself to push aside her worries. Whatever had happened the night before, she would deal with it when the time came. For now, she needed to focus on getting through the day without feeling like her head was about to split in two.

Immediately she stepped out of the bathroom, she heard a knock on the door, she looked at the time, it was just a few minutes after 7:00 am. She knew breakfast didn't come until 8:30 am, she wondered who the person might be.

“Good morning Ma'am” a girl around her age greeted her with a tray in her hand. Before she could utter a word, the girl came in and dropped the food on the table. She didn't look like a housekeeper or a cook because unlike the others she appeared pretty neat and didn't wear their normal dress code.

“Isn't too early for breakfast?” Isabella asked

“It is Ma'am, but the boss ordered for it to be brought now” she replied smiling

“I'm Dinah by the way” the girl uttered

“Oh, okay I am Isabella” Isabella responded

“I know that already, see you later Bella” she muttered before leaving.

Isabella stood at the door for a while trying to process what had just happened but gave up when she could get around it.

“Why would Leonardo tell them to bring breakfast by 7:00 am and not 8:00 am?” she thought, she decided not to think much about but it was then it occurred to her that she had company last night and it was Leonardo.

“Shit! shit! shit!” she exclaimed, she walked from one end of the room to another trying to remember what had happened but nothing, she feared she must have done something stupid.

“you knew you couldn't hold your alcohol and you still took it, damn you Isabella” she cursed herself. After minutes of pacing, she decided to eat something and look for something for the blinding headache she was having. She wondered how much she had drunk.

She opened it to See Spaghetti aglio, olio e pepperoncino, and by the side was an espresso, which was known for relieving hangover. She didn't want to think much about the spaghetti, she greedily ate it.

After consuming the espresso, she began to perspire heavily, her headache appeared to be getting better, and her stomach ailment appeared to be getting better. She rested for a bit before heading to the bathroom to shower. As she showered she tried her best to remember any other thing apart from eating dinner and drinking wine. But she concluded nothing had happened, if not Leonardo would have been here by now.

Isabella decided not to step out of her room until she had remembered the details. She scrolled through the smart TV for a while looking for something to while away her time. After minutes of scrolling, she finally settled for one.

She was enjoying the movie and looking forward to the ending when she heard the character say “I don't love bad boys” The word sounded like a bell in Isabella's head and memories came flowing.

“what have I done?” she sighed

She felt that some of the memories were still to come, even after they returned. The last thing she remembered was him carrying her and anything after was blank. She dashed back to the bathroom and checked her body; she did not feel strange or uncomfortable.

"What if he went slowly?" A voice inside her head said,

"No, no, no," she exclaimed as she dashed back to her bed, opening it to look for any signs; it was her first time, and giving it to Leonardo would kill her. The bed was spotless, with no signs of anything. She sniffed the bed to see if she could smell his perfume. Her heart broke instantly when she smelled his usual cherry perfume.

She sat on her room floor, confused and terrified; the memories she could not recall now frightened her more than the ones she could.

******************

“Did you send her the food?” Leonardo asked

“Yes” Dinah replied

“She is prettier than you said and too innocent for you” she smiled

Leonardo shook his head “ I am not going down that road with you today Dinah”

“hmm you like them naughty and that pretty over there doesn't look anything like your kind of girl,” Dinah said calmly

Leonardo knew his cousin's sister wouldn't give it up, the way she was happy to go give Isabella her breakfast just to check her out. He knew she wasn't wrong, he always liked them naughty and nasty but Isabella was nothing like that and he still couldn't resist her.

“you see, I am right but let's see how it plays out, I will have to extend my holidays brother” she informed him

Turning his head “Nah you are....”

“I just texted Mum, you know you can't say no to her,” she said interrupting him.

She was right, he couldn't say no to his aunt, he sighed and continued with his work. He spent the last six hours listening to Dinah talk about how to woo a girl, he couldn't get her to shut up so he just listened.

He decided to try one of the things Dinah had told him.

*************

Isabella was fast asleep when a knock on the door awoke her. She sat for a while, grunting with exhaustion and anger before walking towards the door. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she had no idea when she had fallen asleep. She waited for a while, unsure whether to open the door or not; the possibility of the knocker being Leonardo was high. She could not face him right now, so she silently prayed that the knocker was not him.

"Good evening, ma'am." a housekeeper greeted, Isabella ushered the lady inside, she seemed to be carrying a lot of things.

“ Ma'am Sir Leonardo said you should wear the gown inside and be ready for dinner” the housekeeper informed before she could ask. her eyes widened as the housekeeper delivered the message.

“I eat dinner alone so why dress up for dinner” she muttered inaudibly, she wasn't ready to meet him yet, she needed to remember the part she had forgotten before she could meet him.

As though she noticed the v pm, you will be having dinner with Sir Leonardo”

“What?!” she exclaimed