Insanity

8| Only Pretend

Luca

I'm so fucking bored. Allena left twenty minutes ago for the bathroom and she still hasn't returned. I'm sure her food already is getting cold.

Being alone has given me time to think, and I fucking hate thinking. Its exhausting. I wouldn't recommend it.

Mainly I've been thinking about Allena. Obviously when I first met her, I knew she was someone who wouldn't let anyone fuck around with her, which is attractive but also mildly terrifying. I know I kill people for a living and all, but...

"You're drooling all over your food." My head snaps up and Allena waltzes into the room, looking even more refreshed than before. "I'm not drooling, bellissima. I promise you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Is all she says in return as she starts picking through her salad. The biggest thing I've noticed about her is that she never shows emotion, and it doesn't seem like anyone expects her too.

"I go back to Italy tomorrow." I announce, trying to stop the silence. "Good. It'll be easier to pretend that way." She mumbles, her expression not changing. And then she pinched her hand.

I've noticed her do it multiple times today. When she took me away from her uncle, or got out of the car for the shoot, or walked in front of all the paparazzi to get in here.

We eat the rest of the meal in silence. I notice she doesn't eat much and stares straight down at her hands. Eventually she clears her throat and we finally make eye contact. "We should go. It's getting late."

"You really hate my presence that much, huh?" I ask. She turns to me, her eyes searching my face to see if I'm joking or not. "Relax, darling." I chuckle, grabbing the check. "I'm only teasing." I hear her scoff and she pulls her blazer back on, hugging it to her body.

"I'll pay." She grumbles, searching for her bag, when she opens it her head tilts and she mumbles something I can't quite understand. I tuck a few hundred bills inside the envelope before she can do anything. "Too late." I shrug. "I already did."

I expect her to fight me but she just mumbled a thank you, and carefully closes her bag, setting the strap back on her shoulder. "Should we hold hands?" I ask as I we near the door. "Sure." Is all she says, grabbing my hand and interlacing our fingers.

We awkwardly walk through the restaurant and back to her car, where I help her inside, shutting the door. And then her publicist Kal walks out.

I quickly pull him to the side, keeping him close to me by gripping his arm. "I know who you are." I whisper. Then, I quickly pull away giving him a fake smile and then getting into the car after giving a wave to the press.

Luckily, Allena didn't notice and is busy staring at her phone which isn't even turned on. Kal climbs into the car, shaking and I look away to hide my smirk as the car starts driving back to Allena's estate.

For the most part, the ride is silent. Allena fell asleep, and slouched her head against the window and Kal finally shut his idiotic mouth. I'm busy scrolling through my phone trying to arrange missions for my men back in Italy. Suddenly, my phone rings and I see I've gotten a call from my father.

"Hello?" I mumble. "Son, you need to return to Italy. Playtime is over." His gruff voice comes. "Playtime?" I scoff. "I can assure you Allena is more to me then..." he cuts me off with a sadistic chuckle. "Son, we both know women mean nothing to Romano men. That girl is a symbol. Propose and get her pregnant, and then divorce her. All you really need is a legitimate heir. That's what I did with..."