"It's okay principessa," he murmured, kissing her hair once more. She rolled over to face him, burying her head in his chest and before long, she forgot all her worries, dosing off into sleep. The next morning, she woke up early— Juan was still cuddling her. She glanced over at him, smiling at how his lashes rested on his face. He looked so peaceful while he slept and not like the ruthless person she knew.Prying away from him seemed impossible as the grip he had on her was just too tight. He stirred slightly. "Where are you going Mio Angelo?""To um... Bathe. The funeral is today.""Isn't it by ten?" He asked groggily."Well yes."He glanced over at the night stand. "It's just six a.m Arya. Stay for a while.""The place is an hour away. So we have to leave by nine," she said with a wry smile. "I'll need time to prepare.""You're going for a funeral not a dinner. You don't need that much time to get dressed.""I do," she said, finally prying away from him. She walked into the bathroo
Greco chuckled over the phone and then gave another sigh. "I'll update you later then.""Alright." Juan cut the call and set his phone down, walking towards the bathroom. He opened the door without warning, earning a yelp from Arya who was covered in soap surds."How long does it take you to take a shower?" He asked with a raise of his brows, casually taking off his shirt. "I was starting to think you were using the tub instead.""Um... I'm still... Washing up," she said in a shaky voice, using her hands to cover her body as much as she could. Now, she wished she had taken a bath in the tub so she could use the water to cover herself up. "I can see that," he responded, pulling his trousers down. "What are you doing?" She asked, panic suddenly washing over her. "Coming to take a shower," he commented as if that was the most natural thing to happen in the world. "You have your own room," she said in a weak voice. "I'm aware of that." He has pulled his underwear, making Arya to swal
Juan Moreno sat at a table in the crowded bar. It was one of the minor establishments he kept just for the fun of it.A pole dancer was entertaining the men who sat drinking, smoking and jesting but his eyes were focused somewhere else. There was a young waitress who was pouring an old man a glass of wine. She smiled at him, her green eyes lighting up beautifully."You are beautiful," the old man said in English. It was obvious he was American."Thank you."He wondered if she were American from her looks and the way she talked. He shook his head, an American couldn't come to Italy just to work as a waitress in a bar. Those Westerners were usually in Italy for tourism. He signalled for her to come over but just then, the man who was owing him millions showed up. His name was Diego and his face was scarred and his eyes swollen."Hey," Diego greeted in Italian. "Sorry for not coming in a while, I got busy with... Life.""I was thinking you did not want to pay my millions," Juan said with
"Own her?" Juan scoffed. "Don't play games with me old man. What the hell do you mean by own her?" "Well, she's my daughter. So technically I own her." Juan was silent as he felt rage brewing inside of him. "Look she's beautiful. Lots of men will pay to see her. You can put her on your exclusive whore list and make millions from—" Diego did not get to complete his statement before his head was slammed into the table. "You bastard!" Juan roared angrily. Seeing as people watched, he reduced his voice to a calm and dangerous whisper. "Your daughter but you want to sell her off as a sex slave? You are despicable." He hissed. "What kind of father does that to their daughter?" "Hey boss, it is—" "I do not want to hear anything from you. I give you two weeks to pay off your debt with interest," Juan hissed in his ears. "Failure to do that means I harvest your organs and don't even think of running away, I will find you," "Yes boss," Diego whispered in fear. "Now get out!" Commanded
Juan could not get his mind off Arya. Even as he was on a drive back to his den with his girlfriend, she was almost invisible. Her unnecessary chatter was boring him to death so he zoned out and thought of the beautiful blonde girl at the bar. He wondered what her life was really like at home. If Diego has been telling the truth about her being his daughter, then he couldn't help but conclude that her life was hell at home. With her job at the bar, there was no way she could afford to survive and her father was surely a burden to her. "What are you thinking of Juan? I've been talking to you but you haven't responded.""I'm sorry," Juan sighed. "My mind is preoccupied. What were you saying."He wanted to tell his girlfriend to shut up but he was not ready for a round of nagging from her about how he constantly neglected her so he had to dance to her tunes sometimes. In truth, they were not really dating. Juan had never asked her to be his girlfriend, rather she had assumed it and he
"Four million pounds." Diego owed Juan only two million pounds, but he needed money to get by for a while. He knew that the money was a spare change for Dominic. It was also spare change to Juan but Juan was very prudent and money conscious. He did not dispense money easily as Dominic did. One could even say Juan was a miser sometimes. "That is a lot of money you're asking for," Dominic whistled, sitting straight in his seat. "It's just a beautiful girl." "A beautiful girl that your rival wants who can potentially make him close to billions," Diego replied. He knew that the mention of Dominic's rival would spur him to make the purchase. "Valid point but I can't pay that high," answered Dominic. "It is too high." "Anything lower than four million pounds is low," countered Diego with a smile. "I can always get her if I want to, without your help." "We've agreed that what I told you was worthy so either with my help or not, you are meant to pay me." "I can decide not to pay you,"
