Marino's Heir

Chapter 32

"What?! Impossible!" I almost shouted. Jason gulped. He got up and sat still. "These are the orders. I cannot turn it down." He said.
"You must turn it down!"
"I CAN'T!"
I narrowed my eyebrows at his quick, unexpected reaction. He cleared his throat and looked away, almost angry. His defensive response doesn't make any sense. This man was in his death bed a few days ago, and now he wants to get out of the only place that's keeping his health safe for what?! I rolled my eyes at him and spoke after a minute of calming down.
"Jason, I am telling you not to accompany me on this event. Think about your health. Besides, what do you know about it anyway? You just woke up."
"Boss called me from the hospital's phone. It's a big ball event and kind of old traditional that has a dress code."
I sat at the edge of the bed as he spoke. "What dress code?" I asked. He looked at me and said... "Men's wearing a tuxedo with a mask. His woman should match his tux colour but also wear a mask." I crossed my arms and stared at him silently. His face slightly turned red, and he looked away when he realized that I was staring into his eyes. It made him nervous, but I couldn't help it. My mind was blank. Was I surprised? Maybe. But I'm more confused on a part of this. "What do you mean his woman?" I spoke. "Um...as in partner?" He said nervously, avoiding eye contact. "And you're saying my father gave that to you? With me?" He frowned but smiled right away, hiding it. He rubbed his hair and looked at me. "I mean, are there other options? I've heard about what happened to Ryder, and Austin is in no position since he's undercover. And the boss takes me as the smartest of them, so he called when he knew I'm awake."

He does make sense. Ryder won't even be able to raise his arm at the moment. Austin is a police officer. He can't be seen or recognized in anything involving the mafia. "Will you be okay?" I asked with an emotionless expression. "I believe so." He answered with confidence. "Alright. See you tonight, then." He nodded and smiled. I got up and left.

I looked at my watch and it was 4 pm already. "Cleo, is everything okay?" Natasha came to me when I left the room. "Yeah. I need to go. Stay with Jason, and I'll be back." I said to all of them and walked to the elevator. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, so I took it out as I entered the elevator. I answered without seeing the caller ID.
"Hello?"

*You finally answered!* It was Marco. I froze. Then I got this brilliant idea. I coughed..
"I'm sorry. I've been in bed all day and didn't see my phone." I lowered my voice, making it sound like I was sick.
*Are you okay, love?* He asked. I smirked as I got out of the hospital. "Not really, I caught a flu. Cough But don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Cough"
He stayed silent for a bit. *Alright, I'll be there in 10.* He said. "What? No Marco -" He closed the call.
"Why does he have to do this to me?!?!" I walked back and forth. I called him but he didn't answer. My guess is he's already on his bike!
I ran to my car and drove quickly back to the mansion.

As I reached the gate, I saw his bike there and him standing in front of the guards. I gulped. What am I supposed to do? I took a different turn and drove around the mansion. My phone rang and it was an unknown number. I answered while driving. "What?" I spoke. It was one of the guards. "Let him in." I said as I parked at a random spot. "And come get this car from behind."
I got out and ran inside from the back door of the kitchen. I faked coughing and took off my shoes, messed up my hair, and realized my outfit would make it obvious. There's no way to the stairs without walking to the living room. I took a deep breath. "Okay, Cleo. There is no time to panic." I took off my jeans, then hid all of my stuff somewhere. Good thing I wore an oversized jacket. It somehow looked like a man's jacket, but it's perfect to hide any scars and keep me warm. My T-shirt wasn't long enough, so I zipped the jacket. I was about to leave the kitchen, but I couldn't really step out. My phone rang, startling me. It was on the counter. "Oh no, no, no!" I ran to it. I tried to silence it, but for some reason, it didn't shut up. So, I answered nervously. "Uhm...Ahem hey Marco!"
*Hey, why's your place so silent? I'm in the living room.* He said. I walked back and forth, unable to say anything. What if he questions me? Why am I out of bed, in the cold kitchen, with no slippers, an oversized jacket?
Oh god, I'm so stupid. I bit my lip stuttering, but then I closed. "What did I do?!" I left the phone shocked of my stupidity. I stared at the phone on the counter, not sure anymore if I wanted to leave the kitchen or even talk to Marco.
Many thoughts ran through my mind. I put my hands on my head, leaning down. "What do I do now?" I whispered to myself.

