5

What the hell was Stefano doing here? Seemed like his recovery had been so great that he had to party over it. Stefano stood on the staircase, holding the handrail with an impassive expression on his face, so I couldn't detect what was running through his mind. Although, one thing was certain — he wasn't surprised to see me.

I lowered my gaze till I got in front of him. I took a deep breath and raised my gaze. We were just inches apart, so my face was in the same region as his chest.

A smirk crossed his lips. He reached forward, his mouth directly near my ears.

"Bella, we finally meet again."

"How coincidental." I replied, unsure if he had heard me. In a swift motion, Stefano held my wrist and dragged me somewhere else. As my feet gilded behind me, I wondered where all this was leading to. Where was he going in the first place? What was all this about? How did applying for the Job of stripper lead me to Stefano's hold?

"What are you doing here?" I asked the moment we got into a room, it seemed like a VIP suite or something. I was quite unserious but with the bar at the side of the room and the kingsized bide, I knew it wasn't a room reserved for just anyone.

Stefano rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscular arm and tattoo etched on it. "I should be asking you." He approached the bar, grabbed a wine and poured some contents into a glass.

With my back glued to the back of the door, I nervously tucked a strand of my hair and swallowed. "Well, I work here." I wasn't sure if it was a question or statement, yeah even me, couldn't decipher.

"You work here." He repeated and threw the liquid down his throat. "What job? This is the last place I expected to see a nurse."

My chest tightened. Why the hell was he reminding me of my predicament? Stefano knew all these were against my moral standards and I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't need money.

"Stefano, what I do here is none of your business."

Stefano raised his hands in mock surrender. "My apologies, you know I care about you!"

I didn't know if he was joking but the statement made a feeling so sweet and light scattered in my chest. "You enjoy taunting me right?"

"Always," he smirked. "But that doesn't make us friends yet, after what you did."

Stefano, how many times would we go over this! I wanted to say but I let the words die in my throat to be replaced by words playful like his.

"Friends hm," I nodded, striding towards the bed. "But you seem to care about me enough to leave some money with him."

"Consider it a tip," he winked at me, taking another shot of wine or whiskey, I didn't know what he was drinking.

"Oh wow." I crossed my chest, feigning hurt.

Stefano regarded me for a brief moment, threw his head backwards, the laughter rumbling his throat.

"You should join me." He offered, stretching a glass at me and gesturing towards the bar stool in front of him.

"And If I don't?" I asked, shrugging.

"Then you get a minus hundred dollars from your pay." He poured the contents into my glass.

My breath hitched as I took my seat. "Stefano, what is this all about? Why are you here?" I blurted out, my curiosity rearing its head in the form of questions.

He regarded me for a brief second, as if trying to determine if my question was genuine. "So which do I answer first?"

"Did you know I was coming here?" Is all this just a ploy for Stefano to get back at me? At this point, I couldn't even trust him.

"Yes, and then no."

I stared at him like he had grown two horns. What sort of answer was that?

"Just kidding. I mean, I can't expect much from someone who's desperate to find money. Right?"

My fists clenched and my teeth gritted as I sprang to my feet. "What the hell is wrong with you? Yes, I know I hurt you in the past but I won't let you insult me with my circumstances. You don't have a perfect life instead if not you wouldn't have gotten shot in the middle of the night and being at my mercy to save your life-"

"Enough!" Stefano's stern gaze intimidated one even while he was sitting. "The truth didn't have to hit you so bad."

"You're still not getting it? How cruel can you be to hold my unfavourable circumstances over me?"

"How cruel can you be to leave a man who was willing to worship the ground you walk on?"

Stefano stood up, hitting me with that hard question.

"Are we still on this? Do you want my life as an apology?"

"You don't know how hard it was for me to sleep at night. Do you?"

"I'm sorry, I can't do it right now." I spun around, in a few seconds, my heart was already at the door's handle, ready to bolt it.

"If you leave now, you get nothing out of all of this and you may get relieved of this job too." Stefano's voice held me in my tracks.

I took a deep breath, my hands shaky and sweaty on the handle. I had gone too far to go back.

Exhausted, I turned my gaze to him. "So what do you want from me?"

"Keep me company for the night."

