A Touch of Sin |18+|

28

VALERIO

I arrived at the hotel just in time to see Alani stepping through the automatic doors. I had never been that consumed by relief. My eyes trailed down her body, just to make sure that she was okay—and she seemed perfectly fine except for the unhappy scowl on her face.

She had a phone to her ear, speaking inaudibly while I approached her. I had to talk to her and get rid of whatever assumptions she had concluded to being the truth in her pretty head. I didn't want her to think I was fucking around with other woman.

I didn't want her to think that I had eyes for anyone that wasn't her. I ignored her reasoning for being at that hotel for hours. I was sure that it was harmless, but I needed to know if the both of us were okay.

"Alani," I tried to grasp her attention, but she looked at me once and turned away again.

I guess not.

But the chain was still around her neck—tucked into her hoodie and just barely peeking out.  That was a good sign.

"Oh, you can't talk right now?" she spoke into the phone, lifting her hood over her head. "I just wanted to check up on you." Her voice saddened, and I stared at her impatiently. Who was she talking to?

"Okay. Bye, dad. I love you too," she murmured, quickly ending the call and it was stuffed into her hoodie's pocket.

She didn't raise her head to look at me. All she did was try to walk away from me again and I understood, right then, how upset she was when I did the exact same thing. The feeling was inconceivable and almost knocked the breath out of me.

Feeling panicked, my hand reached out to catch her arm.

"I thought we weren't going to walk away from each other," I said softly, needing her to listen to me. I didn't want to fuck up with her. Never. I needed to clear things up with her and fill the metaphorical rift between us.

She scoffed, ripping her arm out of my hold. "I think I have a pretty valid excuse."

When she looked at me, the expression on her face had my hand falling slack. Having Alani mad at me seemed like a nightmare, and I was currently living it as I stared at her.

"Alani—"

"Are you a dad?" she asked out of the blue, stunning the fuck out of me.

"Are you pregnant?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. If she wasn't pregnant, how could I be a dad?

"What?" she snapped. "No. I'm not. You know that."

"Then no, I'm not a dad," I deadpanned, not meaning for it to sound as cheeky as it did and judging from Alani's face, she did not like it. Not one bit.

"Now is not the time to be messing with me, Valerio. I want the truth," she said firmly, her brows scrunched into a frown that I wanted nothing more than to kiss away.

I didn't enjoy the disappointment radiating off her, nearly suffocating me I tried to find the words to explain that what she saw—was nothing like how she thought.

I felt my face soften as I stared down at her. "Amore—"

"The truth or I'm walking away and you won't hear from me again," she said boldly, pointing a finger at me.

Even as she looked at me as if I was nothing to her, I couldn't help but feel an odd sense of pride rushing through me. Alani wouldn't let anyone fuck her over, and that thought just made me fall for her more even more.

I didn't let it show on my face—scared that she might take it the wrong way.

"The woman you saw was my cousin," I explained, watching as the frown melted away. "The baby you saw was hers. I promise." It was the sincere truth and I hoped that my desperation for her to know the truth wouldn't come off as overcompensating.