The bar was crowded that day as it had been for the last two weeks. Arya found herself attending to more people than she was usually capable of handling. They were short on hands despite the fact that all staff were complete. "I wonder why it has been like this lately," she told Hernandez as he handed her a tray of drinks. She delivered them to a table of men who winked at her. She heard one of them say, "Dominic was right. She is hella beautiful." Shrugging it off, she walked towards the counter again. "We don't usually have a crowd as much as this. It's crazy! I wonder what the occasion is." "I am surprised as well," Hernandez muttered. Arya noticed that he constantly glanced at the men she had just served drinks and then several others who were new faces in the bar. "Do you know them?" She asked. "You stare at them with familiarity. No, actually you stare at most of the new guests that have been frequenting this place weirdly." "No," Hernandez shrugged. He was being honest
When Arya woke up, her mouth was still stuffed she could perceive the odour of a musty and damp room which assaulted her senses. She tried coughing but it was not a pleasant experience. Her eyes had a blindfold over them and her hands and feet were tied with chains which clinked against each other as she tried to move. "She's awake, get the boss." A gruff voice could be heard followed by a sharp march of feet, then the creak of a metal doors. After that, everything was silent. Her mind wandered to the events of the night and she shivered, wondering what her fate would be. She was not the daughter of some wealthy billionaire so surely, these people could not make any substantial ransom. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. What if these people were her step father's creditors? What if they had kidnapped her to get her step father to pay his debt? She wanted to scream and curse because of that was the case, then she was doomed. Her stepfather did not care about her. D
Greco chuckled over the phone and then gave another sigh. "I'll update you later then.""Alright." Juan cut the call and set his phone down, walking towards the bathroom. He opened the door without warning, earning a yelp from Arya who was covered in soap surds."How long does it take you to take a shower?" He asked with a raise of his brows, casually taking off his shirt. "I was starting to think you were using the tub instead.""Um... I'm still... Washing up," she said in a shaky voice, using her hands to cover her body as much as she could. Now, she wished she had taken a bath in the tub so she could use the water to cover herself up. "I can see that," he responded, pulling his trousers down. "What are you doing?" She asked, panic suddenly washing over her. "Coming to take a shower," he commented as if that was the most natural thing to happen in the world. "You have your own room," she said in a weak voice. "I'm aware of that." He has pulled his underwear, making Arya to swal
"It's okay principessa," he murmured, kissing her hair once more. She rolled over to face him, burying her head in his chest and before long, she forgot all her worries, dosing off into sleep. The next morning, she woke up early— Juan was still cuddling her. She glanced over at him, smiling at how his lashes rested on his face. He looked so peaceful while he slept and not like the ruthless person she knew.Prying away from him seemed impossible as the grip he had on her was just too tight. He stirred slightly. "Where are you going Mio Angelo?""To um... Bathe. The funeral is today.""Isn't it by ten?" He asked groggily."Well yes."He glanced over at the night stand. "It's just six a.m Arya. Stay for a while.""The place is an hour away. So we have to leave by nine," she said with a wry smile. "I'll need time to prepare.""You're going for a funeral not a dinner. You don't need that much time to get dressed.""I do," she said, finally prying away from him. She walked into the bathroo
Arya was never one to listen— especially to Juan. She leaned in closer, planting her lips softly on his, almost hesitantly. "Mio Angelo," he murmured gently against her but she took it as a signal to deepen it. She pulled him in closer, her hands sliding to his hair, gripping them harder between her fists. They kissed hungrily, like they’ve both been starved of each other for an eternity. Desire coursing through their veins. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer like she was afraid he would suddenly disappear. While kissing, they stood from the ground slowly, Juan backing her against the wall, his hands sliding on her waist to pull her closer as if she wasn't already close enough. His hands slipped up her shirt slowly and she gasped, suddenly feeling unsure of what she had started. She could still feel Diego's hands on her and—"Mio Angelo, what's wrong?" He asked, pulling away and searching her green eyes with his. "N-nothing," she stammered, swallowing hard.