Someone cleared his throat behind me. I opened my eyes and moved my hand to the knife in my jacket. I looked ahead, wiping my tears and feeling my face turn red. This is so embarrassing. He moved closer. "Fireball." He spoke with a low voice. I gasped, and I left the knife on the counter. "Marco!" I turned around. "Oh my god! I thought you were someone else." I hugged him tight.
"Oh..." he chuckled and hugged me back. I looked at him. He had this smirk. I smiled at him. I noticed that something seemed different with his gaze. He brushed my lips with his thumb and leaned in as he brushed my hair behind my ear and whispered... "I see you were going to stab me. Are you still mad?" He kissed my neck. I blushed, hiding my face on his shoulder, and looked away. He probably noticed the knife behind me. "That's - He moved his hand to my waist as he kissed my neck, making me more nervous. "Hmm?" He was listening. "Ah... I thought someone broke in a few minutes ago, and I always use a knife with me..." I gripped on his shirt sleeve pushing him away softly. He suddenly carried me onto the counter. I gasped, feeling the coldness beneath my thighs. I moved my hands away from him and held the knife, putting it back inside my jacket. He closed his eyes and sighed. "What are you doing in the kitchen?" He asked. "I wanted a lemon!" I said the first thing that came to my mind. He raised an eyebrow. "You don't have anyone around here?" He put his hands on the counter, trapping me in between. I nodded... "No, not at the moment."

He leaned in, and I avoided his eyes. "Won't your flu get worse...." he moved his fingers lightly on my thigh. "...when you're-- I put my finger on his mouth stopping him. "I- I was taking a shower and... I don't know. I didn't feel like wearing pajamas." I said and gulped. He smirked, then held my hand and kissed it. "Oh, Cleo Marino..." he whispered, holding my hand to his cheek.
"Look me in the eyes..." I looked at his hazel eyes, feeling my heart beat fastening more than before. "Tell me.. What do you see, Marino?" He whispered once again, but this time, his voice was deeper than the usual. And his eyes... what I see... a darker hazel eyes, darker than the usual even with the sunlight beaming through the window straight to him, it can't hide what his eyes turned to.

My breath fastened as I connected the dots. I blushed, then looked away. I cleared my throat. "Uhm..why did you say my last name like that?" He smirked. "I love it." He started playing with my hair. "Oh ah okay haha" I laughed nervously. He just stared at me as he twirled strands of my hair around his finger. After a minute, he spoke, "I love you." That caught me off guard. It made me furious but blushed at the same time. How could he lie straight to my face?
I smiled at him and leaned to kiss him but paused. I pretended to cough so badly that I pushed him away.
He chuckled. "What are you laughing at?" I said, getting off the counter. "Your act." He said and crossed his arms. I acted shocked. "What do you mean?!" I said. He smirked and then walked closer. "Stay away. I don't want you to catch the flu."
He cut me off by kissing me out of the blue. I angrily bit his lower lip, then pushed him. "You stupidos!" He laughed even harder, then brushed his now bruised lip. It made him bleed. I clenched my fists, holding myself from running to him and checking it. He deserved it for lying to me. "What was that for, Fireball?"
"For saying that you-
I shut up and looked away, realizing what I was about to say. "Hm?"
I turned my back to him. "You fool, I don't want you to catch the flu."
I felt him walking, he stood beside me. He leaned to my ear and said... "What flu? You're fine. Enough of this game now and tell me, for saying that I what?"

I looked at him. He tilted his head to the side, waiting for an answer. I rolled my eyes at him. "For saying that you love me."