My Angel

CHAPTER 41: PLAYING GAMES

Alessio's pov~

    She was waiting for me, sitting at the
piano, her gaze on the wall before her, looking completely lost in her thoughts.

At the sight of me, she smiled, and I sat on the sofa in front of the piano, keeping my focus on her the whole time.

I hadn't had a chance to talk to her since
this morning. If I wasn't mistaken, she was avoiding me.

As soon as she saw me, she would walk
the other way or act like she didn't see me. If her eyes caught mine, her expression was impassive, her lips thinned in a hard line.

As I continued to stare at her, the piano the only thing between us, she gave me a strange look and then her expression was blank again before she looked down at the keys.

As I listened to the hauntingly beautiful
music, I felt completely transfixed by her
beauty and the peaceful look on her face.

All she had to do was sit there silently and she already had my complete attention. After three songs, she stopped and then opened her eyes, making direct eye contact with me. I smiled, trying to look as gentle as possible, but she ignored it, then went to the book shelf.

She took her time choosing a book, making me nervous with each passing second. Grabbing a book in her hand, she walked back and sat down on the sofa beside me.

All the time, she did it silently while keeping her eyes away from mine. I waited for her to say something. I didn't know how long we stayed like that.

I tried to get some work done butI was too lost in Ayla to think.
My gaze kept moving to her, and a few
times I noticed her peeking at me, but she would quickly move her gaze away when she noticed me looking. I even saw her scowl at the book and then she twisted her lips in annoyance.

When I couldn't bear the long, frustrating
silence anymore, I cleared my throat and
shifted a couple of times in my seat, trying to bring Ayla's attention to me.

But she was stubborn. Clearing my throat again, I opened my mouth to say something but quickly snapped it shut when I realized I didn't know what to say.

I stared at the wall in frustration but the
painting caught my attention. It was a beautiful landscape painting of a field of vibrant, colorful flowers.
That's it, I thought.

"Did you like the flowers?" I asked, breaking the painful silence between us.

"They were okay," she replied stiffly before looking down at the book again.
What kind of answer was that?

"So you liked them?"

Ayla shrugged. "They weren't bad."

"Oh,"I murmured, my shoulders dropping in.disappointment.
She didn't like them.

Swallowing hard, I leaned back against the sofa. Ayla was so happy with the flowers that Maddie had given her that I thought she would love them.

I rubbed a hand over my face and closed my eyes tiredly. In my attempt to make her feel better,I messed up.

After a few minutes, I realized she was
looking at me. She stiffened and her gaze quickly snapped down. I saw a defiant scowl on her face.
Suddenly, she stood up and started to
leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked, standing
up too. Her steps faltered and she turned around, facing me again. Her shoulders were pushed back boldly and she looked straight at me, her green eyes vibrant and filled with unreadable emotions.

"I'm going to sleep," she said. "It's late."
That's it? I cleared my throat and then
nodded. "Okay. Goodnight."

We stared at each other silently for a few seconds. Nodding at me mutely, she swiveled around and walked out of the room.