The drive from the airport to the Velastro's home was a steady blur that consisted mostly of fear, apprehension and the occasional glances from Antonio that were designed solely for the purpose of frightening me.
Although fear had been a constant by that time, it had not prevented me from admiring the beauty of the view outside the window—It was not always that someone saw a new country for the first time. We drove for hours on end past all manners of places and just as dawn came, we arrived at the isolated house—if it could be called that.
With a towering black gate that had the letter V in its center that when the gate opened somehow took the form of two upturned handguns—it was both beautiful and ominous. The house was a two story villa with an old school look to it but modernized. Its beauty had been like nothing I had ever seen before and till this day, I have only ever seen a handful of homes that matched its beauty, actually, I can count them in one hand.
The cars moved in a single formation around the fountain in front of the house and stopped in front of the steps leading to the black double doors. Out of the cars, only the brothers came out before the cars went around the house, no doubt to get parked. Unsure on whether to follow Rosy out of the car or not, I froze and looked at the driver who wasn't very helpful.
Before I could do anything else, the door on my side opened and the look on Antonio's face made me recoil from his presence before I could think about it. He smiled at my reaction and the change in his demeanor made my mind go numb.
"How long you plan to stay in here?" He asked softly, his eyes darkening when I showed no sign of answering.
"Not long?" I said, as it became clear he wanted an answer. The two words came out more like a question however.
The silence was oppressive.
He said nothing as he slowly dragged his eyes down my body—once—his gaze a tangible thing I could feel on my skin. After finishing his exploration, he turned around and headed inside leaving me behind with a single word.
"Come."
The house was as beautiful inside as it was on the outside. Beige in color and decorated with all manner of paintings, scalptures and chandeliers, how could I not—if only for a second—forget where I was as I appreciated it's beauty? But then I was broken out of my trance by Antonio's question.
"Like what you see?" His voice, made shivers run down my spine. There was something dark about his voice almost as if every word he spoke was a veiled threat or challenge.
"It's beautiful." I said, hoping he would leave it at that.
"Let's see what your room looks like then." He said and led me to the second floor.
After some twists and turns we stopped in front of a mohogany-brown slide door that opened to a pristine and luxurious bedroom that showed no signs of life.
"This is your room from now on. There is everything you can possibly need in here and maybe more. Get sleep. One of the triplets will come get you for lunch. The phone on your next to your bed is for if you need anything, the servants will bring it." He spoke evenly while looking at my face as though searching for something.
A brief pause dominated by silence fell over the atmosphere before he decided to depart. Although his presence unnerved me, I couldn't help but stop him from leaving—if only so I can ask the question that has been eating away at my sanity for the past eight days.
Without my permission, my hand went to stop Antonio by grabbing his arm but as soon as my fingers touched his skin, I snatched my hand back in shock. Horror was a living thing inside of me. For a few—short but seemingly eternal—seconds, Antonio said nothing as he brought his eyes from the spot on his arm I had touched, to my face.
"Mmh?" He said dispassionately and I almost sank to my knees in relief.
"Uhm...what are you going to do with me?" I asked softly, my words coated in fear.
I held my breath as he contamplated my fate while assessing me. From searching my eyes and examining my face, he moved to exploring the rest of my body as though it was a treasure map and he was looking for the 'X' that marks the treasure.
When finally, he looked at my eyes again, he had a saccharine smile and a cruel look in his eyes. I tried not to shrink under his look.
"To be honest, I really don't know yet." He said and terror settled in my bones because I knew—somehow—that he was telling the truth. Before turning around to leave he dropped his smile, instantly shifting from sadistic to cold and calculating. His control over his facial features and expressions in general scared me more than his next words.
"We'll find out soon enough."
YOU ARE READING
Rooted from Betrayal
ActionI would have had a normal life, with mundane problems and simple joys. I would have started practicing as a general doctor by the age of 24 with intentions of specializing and later becoming a neurosurgeon. I would have lived a normal life far from...
