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“Are you coming or not?” he asked when I stopped. Nodding, I followed him to the stairs as he led me to my room.
“Go take a shower and sleep,” he said.
“Thank you,” I whispered, looking down as I hid my tears from him.
I walked inside and he closed the door behind me. Blindly looking for the light switch, I turned it on and the room was instantly illuminated in light.
I was tired, weak, hungry, sleepy, and numb. All I wanted to do was sleep and never wake up.
Quickly shedding my clothes, I got into the shower. The warm water cascaded around me and I felt the warmth cover my cold body. My teeth chattered as I washed myself. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks. Tears of relief. I sank on the shower floor and cried while letting the warm water fall over my weak body. I didn’t know how long I stayed in the shower, but when my body felt fully warmed and my tears had finally dried, I got up and walked out.
After putting my black pajamas on, I felt myself smile. I would sleep and forget everything. But that smile turned into a gasp of horror when I saw Alessio sitting on my bed. Staggering back, I curled into myself, fear spreading through my body.
He hastily got up from the bed when he saw me cowering behind the door. “Shhh, don’t be scared. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m not going to hurt you.”
My eyes widened in surprise at his tone, which was gentle and soft.
I have lost my mind. I must be dreaming.
I shook my head and sputtered. “You…you…I…”
My head grew dizzy when I saw him giving me a sweet smile. My legs gave out, but before I could fall on the floor, he rushed forward and grabbed onto my arms, pulling me into him. He cradled me to his chest, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck and held on, scared he would let me go.
“It’s okay. I got you,” he whispered, walking to my bed and gently placing me down.
He sat on the mattress, and that was when I noticed the first aid kit on the bed. Alessio pulled it onto his lap and removed some bandages and a bag of antiseptic wipes. He looked up and our gazes met. I froze when I saw his eyes glistening with emotion.
Leaning forward, Alessio gently grabbed my hands and placed them on his knees. He took the wipes out of the packet and gently rubbed my raw wrists. I hissed and he quickly mumbled, “Sorry.”
Did he really say that?
Bending down, he blew on my wrists and continued cleaning the small wound. It stung, but with him gently blowing on the burning skin, the pain slowly started to diminish.
My eyes were closed when he wrapped the bandages around my wrists.
“There. All done,” he whispered, slowly rubbing his finger on the bandage.
I opened my eyes and stared at him. Why was he doing this? My heart stuttered when he brought my wrists up and placed a single kiss on each of them. My mouth hung open. This wasn’t actually happening, right? “I’m sorry, Ayla,” Alessio said against my wrist. I stopped breathing for a second. He apologized to me. The Russian mafia boss, Alessio Ivanshov, a man who probably never uttered the word sorry to anyone, had just apologized to me.
I was in a state of shock. My heart was beating wildly in my chest and I fought to breathe. He looked up at me and my body started to warm up under his soft gaze.
This is not possible. Alessio couldn’t be sitting in front of me right now and apologizing. He couldn’t be this…gentle.
“I shouldn’t have treated you like that. I can’t apologize enough. But please know that I am so very sorry,” he continued as he placed my hands on his knees again. Bringing his hand up to my face, he moved my hair behind my ears, letting his fingers linger on my cheek. “I believe you,” Alessio added.
I gasped, then gulped hard, and continued to stare at him, my eyes wide. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t.
“Please forgive me for my horrible actions. This won’t happen again. You are safe here. Nobody will ever mistreat you again,” he muttered, his voice a little rough but still gentle.
He stared at me for a few more seconds, his blue eyes twinkling with something I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Alessio was always rude, arrogant, mean, vulgar, and menacing.
But this side of Alessio was strange, and against my own resolve, my heart did a flip. His kindness and softness was unnatural, but my heart grasped onto it and held it tight.
For a man like him to apologize, it meant something, right?
Suddenly, he drew away, but then his lips tilted upward in a small smile. “There’s food here.” He nodded toward my nightstand where a tray of food sat.
