Chapter 53 LIII.
ALESSANDRO'S POV.
I woke up with a pounding headache. The sunlight glaring through my open window almost threatened to blind me. My face and every part of my body hurt terribly.
I looked around, noticing that I was back in my room at the mansion. How the hell did I get here?
I figured that Sandra and Anna probably brought me back to my room. It had been happening for days now, and I was already used to it.
Three weeks! It had been exactly three weeks since I last saw Rowan. Three weeks since he disappeared from my life. Three weeks since I felt like a part of my soul had been taken away from me.
In those three weeks, I pondered heavily on where he might be. I tried calling his phone several times, but it couldn't be reached. I hired private investigators to help me find Rowan Brooks, but all my efforts were futile. He was nowhere to be found, as if he had completely disappeared off the face of the earth.
With no progress on his whereabouts, I went mad. Every day without him felt like living through another hell. I missed his warm smile, that professionalism surrounding him, and his beautiful eyes.
Fuck, I missed everything about Rowan Brooks.
With each passing second of every day, I wondered the same thing: is this how everything is going to end for us? Will I never get a chance to see him again? Would he find someone else and forget about me completely?
All my efforts to get my grandpa to tell me where Rowan was were all in vain. The old man refused to budge, no matter how much I threatened him with his company. There was no hope for me anymore. I must have truly lost Rowan forever.
Seeing no progress, I turned to drinking, trying to cope with the aching pain in my heart, but it was not enough. Even in my intoxicated state, I could still feel the pain of my loss. I could still feel the ache, and so I started getting into fights at bars and clubs. At least physical pain would distract me from my miserable emotional pain.
Every day, I wondered what I did to deserve such suffering. Why did loving someone hurt so badly?
Love could bring you happiness, but it hurt just as much.
The door opened, and when I glanced toward it, I found my sister stepping into my room. Quickly, I turned away from her in anger. I should be grateful that she had been taking care of me, but I couldn't help but blame her for being one of the reasons why Rowan left. Grandpa did what he did to make her happy because she was obviously his precious grandchild. There was no denying it.
"Hey, brother," she said, stepping further into the room. "I didn't know you were awake. How are you feeling?"
"Good," I replied curtly, looking away from her. No offense to her, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind to look at her right now.
She sighed as if hearing my thoughts. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but we really have to talk, Alessandro."
"About what?" I snapped, irritation filling my tone. I was tired of fucking talking and talking. Right now, I just wanted Rowan! Why was that so hard for them to understand?
"Something important," she replied.
"Well, I don't want to talk to you or to anyone. Just leave me alone."
She sighed again. "Then you don't have to talk. You can just listen while I do the talking."
I didn't even look at her, nor did I make any sound to stop her. She saw this as an encouragement and began.
"I've thought things through, Alessandro, and I realized that you're right about everything you said to me. I was selfish and blinded by my own anger, refusing to see the raw truth right before my eyes."
I had no idea where she was heading with her words, but I kept silent and continued to listen.
"You love Rowan, and he loves you too. I should have understood that. Love isn't forced, and we can't tell our hearts who to love. I've concluded that it's neither your fault nor Rowan's that you two fell in love with each other, and channeling my anger toward both of you was very wrong of me."
With a deep breath, she went on. "Which is why I've talked to Grandpa, and I've convinced him to tell me where Rowan is."
At that revelation, my eyes found hers, wide in shock, only to find her smiling warmly at me. She placed a piece of paper in my hand.
"That's the address of Rowan's new place in Paris, and the branch of our company where he now works. I'm sorry that Grandpa kept him away from you. It was wrong of him."
I stared at the paper in my hands in disbelief. Rowan was in Paris? I never would have thought.
I stared at my sister in both surprise and gratitude. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting this from her, not after what I had done to her and how I had insulted and accused her of being the cause of Rowan's disappearance. I had always known my sister to be a good person. I was wrong to have judged her.
Without thinking, I got out of bed and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "Thanks a lot, sis. Thank you so much. I'm sorry for what I did, and I love you."
She hugged me back tightly. "I love you too, Alessandro," she mumbled into my chest. After a while, she pulled away with a mischievous smile. "Enough of this, or I might throw up. Go get your guy, brother."
I smiled and hurried to get dressed in preparation for the next available flight to Paris.
Don't worry, Rowan! I'm coming to get you!