TAINTED LOVE

BABY STEPS

BELLA'S POV

I had spent the day going over and over the thoughts in my head, and I needed to get them out.

It was 9:00 pm and I sat in the room, I was waiting for Moreno to come home so that I could talk to him concerning my school, I couldn't just stay home all day doing nothing.

The door swung open and he walked into the room. "You're awake"? He asked raising a brow. "Yeah I wanted to speak with you," I said unsure. He went into the walk-in closet and I followed him. "Go on," he said blankly. I was still trying to get used to his hot and cold demeanor.

"Can I go back to school"? I asked calmly. "Mateo will make plans for that tomorrow, go to bed," he said coldly. "But I'm not sleepy" I replied almost immediately. But he just ignored me and went into the bathroom. At least we could make small talk without him trying to strangle me.

I felt a sense of relief wash over me as I realized that he was finally starting to trust me. This was my chance to make my move. But first, I needed to find a way to escape. I knew I had to be careful, or I could put myself in even more danger.

He came to lie on the bed next to me as he pulled me to himself cuddling me from behind and pecking my hair. I'll admit it felt good but I wasn't going to just forget what he did to me just because he cuddles me at night.

The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed. I left the room to go and get water to drink from the kitchen. As soon as I left the room, I met a huge man standing outside the door.

"Excuse me, who are you"? I asked, but he didn't reply. I scoffed and I decided to ignore him. As I made my way to the kitchen, I noticed that he was following me. I got mad and called Moreno immediately. "Hello," I said as soon as he answered. "Go on, I can hear you," he said, and I rolled my eyes at his straightforwardness. "There's a huge man following me around the house. He's refusing to tell me who he is". I said as I facepalmed myself.

"He's your bodyguard, and he'll be with you 24/7" he hung up immediately. I was angry because he didn't even ask me. I glanced at the large man and felt a surge of anger inside of me. A bodyguard? What is the purpose of that?

I decided to keep myself occupied by making pancakes and a cup of coffee for breakfast. I asked the big guy if he liked coffee, but he ignored me. I tried again "So what's your name, big guy"? But he still ignored me.

"You must have been forced by Moreno to do this right? I mean no one in their right senses would want to babysit an adult" I said, sipping my coffee but the big guy didn't respond.

"You're no fun, what if you're a spy," I said chewing my pancake. I rolled my eyes as he looked at me with seriousness. Hehehe, I must have hit a button.

I went back into the room to take my bath. I decided to wear a joggers and crop top since I was going to be in the house for the rest of the day.

I lay on my bed and pick up my phone from the bed rest. It's been a while since I've been on social media. I logged in to Instagram to see what I had missed, but my phone kept beeping with messages which I ignored and kept scrolling until I came across a post with my name.

The love story between Isabella Smith and Moreno Armani. It has been rumored that the billionaire CEO is married to an average girl.

A picture of me and Moreno from the auction night was on display. It was hard for me to admit, but he appeared extremely hot.

While scrolling through the comments, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Although I was used to the occasional mean comment, this was not the same. I was being insulted by people who called me a gold digger and worse. I felt like I was being attacked, and I didn't know how to defend myself. The only thing I wanted was to crawl into a hole and hide.