Evident

5.

Humming from the warmth that has now wrapped itself around me, a soothing balm that seeped into my bones. My lips curled into an unconscious smile, and I snuggled deeper, pulling the covers up to my chin. The softness of the blankets and the gentle give of the mattress lulled me into a sense of security.

But my thoughts warned me off, jolting me back to reality. My eyes snapped open, and memories of the blue-eyed stranger and his eerie white snake came flooding back. My gaze darted around the room, my heart racing with a mix of adrenaline and impulse.

I squinted my eyes immediately as the sun beams from the wooden open window beside me, seeps into my face, and blinds me for a moment.

I was lying down on a bed inside the hut that I was in last night.

So it wasn't a dream then...

I bit my bottom lip as I held my breath, withdrawing the sheets from my body to see if that bastard tried anything out of bounds.

A comforting sigh left me as I realized that I was still clothed in my dirty black jeans pants, my bra and ripped dirty leather jacket, and the makeshift bandage that was now poorly wrapped around my left knee.

All in all, I was embarrassingly dirty.

The hut was large with the four corner walls, made of wood, as well as the ground that had wood flooring. The main door was to my far right, while in position south stood another door that was closed with two large windows situated on either side of it, as they showed the blue skies and the hectic amount of forest trees.

A vintage large mat was placed beside the bed with a wooden long couch of some sort that was decorated with a large black fox fur blanket that covered the seat.

The couch was at the bottom of the bed as the blanket drifted off the seat; it looked so comfortable that I felt the need to drown myself in its softness.

I lift my hands above my head, easing out a yawn as I stretch to ease the tightness in my body.

Gagging from my morning breath, I quickly shuffled off the bed and winced as my knee throbbed from my rush movements. I needed to leave; whatever weird plans this man has with me, I'll stop it before it gets to that.

Standing from the bed, I notice the knife that I had the previous night was right beside me this whole time, and the thought of him once again not taking advantage of my vulnerability stunned me for a moment.

It only lasted until eventually I shrugged it off.

Maybe he was just acting as if he didn't have an intention to hurt me; maybe he was just waiting on the right time to strike; hence, now is not the time for me to let my guard down to some strange ass man living in a hut with a snake as a pet.

Gripping the knife in my hand, I hop over to the open door while listening as the birds chirp among the trees.

I smiled softly while the river, volumes in a soothing cascade on the outside, a complete opposite to how I felt as I slipped through the open space with the knife glinting into the morning sun from my determination.

My steps faltered as I tightened my fingers around the handle.

Just before me stood a tan-skinned, shirtless, huge six-foot-seven male. His calves were bulky as he had his thighs widen apart. Both of his hands were stretched above his head while he held on to the open space of the wooden entrance that I fell through last night.

It was really an embarrassing fall..

Huffing, I continued to check him out; his back was broadened with muscle layers, while thick black tribal markings immersed across his back structure.

They were difficult to read, and it did nothing but intrigue me further.

His neck was wider at the base, with some form of black and white beaded chain surrounding it.

What froze me where I stood was his platinum blonde hair that was the exact replica of Achille's son in the photo.

Is it...

He spun his body around towards me, his hand still gripping the frame, and my breathing stopped. Aureliano Aveni stared deeply at me with a pair of dark blue eyes.

I shivered as the morning sun rose from behind him, then over the heads of trees while projecting its rays as it hit the corner of both irises, which were currently drilled into mine.

Platinum long blonde hair hangs over his eyes and drops over his neck; it was messy as the morning wind swirls his strands up into the air while throwing it in a jumbled state.

Tribal black ink markings ran across his muscular chest to both of his knotted thick arms, then down to his forearms, where they beautifully finish off to the base of his wrist.

His nose flared then and there as I unconsciously took a step towards him, still in shock.

"Aureliano Aveni." I said in disbelief.

His eyebrows slowly drifted together in a frown.

"I think you're clearly mistaken, darling." He said in a heavy Italian accent, low-pitched tone, as his shoulders tense further as I step towards him.

He dropped his hands from the frame and folded his arms across his chest while clenching his jaw in anger.

"This is mad weird; I was not expecting to find you so soon." I frown, still in disbelief, as I scan my eyes over the well and alive rightful don of the Aveni's family.

I must admit, I came on this mission with the sole purpose of not finding the man; it was after twenty years, things were bound to happen.

Yet, here, life had a funny way of doing things, as once again it proved to me how anything is possible once it is spoken with faith.

Faith is standing right in front of me, in thick, muscle-bound flesh, and it sheds a new perspective about life.

"I rule death, darling; of course you would have found me; it takes a lot of will for me to die. After all, the jungle is my home, and I am not leaving anytime soon." He leaned his shoulder to the entrance frame; the water from the river behind him rushes smoothly with his concentrated gaze as he tilts his head to the side.

"Your father hired me to find you, Aureliano; he'll be soo happy that you're alive." I smiled excitedly, ready to convince the man of our leave, but that dropped as I noticed the soberness of his hardened facial structure.

"I have no father; the only parental guidance I know of is a tribal chief that was there twenty years ago when my life was nearly ripped away from me, which was as a result of the flames of my jet. Do not tell me about the happiness of a man, which I know nothing about and clearly, who didn't try harder in finding me if he had to send a clumsy woman to do the work he should be doing."

Stunned at his confession, a feeling of sorrow overtook my frame from the man before me. I parted my mouth to tell him otherwise when he walked around my frame, his forearm brushing against mine as he stood beside me.

I swallowed as he warned with his lips right on the skin of my forehead; they moved, and I couldn't help but inhale his sensational scent.

"It's only best if you leave, darling, because my mind is already made up; I no longer hold the name of the Aveni's but live among the nature of my ancestors. Achille is too late in finding his long-lost son, no? I refuse to be used as his underground puppet; do tell him that I wish him well."

As he said that, he removed his frame from my side and left my mind in a state of confusion about the don's behavior.