She was shaking in his arms, her whole body trembling like it was too much for her to carry anymore. Her sobs came out quietly, but im short bursts. Her head was splitting with pain uncontrollably and her eyes felt tired from all the tears but she could not bring herself to stop. Juan's shirt was soaked through within minutes but he didn't mind it. Arya's mind was foggy with too many thoughts, thinking about what could have been if perhaps she wasn't here. Yes, Francesca would have still died but she would have built a deeper friendship with her. Francesca's friendship was short, not too deep but the best Arya had all her life.Juan didn’t speak. He didn’t tell her it would be okay or ask her what was wrong. He didn’t try to stop the crying. He just held her, wrapping his arms around her and not letting go. Every time she gasped or let out another shaky sob, he pulled her even closer, like he was trying to hold all her broken pieces together with his arms. Like maybe, just maybe, if
Arya didn’t move. She stood frozen there on the porch, phone still pressed to her ear. Her whole body felt cold, like the air had stopped around her. Her fingers were stiff. Her lips were shaking. Her legs felt weak, like they might give out at any second.“She passed away this morning,” the voice repeated again, soft and careful, like they were trying not to hurt her more.Arya didn’t answer right away. She couldn’t. She just blinked, once, then again, trying to hold herself together. She swallowed hard.“Can… can you send me the address? Please. I’d like to see her. I want to be there. For the funeral.”There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I’ll send it to this number,” the person said.Arya nodded, even though they couldn’t see her. “Thank you.”Then the call ended. The screen went dark. But Arya still didn’t move.She stayed there for another few seconds, frozen in place. Then slowly, she lowered the phone and turned around.She walked back into the house, quiet, her s
"Would you turn it down if you were me?" Arya replied raising her brows. She looked calm and unbothered, cocking her head to the left. Belle didn’t say anything back. She stared at Arya for a moment, her jaw tight like she was holding something back. Then she looked away, clearly annoyed or upset.Arya saw that and let a small, knowing smile appear on her face.“Yeah. That’s what I thought,” she said.The room went completely silent after that, and in order to reduce the simmering tension in the room, Hernandez who noticed how awkward everything had becoke decided to talk, trying to lighten the mood. He spoke in a casual tone, like he was trying to act like everything was normal. “Hey, maybe Juan should let Arya stop by the bar or something,” he said. “Some lady even came looking for her a few weeks ago.”As soon as Arya heard that, she turned her head fast. Her eyes got wide with surprise. She looked directly at Juan, hope and energy suddenly back in her voice.“See? I told you some
Rolling her eyes, Arya walked out of the kitchen and to the dining table. Belle was seated there already, doing something on her phone. The moment she noticed Arya's presence, she rolled eyes. Ignoring Belle, she took a seat and then furrowed her brows in confusion when maids began to serve up food. Just then Juan walked into the dining."There's more than one kitchen," he said to Arya, noticing her confusion.Breakfast began shortly in s blur, the only thing anyone could hear was the soft sound of knives and forks tapping against plates. Nobody was talking. Nobody was even looking at each other. The eggs on the plates were starting to get cold after a while of being served but it didn’t seem like anyone cared.Juan sat at the end of the long table, drinking from a small cup of coffee. It was his second that day. He looked calm, like he had no reason to rush or speak. Arya was seated somewhere in the middle. She wasn’t really eating—just using her knife to push a piece of toast aroun
Arya lay in bed, unmoving. Her body ached and felt stiff- as if it did not belong to her. Something inside her had gotten up and left and she had missed it. She stared at the ceiling, allowing her mind to do the thinking she did not want to do.The room was warm. The blanket was pulled up to her shoulders. And yet, she felt cold. Not at her skin. But all the way deep inside; the cold was sharp, mean, and hard to get rid of.She did not want to think about Juan. She did not want to remember how he had said her name or how he had looked at her sitting on the other side of the dining. his eyes searching her and reading her like she was important, like he could not let her go. She did not want to hear his voice in her head but it just kept showing up anyway. That voice- the strong, gentle voice, that voice was deep and warm and made her nervous. And every time she closed her eyes, she saw him. Just standing in the back of her head like he belonged there. Waiting for her to stop pretendin
Arya blinked once and then she blinked again because she was trying to ground herself in the silence that filled the space between ghem. The sound of her name in his voice was still bouncing around in her chest like it had nowhere else to go.“Go to bed,” he said again in a gentler voice this time. He didn't trust himself anymore around her and the last thing he wanted to happen was for something to happen in the moment that she— Arya will regret. He knew for a fact he'd never regret whatever happened but Arya would even if she had wanted it because everything was too sudden for her. A part of him even wondered if she had regretted that kiss. He could not say for certain, but he wished she had not and that was the exact reason he needed her to leave. She could end up regretting anything with him.Arya on the other hand knew she should listen except she wanted to start a fire she wasn’t ready to finish but still, she didn’t move. Her pride as well made her to stay rooted in spot, star