CHAPTER 11

Amelia's POV

Salvatore was away for a few days, and for a while I could breathe. I was sleeping without worrying that he was going to walk into my room and have his way with me. I had been following his orders like a well-trained soldier, just as his expected from me. And though he had refused to change his mind about letting me see Ben, he had given me the freedom to go out without a bodyguard. That was if I was not going somewhere close, within a given parameter. So just to get away from my prison, I had become a regular at the library a few miles away from my prison. Before I was trapped in Salvatore’s world, I never liked reading. But now it was my to-go hobby. It was my way of escaping my reality. Every time I picked a book, I would trap myself in the world of fantasy and for a moment, everything would be alright.

So I had spent the previous night doing my second favorite hobby, which was baking. I baked a dozen blueberry muffins, which I had taken with me to the library. I planned on eating them all with the hope that the calories loaded in them would not make me gain weight. I appreciated a little bit of weight in my thighs but Salvatore did not. Gaining just a few pounds was not acceptable to him.

“Looking exactly how I want you to look is your job, Amelia. And if you fail that, expect consequences,” he had warned me a few months back when I had gained weight from munching on the very same blueberry muffins in search for comfort. I had maintained a good diet, cutting out carbs and sugar even though my sweet tooth was screaming at me and I thought I deserved a treat. Also, I planned on working on the treadmill to counter the calories. So it was decided, I was going to have my muffins with a cup of mocha while I read The Lady Upstairs by Halley Sutton. It had been on my to read list for a while and I was finally jumping into it. The reviews were good and I was getting excited.

I parked the mustang Salvatore had “gifted” me in the parking lot and grabbed a mocha at the coffee shop that was next to the library since the library did not have mocha. Just boring black coffee.

“Hi Lucy,’ I greeted the little girl who worked as the librarian there. She was in college and worked part time here. She had the brightest smile and was sweet. She had loving parents, an outgoing little brother and a chatty sister.  She had a boyfriend who dropped her off and picked her up after her shift. Everything in her life was perfect. It was hard not to get jealous at times. She had everything I wished for.

“Hi, Amy. You are back again today?”

“What? You don’t like seeing me here?” I joked.

“Come on. Of course I love seeing you here. It is actually good seeing you here often.”

“Well, I love it here and would give everything to come here often.”

“Come on,” she said and playfully rolled her eyes. “You are a housewife; you got all the time of the world to yourself. Unlike some of us,”

To her, I was simply a house wife to a rich man and everything was perfect for me.

I gave a light smile and changed the topic, “I baked some blueberry muffins. Want some?” I asked as I opened my lunchbox with the muffins.

“Oh my word, they look so f*ck*ng pretty!” she gushed, peeking in the lunchbox.

“Let me get somewhere to put them,” she said as she crotched down. She came up with a paper bake box from the coffee shop next door.

“Bought some cupcakes earlier today. You should have come earlier with these,” she said. “How many am I taking?”

“I would tell you as much as you want, but I am craving these like crazy, so three would surface,” I answered her.

“Cool!” she said, already reaching for the muffins.

“Thank you,” she said after she had taken three muffins.

“You are welcome,” I said, closing my lunch, “I would be in my usual corner now.”

“Okay, and what are you reading?”

“Home before dark,” I answered. I had changed my mind yet again on my way here. I was no longer in the mood for something thrilling but rather something horrific.

“Yet to read that one,”

“The reviews say it is awesome; I will give you mine.”

“Cool! Have an enjoyable read.”

“I will,” I answered and walked to where the novel was.

I grabbed it and walked to my usual corner. I munched on my muffins while I buried myself in the thriller. I almost jumped out of my skin when I reached to get a muffin and instead of touching one, I touched something that felt like fingers.

I screamed, withdrawing my hand and throwing my book away. I was ready to jump up when I noticed that I now had company. It was Alessandro. And he had grabbed the last of my muffins and was leaning back, holding it in his hand

“You should not be reading horror novels if you are that jumpy,” he said before taking a bite of the muffin.

I watched him as he closed his eyes and chew on it. He hummed before throwing the remaining pierce in her mouth.

“This is f*ck*ng good,” he complimented but I was not a little bit impressed.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my eyes fixed on him.

He grabbed a book on the table and lifted it up to my face. The cover had a computer and varies small characters, which I assumed resembled coding.

“Here for this,” he answered and placed the book back on the table, “And then I happened to see you, and I thought I should stop by and say hi.”

If he thought I was buying that lie, then he must have thought I was really stupid. I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged his shoulder. Probably not bothered that I knew he was lying.

“And then you decided to steal my muffin and scare me while at it?”

“Well, did not mean to scare you but as for the muffins, thank you. You should make some for me too, next time.”

I stared at him for while I tried to figure out what he was playing at. He had made it clear from the start what he thought of me. His father’s wh*re that he definitely did not like. And all of a sudden he was being friendly.

“All of a sudden your father’s wh*re is now your personal chef?”

Alessandro sighed before sitting up straight.

“Look about that; I am sorry. Like you said, I have no right judging you,” he said, looking at me.

“You had your reasons when you married my father, and they should have stayed out of none of my business.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He sounded genuine, but I could not help but suspect that he had other intentions.

“And what changed?”

“I had a moment to reflect on it, and I realized maybe this was not your decision; it might have been forced on you. I know my father very well and what he is capable of. So I realized maybe I had judged quickly.”

“How noble of you,” I mocked, still not convinced.

“I get it; you don’t trust me right now. But just so you know, I meant what I said. My mom raised me better and would have been disappointed in the way I have treated you. So think of my apology as that of a son, trying to make things right with his mother.” 

I studied his facial expression for a while and I thought I saw the sincerity etched across it.

“Okay,” I only managed to say that and he nodded.

We stayed looking at each other before he stood up all of a sudden. He picked up the book I was reading and placed it on the table.

“I will get out of your hair now. See you around,” he said and I nodded in response and he left.

I kept looking at him until he was out of the door. The moment he was out, Lucy came running to my corner.

“Who was that? He is so freaking hot!” she gushed out.

There was no denying that Alessandro was good looking and it did not surprise me that he had Lucy’s attention. He probably got all the ladies’ attention wherever he went.

“That is my... stepson,” I answered her

“Your stepson?” she asked, not hiding her shock. “But…,”

I knew exactly what she could not say out loud.

“I know he is almost my age. I like my men just like how I liked my wine, aged,” I said and squinted my eyes, and she made a hollering sound.

I forced myself to chuckle and keep a happy face. She needed not to know what happened behind my closed doors. It was safe for both of us that way.

“So tell me, is your stepson single? I did not see a ring on his finger.”

“Keep your claws to yourself; you have a boyfriend.”

“Not one that is as hot as that,”

“You...” someone cut in as they called Lucy over.

“Coming,” she answered, “Gotta go,” she said and bounced away.

I let out a sigh of relief and decided I was just going to borrow the book and leave, just so as to avoid another chit-chat about my life with Lucy.