EIGHTY-FOUR

It felt like the wind was knocked out of me as I put my hands out to steady my throbbing heart. He'd caught me unaware and he nearly gave me a heart attack.

I'd been hoping to avoid this unwarranted situation but here I was.

I was damn sure that he was fast asleep when I tiptoed out of the bedroom for a few minutes. Had he been putting on a show?

"You passed out cold a few minutes ago, Alessandro." I began, clearing my throat as the elevator doors slid open.

"I woke up an hour before you did and I stayed still because I could sense you'd do something like this when you woke up," Alessandro replied.

I let out a sigh and stepped out of the elevator. It was pointless to try to leave now, he wasn't going to let me go and the best I could do was try to wrap up whatever this was as fast as I could.

"I'm not cut out for small talks after sex, Alessandro. Whatever happened last night was what we both consented to like grown adults so there's no need to make a fuss out of it."

I was eager to cut right to the chase. If he thought he was going to use this as a means to get me back, he was wrong.

"I didn't stop you from leaving to argue with you, Gianna." Alessandro chuckled.

I frowned slightly, glaring at him as he folded his arms on his chest.

"If that isn't why you stopped me from leaving, then why? I hope this isn't a prank and if it is, I swear to God that I-"

"Jesus Christ, Gianna. Can you take a moment to calm yourself down before you go crazy?" Alessandro said, cutting me short.

I paused and took several deep breaths to calm myself. Truth be told, whatever happened last night hadn't dampened or changed how I felt towards him in any way. It was going to take a lot more than that to get me to forgive him.

"Can we just get to the bottom of this, Alessandro? I have a job to attend to and I can't stay here all day. Besides, my phone has been ringing all morning. Don Ethan has been looking for me after I reported the events of last night to him."

"You're not going to get into trouble because I'll tell him you're looking after me and that'll be all he needs to know."

"I don't need anything from you, Alessandro." I scoffed. "You've got five minutes to tell me what you want before I leave and you're not going to stop me this time."

"For three years, I searched for you everywhere, Gianna. I chased every hint, every signal, anything that could lead me to where you are but I failed until now."

"I've heard this story already, Alessandro. You searched for me and you found me. What else is new?"

"I haven't had the chance to clear up the misconceptions you have concerning the whole situation that happened three years ago," Alessandro answered.

"Have you forgotten that I lived through the whole mess and there's nothing I didn't know about it?" I laughed bitterly.

"That's where you're wrong, Gianna. There were several things you missed and I was at fault for not letting you know about it earlier."

"It's been a long time now, Alessandro. Whatever you want to say isn't going to change anything. I'm sure of it." I sighed.

"But still, you need to hear me out because I'm hoping that it's going to change the way you see me."

There was something about the desperation in his voice that made me want to believe him but I didn't want to over-indulge myself. He could as well be lying just to score points with me and I had to be wary about that happening.

"What do you possibly think you can say that would change the perception I have of you already?"

"From the start, I knew Lydia was playing a game. I knew she was trying to get us to have a conflict to insert herself in your position. I knew about her plans but I was only playing along to put her in a difficult spot when I had all the evidence that I needed. But what I didn't know was that she had gotten to you as well, it was an oversight on my part and I hadn't been expecting it but at the same time, I didn't warn you about how manipulative she could be."

I stared at Alessandro with my mouth hung open. Was he telling the truth or was he trying to play me for a fool?

"The night I made up my mind to tell you everything-you ran away."

"So where's Lydia now?" I forced myself to say.

"After you left, she managed to get herself involved with a mafia willing to back her ambitions to go back to Russia and take over her father's mafia, so I collaborated with her brother and we crushed her and her coup attempts for good."

I shivered slightly as his words reverberated through me. I recognized the weight behind those words and I knew that it only meant one thing-Lydia was dead.

If there was one thing Alessandro wasn't, it was being a liar. He'd never lied to me and I knew he wasn't going to start now which made everything all the more bizarre.

"You could've told me everything from the start." I began in a shaky tone. "You had no right to keep any of it from me but you did. I thought we were a team but I guess it was all in my head."

"I know I did wrong and if I could go back in time to right my mistake, I would gladly do it. Heck, I would give up a few years from my lifespan if it meant that I could go back and set things right between us."