"Sure. Where do I start from, Stefano?" I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ears. I was in for a long ride.

"Have a drink with me." He regarded me briefly and titled his head towards the chair in front of me.

I took shaky strides and sat back. I didn't know if I should apologize again, I had done it over and over but it wasn't being the desired effect I would have liked.

"Stefano." I called out to him.

"Cuore mio." His gaze softened, then immediately it was replaced by something expressionless almost like he had started feeling guilty about the outburst but he couldn't afford to apologize.

"Do you have any questions, Bella?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Why are you here? Have you uhm feeling recovered?"

"I own this place and yes."

"Did you know I'll be coming?" I asked.

"Yes. Katrina was keen on giving him a girl for the night so she sent your picture and I picked you. I'll pick you over and over again." Stefano's subtle control over me made my heart flutter.

"Are we going to talk all night?" I asked, wanting to know where all this was heading to.

"Is there something you'd rather be doing?" He smirked and licked his lips, and I felt my heart flutter again.

"I don't know," I stuttered. "Will you really pay me for just talking to you?"

"Your company is something I crave for, even in my sleep." He reached forward, placing his palm on my thighs.

I gasped, my body craving more of his touch.

He removed his hand and my eyes silently begged him to put them back.

"Let's drink some more, I'm sure as hell you've been having rough days." Stefano was right.

I took another shot, feeling uncertain. I knew all this was going to end with us having sex and then he'd leave because there was nothing that tied us together anymore. The thought made my heart ache more but I kept a poker face, basking in the shared silence.

"You look like a lot is running through your mind."

"Stefano, I think we should get over this, I know this has been the plan all along."

Stefano laughed. " You're not a prostitute, Bella. But if you want a taste of me, fine."

I moved over to him and shut him up with a kiss. I had compromised my morals the moment I stepped foot in here and there was no difference between whether I had sex with him or not. The adrenaline pushing through my veins made me more bolder as I kissed him hard, wanting a distraction from my stupid, hard life. His lips welcomed mine, kissing me with the same intensity as his free hand roamed through my entire body, leaving a trail of goosebumps with each touch.

"Bella, don't tempt me with a kiss if you don't want more." He whispered in my ears, his voice husky, doing things to me.

"I want this! Just -"

Stefano spun me around, such that my back automatically arched behind him.

"I can't control myself around so please tell me when you don't want this anymore."

"Stefano please." My voice was barely above a whisper, pleasure bursting through my veins. I reached down to take off my heels but his hands stopped me.

"Leave it on, I want to fuck you with your heels."

His hands travelled, raising my gown up and pulling my hair backwards. The moment I felt him inside of me, I gasped, my eyes tightly shut as I shuddered with pleasure. I let him take the reins until we both came, the slippery bodies, heavy breaths, gasps, affection was reminiscent of the first time we came inside each other as teenagers.

-

The next morning, the morning light blinded my eyes, a throbbing headache shooting through my head. My legs ached, reminding me what had happened. My chest constricted at the thought of yesterday's activities. A certain heaviness settled on my chest, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. The overwhelming feeling of regret was beginning to set in.

I struggled to place my back on the headboard. The light ray streaming into the room. I slowly looked over to the other side of the bed, thinking I'd see Stefano sleeping but there was no one there. Maybe he was in the bathroom. I couldn't afford to let him meet me here again, the shame was so strong and glued to me such that I could perceive it. It had a foul order. I quickly left the bed and rushed to assemble my clothes, there was nothing of Stefano in this room, he had left.

My lips pursed, the situation slowly sinking into my brain. I offered myself to him thinking that is what he had wanted and then he left without saying a word. I didn't blame him though, maybe he was trying to pay me back for leaving those years. So I accepted it all, swallowed the bile in my throat. I picked up my clothes and wore them, my eyes misting with tears. You know when you do something in the heat of the moment without thinking and afterwards the realisation starts settling on you and your mind is roaming with different thoughts? Yes. That was me.

As I walked out with my phone, I received an alert. The amount of money made my eyes widened. I just know who sent it. Now, I feel like a Prostitute.

"I'm sure you had a great time," Katrina said to me the moment we came in contact.

"Yes." I faked a smile.

"Great, great," she nodded, "I'll give you a call tomorrow."