Destined For You (The Ludovica Siblings #3)

Twenty-Nine | To The Future

CHIARA

Day Forty Of Grovelling:

I wrapped the towel around me firmly and stepped out of the bathroom but I let out a yelp and pressed myself to the door when I found Ezekiel standing in my room.

He looked flustered on seeing me like that. "The...door was open...I thought..." He cleared his throat and scratched his stubble.

"Leave, I need to change," I told him gently.

He turned around and I thought he was leaving instead, he shut the door entirely and locked it, turning to face me again.

"Chiara, please", he said desperately, coming close to him. "It's been forty days. Please, give me another chance."

He stepped even closer, placing his palms on the door behind me, on either side of me, trapping me in. "I miss you so much that I can't breathe anymore. Do you not miss me too?"

His eyes held so much pain, up close his dark circles were prominent, stubble denser and exhaustion lined his face.

He slowly rested his forehead on mine, his eyes fluttering close and he exhaled heavily against my lips. "Have dinner with me tonight."

"We have dinner every day..." For the past ten days, he has had lunch and dinner with me along with Marcelo and Silvio.

His eyes opened and stared into mine. "You know what I mean. Go on a date with me. Give me a few hours of your time, that's all I ask."

I didn't need to think much about my answer. I slowly nodded. "Okay."

He looked surprised, a smile spreading over his lips. "Really?"

I bit my lips to stop myself from smiling. "Yes."

"Thank you", he whispered, his eyes welling with tears and when a drop of it escaped, I wiped it away with my thumb, his eyes falling close to my touch.

I wanted to keep touching him, to have him close but I restrained myself.

He leaned back but not before kissing my forehead lingeringly. "I'll pick you up at six, is that okay?"

I gave him another nod and he softly smiled at me. He brought his index and middle finger up to his mouth and kissed it and with those same fingers, he brushed my lips.

He slowly backed away and kept facing me while walking backwards, his eyes not leaving mine as if he didn't want to stop looking at me.

He opened the door and walked out, finally leaving.

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Late in the afternoon, I was surprised to see Silvio and Lilith here, they were on a break here and I was pleased to see them both, especially Lili to whom I told everything.

Cyrus later came to me and dropped me a packet saying it was from Ezekiel.

Inside, I found a pretty, white coloured dress on which little pink flowers were scattered, it had a puffy skirt which ended an inch over my knees and short sleeves.

There was a note attached to it. 'I would really love it if you wear this tonight. If you don't like it then it's fine.'

I was tempted not to wear it just to trouble him but then the dress was too pretty for me to ignore.

By six, I was all ready and I walked downstairs to wait for him in the living room. Marcelo met me there, offering me a small smile.

"You look nervous." He pointed out.