Wild Rose 🥀

Chapter Three: Restart His Heart

...

    Alexander felt conflicted. He felt that he'd made a horrible mistake by listening to the slobber heads that he called his friends. He didn't want a girl in his life, not after loosing the first one he'd fallen in love with. He didn't think his heart could take any more heartbreaks. He shouldn't have brought her home, but it was a little too late now.

She was so beautiful with her long Auburn hair in shinning waves down her back. Her dress had hugged her beautiful curves in such a perfect way that had made him want to kiss her senseless. He could vividly recall how her big brown eyes had filled up with tears and fear.
He didn't want her to be afraid of him but still, he felt that it was the only way to prevent the both of them from falling for each other.

   He couldn't deny the fact that she reminded him of Liv, his exgirlfriend and this only made things a little harder than necessary. Ellise didn't know it yet. But, he was doing her a favor by keeping her in his home. It would be assumed that she was very valuable to him because he'd saved her. His enemies would've gotten rid of her if he hadn't decided to keep her safe in his home.

He couldn't risk letting his guard down. He didn't want to get hurt, again.

He sighed heavily, brushing his hair away from his face.
He had hurt her, he realized.
I'm a monster, just like my parents, he thought with a heavy heart.
"Xan?"
He turned to see Cecilia opening the window of his bedroom.
He sighed, burying his face in his hands. "Are you okay?" She asked. "No" he whispered.
"What's wrong?"

He wanted to tell her that he felt bad for hurting Ellise but he remained silent, his mind clouded by several thoughts .
"I'm just tired"
"I am worried about you, Xan. You're shutting yourself out. I don't want history to repeat itself" Cecilia said.
"That was three years ago. I am doing great now. Thanks to you and my friends, I am back on my feet".
She shook her head, placing her hand over his.
"Are you really okay? Are you trying to convince yourself that you're okay when you're not?"

He frowned, meeting her blue eyed gaze. "I've watched you for the past three years. You've refused to let down your walls. Don't you think that it's time for you to find love and healing? Here's your chance, Xan. Don't screw it up" she said.
"It's not that easy" he mumbled.
"I know, sweetheart. I want you to try to let go. I'll be there to help you when you're ready"
She pressed a kiss to his forehead, squeezed his hands reassuringly before leaving. Cecilia was his rock, she was like the caring mum he never had.
****
       Ellise opened her eyes, sitting up slowly. The previous day's morning had been a disaster. She had never expected her meeting with Mr Loides to be so unpleasant. She stared at her wrists, wincing at the painful looking bruise that marked her skin. She realized that without a doubt, she was definitely trapped and there was no way she could escape.
   Wiping away her tears, she stood up went into the bathroom to take her bath. When she returned, Cecilia was standing in her room. Her eyes went wide when she saw the bruises on Ellise's wrists.

"He did this?" She asked, grabbing her hand to inspect the painful looking bruises.
"I apologise on his behalf. He's a bit violent considering the nature of what he does. But he has a heart deep within. Maybe, you can help restart his heart. Have a good day" she said and left the room.
Ellise frowned to herself, clearly confused.
Restart his heart?
How?
What the hell did that mean?

Ellise stared at the pancakes Cecilia had brought her. She wasn't really hungry, so she got dressed and sat down on the bed.
She decided to do everything she could to make Mr Loides to let her go. She had to try.
There was no way she was going to give up just like that.
****
Mr Loides returned home from a meeting at three pm. Dmitri and Dominic came with him.
As soon as he entered his room, Dominic grabbed Ellise's hand to inspect her bruises.
"He did this to you, didn't he?"
She wanted to lie to them, but it was no use since they  already knew the truth.
"I'm really sorry for his behavior towards you" Dmitri said with a look of sympathy in his eyes.
Ellise smiled weakly and went back to the kitchen to help Cecilia in cooking.
     When they'd placed the food on the table, Mr Loides walked in and stood by the table, staring at Ellise. She shivered, goose pimples surfacing on her skin. Why was he staring at her?
Ellise was worried that she'd done something wrong.