His Collateral

Chapter 17

Alessandro's POV:
It's been a few days since I spoke with Bella about her family and I couldn't help the guilt and anger I was feeling.

Guilt because I had hurt an innocent girl that was just a pawn in her uncles schemes. And anger because I was so blinded by my greed for revenge that I had failed to see that I was being deceived into a marriage with the wrong person.

After she left my office, I tried to process everything she had just said. It was a lot to take in and this story went way beyond my thirst for revenge as it now involved Bella.
I picked up my phone and called Mariano. "I need your help." I said
"I need to know everything you can find about a certain family. Mr. and Mrs. De Luca."
I gave him all the details I possibly could from Bella's story and left the rest for him.
I glanced at the clock in my study and it was almost midnight. I quickly closed my laptop and headed back to my room.

Bella must be asleep by now.

I walked into the room and I saw her curled up on the couch, fast asleep. In that moment I felt instant regret wash over me. I had been so cruel to her and had only just felt the full weight of my actions.
As I turned to leave, I heard her teeth chattering and looked back at her sleeping figure. She was cold.
I went over to my bed and took the blanket off it before draping it over her gently, careful enough not to wake her up. I knew this sudden kindness towards her wouldn't undo the past but I could start somewhere. I stood there and gazed at her, noting that soft rise and fall of her chest as she slept before quietly going into the closet.

Bella's POV:
I woke up the next day to the feeling of something soft and warm on my body and opened my eye to find a blanket draped on me.

I don't remember going to sleep with this so—

I heard the door to the bathroom open and my eyes landed on Alessandro. He only had a towel on, and it hung dangerously low around his waist, giving me a glimpse of his toned body and I couldn't help but stare, taking in his muscular frame, the way his muscles flexed as he reached to close the bathroom door, his wet hair that dripped water all over his body..
As if in slow motion, I realized what I was doing and turned my gaze away, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. I felt mortified knowing that he must've have seen me staring at him and suddenly the blanket in my hand became more intriguing.

I heard him clear his throat. "You were shivering and so I covered you."

"Thank you." I said, my voice barely a whisper. I was still clutching the blanket and I was grateful that he had cared enough to cover me up but I also felt confused and conflicted about the sudden kindness.

I looked up to face him and his expression was unreadable. "Why didn't you turn the air con off if you were cold?" He asked. His voice soft and curious.

I hesitated. "I am not allowed to." I said and there was a long silence. I could feel Alessandro's eyes on me.

"Bel—"

"Excuse me." I stood up and folded the blanket neatly before making my way to the bathroom. Once inside I heard the door to the closet open and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I brushed my teeth, took my clothes off and got into the shower as thoughts about Alessandro and everything in general ran through my mind. The way he had changed since he found out about my scars. He had asked me to bring him breakfast, he's more understanding, his eyes seemed to hold a certain softness that hadn't been there before and even now he had covered me up while I slept. All in all, began to treat me like an actual person and not a stranger.
But I still couldn't shake off the feeling that it was all out of pity. He only felt sorry for me. The more I thought about it, the more it made me question this marriage.

Why marry someone just to make them suffer?

As the water poured over me, I closed my eyes and tried to relax. But instead of finding peace, I found myself lost in thought. I saw a version of myself standing across from me in the steamy mist of the shower. It was my subconscious.

"You also have yourself to blame Bella." She said, her voice barely audible over the sound of the water.

"Myself? How?"

"You set your expectations too high and you end up getting disappointed when they aren't met."
"What did you expect? For him to love you? For him to actually care?"

"But I can't blame myself for wanting more! For wanting to feel loved after 9 years..." I replied

"But what did you get? Bella you need to stop looking for happiness outside of yourself, in other people. You have to realize that only you can make yourself happy." She explained

I felt a surge of emotions rise up in me at her words, and I couldn't hold it back. Tears streamed down my face, and I felt my body shake with sobs.
She was right. I didn't have to depend on love and appreciation from others to be happy.
Before, I had deemed myself unworthy of being loved but I forgot the only person who could actually love me, was me.

After a few minutes, my sobs began to subside. I looked at the other me and she smiled, reassuring me and I felt a sense of relief come over me.
"Thank you." I whispered and she nodded with a smile before fading away, leaving me alone in the shower.
I knew had a lot of work to do, but I was ready to begin.
I finished up in the shower, wrapped my hair in a towel and when I came out, Alessandro was no longer in the room. I went into the closet and got dressed in a mint green long sleeve top and a matching fit and flair skirt with floral patterns. I combed my damp hair, and left it down before leaving the room.

Downstairs, Alessandro and I had breakfast together on the dining table for the first time. We both ate in silence, neither of us saying a word to each other. He finished and got up.
"I'll be in my study if you need anything." He said before walking out.

I simply nodded and went back to eating my food. When I was done, I helped Mary clean up and headed to the living room to watch some TV.

A few hours later...
I had been cooped up in the house all day, watching movies to pass time. I checked the clock hanging on the wall and it was almost 4pm already. So I stand up and decide to go look for Mary. But before I could leave, the doorbell rang. I looked around and waited a bit, expecting to see Mary coming to answer it, but there was no sign of her so I decided to answer it myself. I walked over to the door and pulled it open.

And who is he?

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