Unpierceable Love

Chapter 18

Gino turned his attention to the woman making her way to them. Once her foot was on the last step, she quickly ran to Valerio and put her thin arms around his neck, lightly pecking his clean-shaven cheeks.

You are ignoring Gino's presence.

"Cherry, how often have I told you to behave like a lady? How will your mate handle you once he learns about your behaviour?"

"I don't need a mate. I have you."

Valerio turned to look at Gino, who had his head down, blocking Valerio's view of the petite man's face. Turning to the person in his embrace, Valerio sighed before removing Cherry's arm from around his neck.

"Cherry, I would like it if you didn't behave like this in front of my mate."

Cherry remembered the presence of a lowly human male that she sensed while going downstairs.

"Mate?"

"That's right; this is Gino, my beloved," said Valerio walking up to Gino and pulling him into his embrace.

Gino blushed at being held like a fragile porcelain doll. Gino took small peeks at Cherry and opened his mouth to speak, seeing her distorted face.

"What are you doing? Let go," whispered Gino.

"What am I doing? I am holding my beloved. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Gino blushed even more at the words that were spoken. He quickly averted his attention to Cherry before whispering in Valerio's chest.

"You shameless man, let me go now."

"Fine, I will let you go for now, but we will continue this later."

"Valerio, you"

Before Gino could continue, Valerio grabbed his hand and led him into a magnificent dining room, leaving Cherry alone in the foyer.

Once they were in the dining, Valerio pulled out a chair and indicated for Gino to sit before making his way to the opposite side.

"You must be hungry after tonight's ordeal at The Bristo."

Once again, Valerio did not give Gino a chance to speak. He had placed a plate full of delicious food that his housekeeper had prepared for him before retiring for the night.

"Is it alright for me to be here? I don't want to bring trouble to you."

"You are my beloved; keeping you safe and taking care of you is what I should be doing; no one will bring you any trouble as long as I am here. Now hurry up and eat. I will show you to your room after."

"Wait, I need to call my grandmother; she is probably waiting for me to return home."

"You don't need to worry about that; I have sent Xander a message to call your grandma."

Gino wanted to reply, but a movement at the corner of his eye made him stop what he was about to sayCherry walked into the dining room and quietly pulled out a chair beside Valerio.

"I am sorry about my behaviour earlier. I did not know that you would be bringing anyone home."

Valerio lifted his hand and tugged Cherry's hair behind her ear before replying.

"As long as you know your mistake, all is forgiven."

"Really," said an overexcited Cherry

"Mn"

"You are the best; I love you."

Valerio did not respond; instead, he placed another plate full of food before Cherry, urging her to eat.

After dinner, Valerio left the dining table and went upstairs, promising to return so that he would show Gino to his room. Once Valerio left, the silence in the dining room became more apparent until Cherry spoke.

"Even if you are his mate, I will make sure that you will never be happy,

Valerio had promised my father to be with me before he died, and I will not let a human like yourself get in the way," sneered Cherry before she, too, left the dining table.

After hearing Cherry's statement, Gino was in a whirlpool of emotions, not knowing how to deal with all the drama. Gino also got up from the table and piled the dirty dishes on each other but stopped midway.

Gino was standing in the dining room with dirty plates in his hand and realised that he did not know where the kitchen was.

Valerio returned to the dining room and saw Gino being confused. He called out his name. With a startle, Gino turned around to see Valerio walking toward him.

With a slip of his fingers, the pile of dishes in Gino's hand crashed loudly once they made contact with the white marble tiles.

A loud gasp escaped Gino's mouth before he bent down to pick up the broken dishes.

"I'm so sorry."

"Be careful", shouted Valerio, but the warning came too late as Gino had pierced his fingers on the sharp broken piece of plates scattered across the tiled floors.

Bright red blood oozed out of Gino's pale fingers. Valerio reached Gino's side and inspected the wound; without thinking, Valerio put the finger in his mouth, only taking it out moments later.

"It is pretty deep; I must put a bandage on before bacteria enter. Are you Ok? Does it hurt?"

"No, I'm fine."

"What happened that made you startled when you heard my voice?"

"No. It's nothing. I'm just tired."

Valerio looked deep into Gino's eyes for a few moments before speaking

"Let's go."

"Go, go where."

Seeing that Valerio would not answer, Gino let himself be pulled by the man in front of him, all the while thinking if it was a good idea to be here after hearing Cherry's words spoken to him moments earlier.