A Penny For Your Tears

Thirty Five

VERY IMPORTANT: hello, thank you for all the reads I've been getting, I mean almost 1k in a week that's insane, but on that note, please, please,please take the time to go back and vote on chapters, by voting you increase the exposure of this book and it can move up on ranking. It would mean the world to me and I'm sorry for being such a bother, anyway, on to the story!

"Amsterdam kind of gives me the same vibes as Paris but then doesn't at the same time if you get what I mean." Elias nodded as he took a picture of me before putting his phone away.

"That's just Europe for you, we give you all the historic and tourist vibes as well as a banging night life. Speaking of, we have to go get ready for tonight." He said as he grabbed my hand, we began walking away from the site we had stopped at and began our journey back to the hotel. I was nervous about tonight, the last Gala I attended didn't end so well for me and the stress of not knowing who was there was killing me.

"Elias, who's going to be at this event? It's just that-"

"Yeah, I know what you want to say and don't worry, I would never actually bring you to a place where you would you be unsafe. This is actually a charity event but Alexia caught wind of some American big shot attending, who has this whole human trafficking operation that needs to be shut done." He answered and I looked at him with admiration, I loved that he had this passion for helping people and I admired so much that he was willing to risk his life time and time again to save that of others. If only I could be as courageous as him. Elias stopped walking and held my cheeks in his hands, "Don't worry about it love, it's only a few hours and then we'll on our way home again by tomorrow morning, ok? Everything will be fine." I nodded as he gave me a soft kiss on the lips. Not to soon after we arrived at our hotel, when we reached our room I was suddenly greeted by several women and a man who were eagerly observing me and talking all at the same. I gave Elias a frightened look, not too sure on what was happening.

"Relax, Liv, they're our stylist for tonight. They're just going to get you dressed up and put on your makeup nothing more and nothing less."

"Oh, I would have preferred to do it by myself to though." I answered truthfully and Elias looked at me for a second before turning to the other people in the room.

"Marcel and Grace you guys stay, the rest of you can leave." Two women left the room, shooting me a glare before doing so. The man, Marcel, attended to Elias, helping him with his suit while and hair while Grace began on my hair.

"So, you excited?" She asked, trying to start small talk, something I wasn't particularly interested in.

"No, not really, not a fan of these type of events." I answered,these past few weeks with Elias had been amazing and I couldn't remember the last time I had even had a nightmare or memory of Luca but now, this Gala or Charity event, whatever it was, kept bringing back memories of Don Marchesi and Luca that I had been desperately trying to forget.

With the sweet tweeting of birds ringing through my ear, I woke up to the harsh, blinding light of the morning sun seeping in through the light material of the curtain. I groaned as I sat up in bed, for a brief moment, forgetting where I was, who I was and what happened .But, then all the pain hit me at once and memories of last night rushed back to me. I was still in the damned dress from the gala and tears fell from my cheeks as I remembered how sweet Luca had been, complimenting me and telling me how much he loved me only  to  sell me off to some monster as a means of preserving peace. I was nothing but an object to him, something that could be bought and sold, used and abused whenever it suited him best. I looked around the room wildly, trying to decipher where I was now, when I remembered Luca had allowed Marchesi to take me for a week, a whole fucking week, I wouldn't last that long. I'd be dead before Luca could get me. I got off the bed and stalked quietly towards the window, opening it and allowing the fresh air to hit me. I looked around, there was not a soul in sight and the window lead to a balcony that wasn't too far from the ground. Sure, I'd get hurt jumping off of it but I'm sure I'd get more hurt staying here any longer. If Marchesi could do what he did to me in one night then I was not eager to find out what he'd do in a span of a week. I didn't have any shoes on but that was probably for the better, what good could heels be in this situation. I bunched up the hem of my dress and rushed towards the balcony , not wasting a second to leap of the balcony. I crashed to the floor with a thud, the gravel and rocks on the floor scraping my legs,feet and hands but I ignored the pain. I didn't bother to look back to see if anyone had seen me but instead kept running. I ran for the gate, which to my surprise was open and unguarded. I ran and ran like my life depended on it, which,ultimately, it did.

