Chapter 20: Rule no 3

ELENA'S POV

It was already 6 pm and I wore soft slippers as I padded down the stairs for dinner.

“You're done?” Luca asked from downstairs as he set the table.

Just something that I was yet to get used to again. He cooked, cleaned, and did most of his stuff by himself. Why? What was the maid for then?

The said maid was standing there and bringing a tray of empty glasses and a bottle of wine.

“Ma'am…” the maid said bowing in respect as she sighted me.

“Rosa, how's it going?”, I asked her kindly, feeling a sense of connection to the 19-year-old maid.

She smiled and placed the tray down. “Great. I shall retire now”, she said bowing respectfully to both of us before quietly retiring.

I still didn't get her. She was so kind yet so quiet.

“She doesn't talk much” Luca offered sending me a soft smile.

I nodded and sat down at the table as he put a plate in front of me.

“So uh, what about Enrico?” I suddenly asked

Luca who was about to pour me a glass of wine stopped and forced a smile.

“Do we have to talk about it over dinner?”, he asked with a soft smile my way and pleading eyes.

“Yes,” I insisted.

“Fine. What do you want to know?” He asked, sitting down and picking a fork.

“You said something about a mob war, Wouldn't that happen since you shot him today?”, I asked with wide eyes.

“No, it's my town, my rules for that. No one would support him because who in their right mind hurt women and children?” He asked in a disgusted tone.

Nodding, I began to eat, the salmon's flavor exploding in my mouth.

“Mhmmm…” I literally hummed as I ate

He raised a brow and seemed like he was about to say something but stopped himself in time.

“Makes sense” I finally said as I took a sip of the red wine.

“So what else?” He asked, putting a piece of food into his mouth.

“Where did you learn to cook?”

“I used to spy on my mother when my father was still alive. He'd scold me and tell me that I wasn't meant to look at what happened in the kitchen but I think it's just a load of bullshit. It's comforting, knowing that you can bring a smile to someone through food” A spark lit up in his eyes as he spoke.

I smiled at him and looked down at my plate. “Well you brought a smile to my face with this”, I muttered.

His eyes dimmed and he looked back at me intensely. “I know several ways to make you smile and food is just one of them…”, his voice came out raspier than we both expected.

“Oh..”, I muttered.

“I mean I could take you on walks…” he paused and frowned. “Sorry, I'm rambling. We should not be discussing such things” he said with a sigh.

I wanted to tell him to go on, that I didn't hate this side of him but he was right. We were getting carried away by the circumstances that led to us being here. We were in a contract marriage. That was it.

The air around the table was tense and I was looking for ways to break the silence but I just shut up and finished my food

“Uh, I'm done”, I informed him. “Thank you”

He nodded and leaned back on his chair. “Put the dishes in the sink. Rosa will take care of them tomorrow”

He was casually looking at me so Intensely and I couldn't bear it so I nodded and grabbed the plates dashing to the kitchen.

I dumped the plates in the sink and leaned against the counter, sighing heavily.

Fuck.

What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I think straight whenever he said something? I was losing it.

I had to leave his presence before I did something like throwing myself at him which I was one step away from doing.

Suddenly a deep raspy voice rang out behind me. “Are you done?”, he asked, his tone deep and his breathing shallow.

I slowly turned around to look at him. “, uh yeah, I dropped it”, I said, looking at the ground.

“Good”, he replied, his hands tucked into his sweatpants pockets. He was nervous.

“So uh, what are you doing here?”, I asked with a blank smile as my heart thudded in my chest

“I wanted to see you” His reply was quick and still filled with a certain emotion I didn't want to decipher.

“Well, here you are…” I leaned back against the counter, laughing nervously.

“It's not enough”, he simply said, his gaze dropping to my body.

“Oh,” I muttered then froze when he walked up to me and cupped my face.

“Elena… what are you doing …?”, He muttered and my heart stilled. Was he drunk? I doubted it.

“Just leaning on the counter. Pretty normal” I said trying to ignore how perfect his hands felt on my face.

For a brief second, his gaze dipped down to my lips and he sighed. “No, what are you doing?...to me?”,

My eyes widened and I didn't know what to say.

“Damn it, Elena. You don't know what thoughts are running through my head right now. You don't know how much I want to do them right now” he whispered, letting go of my face as something that looked like anger flashed across his face.

“You won't do them, you have self-control… and you respect my boundaries.”, my tone was almost inaudible but he heard and he laughed painfully.

“Elena. I don't give no fucks about boundaries” he said with a cold tone now.

“I still trust you” I whispered back.

He shut his eyes and pointed at me.

“Rule no 3”, he said, opening his eyes to look at me. “Don't trust anyone. Especially not me”

Then he turned and left, leaving me in the kitchen.

My hands around the counter loosened and I sighed. What the fuck just happened?