3

My heart jackrabbitted as I blinked my eyes, hoping I had seen wrongly. I have just been relieved of my duties at work. I had held on to hope, like a treasure, hoping this day wouldn't come so soon.

 

I quickly rushed down to the nearest pharmacy, got the antibiotics, and came back to the hotel. Before I entered the room, I made sure to wipe every trace of tears from my eyes.

 

I stretched a tablet towards Stefano without speaking once I got into the room. 

 

"Thank you..." he muttered, his eyes following me with concern as I sat on the sofa.

 

I retrieved my phone and stared at the notification once more, as though the weight of my gaze could alter my reality. My chest constricted as I thought about how to get more money.

I had inherited a debt I knew nothing of, and with what Papa told me, they wouldn't hesitate to kill us if we defaulted. So, a large part of my salary went into there every month. Also, Papa's bills were heaping up with every minute he spent in the hospital. Sometimes I want to get angry at him for bringing about these unfortunate circumstances, but once I remember that he's fighting for his life, my heart softens towards him.

 

Although Matteo has given me more money, it will definitely help to clear my house rent and a few bills, for which I'm grateful. But I couldn't just lean into the sofa and cross my arms; I had to start searching for another job immediately.

 

I pulled out my phone and scanned through job vacancy sites. In the next few minutes, I was already sending out applications. My eyes ached from the strenuous process, and pain shot through my head from staring at my screen for so long.

 

"You haven't been to work in three days," Stefano stated, distracting me from my phone. 

 

I sighed, feeling my chest tighten at the mention of my former job. "Why do you care about that?"

 

"I was merely stating a fact." He responded, shrugging and adjusting on the headboard. I wondered for how long he would continue acting cold. I have explained to him, for crying out loud.

 

"Well, technically I'm working here and getting paid." 

 

"I wonder if this will be enough." He chuckled dully, and I almost threw a pillow at his bandaged arm.

 

I folded my arms. "Well, here's an extra confirmation for you to gloat at my suffering: I got sacked today!" I clapped my hands with an exaggerated tight-lipped smile. "Yay."

 

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, he opened his mouth to say something but the words died in his throat. The next few hours passed with neither of us saying anything. The air was stiff as we both avoided each other.

 

-

Matteo called me again.

 

"Bella, is it okay if he stays for a few more days? I'm sorry I'm taking too much of your time!" He sounded so desperate as he breathed the question.

 

"I don't mind." I no longer had a job, and this was the little way I could make money for now.

 

"Thank you. I'll send you some money the moment the call ends."

 

"Great." I said calmly. "Is he usually this cold?" I enquired, determined to learn more about Stefano. 

 

He paused. "He's not usually friendly towards women."

 

"Why?"

 

"I'd say you should quit trying to get him to talk; he'll be gone soon."

 

The thought that I may not see him again makes my heart sink, but I muttered a quick "yeah" before the call ended.

 

-

Our silence stretched into the next day. I continued searching for jobs while he watched the TV. Except that this time around, I caught him stealing glances at me. But he didn't want me to know, but the moment our eyes met, he would avert his gaze. I was tired of getting him to talk to me; I had a bigger fish to fry in front of me, so I continued on my phone.

 

"I haven't bathed well in a few days." He broke the silence, wincing as he struggled to raise his arm.

 

I feigned deafness and muteness all at once, ignoring him.

 

"Nurse, isn't it your duty to care for your patients?" He questioned while I glared at him.

 

"I've been trying my best."

 

"Matteo pays you a lot to take care of me, but still I haven't been able to bathe well in four days." He sighed as though unimpressed.

 

"And how is that my fault?"

 

"My arm still hurts."

 

"Well, too bad your recuperation is slow."

 

"Your job is to make sure I'm fine, yet you keep glueing your eyes to your phone. Maybe you want to lose this one too."

 

"Maybe you should recover and let me carry on with my life."

 

"You weren't forced to do this, were you?" He shrugged.

 

I sighed, tossing my phone on the couch. "Can you just stop all of this, Stefano?"

 

"I need a bath, Bella." He diverted the conversation as usual. I didn't know why he was making it difficult for us to come to a truce.

 

Since I couldn't watch him strip in front of me, I resorted to dipping a towel into a bucket of water to clean parts of his body. But before then, he had to take off his shorts and singlets, leaving him in just briefs.

 

As I cleaned his body, I struggled to stop my heart from racing and my mind from roaming into places I wouldn't like to admit. My feelings for Stefano never died; part of why I let Robin in was to forget about Stefano. The realisation made my chest hurt a little; I swear I cared about Robin, but Stefano had a way of overpowering my mind.

 

A lone strand of my hair started obstructing my view, but I was too self-conscious to even do anything. My body froze when Stefano reached to put it behind my ears, causing me to swallow a gulp. His hands lingered on my face for a while, sending a zap of electricity, and my chest started to feel heavy. The thought of him leaving would take a toll on my mental health. During the process, he caressed my hands as he released groans and gasps that were pleasant to my ears.

 

"Thank you," he muttered, before leaning into the headboard.

 

"You're welcome," I said, carrying the towel.

 

"Sorry about your job." I froze the moment I heard that.

 

"Thought you didn't care."

 

His response was a shrug before he stretched my phone to me. "Your phone."

 

Just then a text message popped in from Matteo. I decided to quickly check it.

 

He might be leaving tomorrow; thank you for keeping an eye on him.

 

My eyes blinked rapidly as the reality of the message dawned on me. I might never see him again.

 

"You good?" he asked.

 

"Just thinking about my job."

 

"Who knows, maybe I’ll find a way to keep you busy when we meet again." Stefano reached to squeeze my hand with a smirk.

 

"Is that a threat?" I didn't know when I gave a small smile.

Stefano chuckled. "Maybe."

My chest lightened at his playful tone and I settled into the sofa. With time I slept off, the next morning he wasn't in the room.

On the table, he left me a wad of cash and a note.

 

I figured you might need extra money. Till we meet again, cuiore mio.