The heat of an Italian summer was my worst enemy as I trudged along the side of a road, every step I took, my feet burned against the hot concrete ground and I was surrounded by vineyards, miles and miles of them, not a soul in sight. Perhaps, I should have stayed at the Marchesi mansion, perhaps I should have endured the week and allow myself to be returned to Luca. My throat was in agony as it begged to be quenched of its thirst, the cuts and bruises on my skin begging to be relieved of their pain but I persevered. The bottom of my feet were cut, the sharpness of rocks and sticks refusing to be gentle to the soles of my feet. At last, when all hoped seemed lost I heard the revving of an engine and I turned around abruptly, a smile forming on my face, I was saved.

"Hey!" I called out, my voice cracking as I tried to get the car's attention. "Hello! Please, I need help!" I cried, my arms wildly flailing about in the air. My smile soon fell as that one car turned into two and then three and I saw the distinct face of the man driving the first car; Marchesi. It didn't take long for my mind to click and I took of running, but the sores on the bottom of my feet and my overall fatigue and drowsiness slowed me down considerably and before I knew it I was surrounded.

"I told you she'd try to run, now pay up." Marchesi laughed to the men that were in the other cars, stretching out his hand as they all handed him a wad of cash. My eyes widened as I realized what was happening and I felt my shoulders slump as tears flowed down my face. This was all a game to him, I was never going to escape, the window and the open gate, it was all a part of his stupid game and I had walked right into it. My body trembled as I sobbed, tired of everything.

"Please, please just let me go." I begged, though I knew it was futile.

"Aw, bella, don't cry. I made a good deal with your boyfriend to have you here and you're going to make it worth my while." He sighed, as he grabbed my arm and forced me into the car. "This is going to be the best week of my life." He said with a smile, before slamming the car door shut.

"Olivia, Liv, baby." Elias' voice coerced me out of the memory and I realized I had fallen asleep, Grace and Marcel staring at me weirdly. "It's time to get dressed." He said softly as he helped me out of my seat, I nodded as I took the dress Grace had handed me and went into the bathroom and put it on. I let out a choked sob as I stared at myself in the mirror, it was a dress identical to the one that I had worn on the day Luca gave me to Marchesi, it was a beautiful dress and I could understand why Elias chose it but he didn't know, he didn't know the pain I had seeing this on me. I wanted to rip it off of me, destroy it and sit in the bathtub, drowning myself in my tears. But no, instead, I allowed a fake smile to plaster itself onto my face and I reminded myself that this was only for a few hours and tomorrow by now I'd be home, I'd be home with my grandparents, Adam, Aaliyah, the others and of course Elias. Everything would go back to normal, Luca long forgotten. With that, I walked out the bathroom only to be rendered speechless by the sight of my man, my love.

"Hi." He said, his reaction mirroring mine. He looked breathtakingly gorgeous, he was wearing a pink suit with a white shirt, a small flower embellishing his right pocket. Lord, did he look good. Marcel and Grace weren't in the room so I didn't hesitate to approach him and allow my lips to attack his own, his hand gripped my waist, pulling me closer to him as he deepened the kiss. My hand held the back of his neck, kissing him as if it was the last time I ever would.He grunted, pulling away from me as if that was the most painful thing he had ever had to do.

"We need to go, love, but we can finish this later." He said with a grin, giving me one last peck on the lips. "You look amazing, by the way." He spoke as we left our room and entered the elevator that would take us down towards the reception hall where the event was taking place. "I love you." He said randomly as he adjusted his tie, the elevator getting closer and closer to the designated floor.

"I love you more." I answered softly, nervously biting my lip, unable to shake the feeling that something awful was going to happen tonight.