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Ayla shrugged and looked down to her lap.
I shifted my eyes away too and looked around the room. My gaze fell on the shelves that were filled with my mother’s books.
Taking a deep breath, I asked, “Do you like to read?”
“Yes,” she replied.
I pointed at the shelves. “There’re plenty of books here.”
It was hard saying the words. She was getting deeper and deeper into my world. The piano. And now the books. I didn’t know why I asked her about the books. The words had just tumbled out of my mouth before I could think clearly.
I heard Ayla move and from the corner of my eyes, I saw her standing up. “I can use these books?”
When I nodded, she quickly made her way to the shelves. Ayla took her time choosing a book and when she finally got one, she turned back around to face me. “Can I borrow this one?”
“You can read whatever you want, Ayla.”
“Thank you,” she said. Ayla sat down on the couch beside me, and curled her legs beneath her. She laid her head on the arm of the couch and opened the book.
The room was filled with silence. But it felt peaceful. After a few minutes, I looked away and pulled my laptop that was sitting on the coffee table to my lap.
She read while I worked, trying to keep myself busy. But I was barely concentrating on my emails.
My gaze kept moving back to Ayla.
And I started to see her slowly fall asleep. Her green eyes closed, her breathing even and soft as she succumbed to her tiredness and sleep.
Placing my laptop back on the coffee table, I pushed myself up and stepped toward Ayla’s sleeping form. I took the book out of her grasp and placed it beside my laptop. Leaning down, I carefully wrapped an arm behind her back and the other behind her knees. I gently pulled Ayla up and cradled her to my chest, making sure that she didn’t wake up.
She moaned sleepily, but then laid her head on my shoulder. Her eyes were still closed and I was sure she was still asleep.
I walked into her room and placed her down on the bed. Ayla immediately curled into herself as I pulled the covers over her body. I stepped away and stared at her sleeping face.
She looked so fragile. Small. A sense of protectiveness coursed through my body.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my racing heart. I gave Ayla a final glance, and walked away, softly closing the door behind me.
I should have been more careful with her since the beginning. I shouldn’t have let myself get in so deep. And now it was too late.
Chapter 37
Ayla
“I still remember it clearly. He was acting all bad-ass but then the next minute, he was on the ground.” Maddie laughed. She was sprawled next to me on my bed, while I was on my side facing her.
“Yeah?” I smiled at her story.
It’d been three days since I broke down and cut myself. And I had been trying to understand myself during these last three days.
I was barely left alone. Maddie was with me most of the time. If she wasn’t, then it was Lena. And I spent most of my evenings with Alessio.
That was the best time of my day. Every night, I eagerly waited for the time when I would go to the piano room. After dinner, I would go in and wait for Alessio. I would play the piano while he silently gazed at me from afar. And then I would read while he worked on his laptop.
These moments were filled with peacefulness. I was thankful for they kept me grounded.
“Yup. And Alessio was just standing there laughing his ass off too. But Viktor being Viktor, stood up and acted like nothing happened,” Maddie’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“Hmm,” I hummed with a smile. She was always telling me stories about her childhood, the time she spent with Viktor and Alessio. And they always made me laugh. They were such a mischievous and funny trio.
Maddie opened her mouth to continue but a knock on the door stopped her. She glanced at it and called out, “Come in.”
The door opened and Milena came in. “Hey.”
She had brought me breakfast before. Taking the empty tray in her hand, she gave me a small smile. “Tell Mom I will be down soon,” Maddie told her. She nodded and started to walk away, but then stopped a few feet from my bed.
She turned back around and stared at me questioningly. “I wanted to ask you this for some time now but never got a chance,” Milena started.
At her words, my eyes widened and I started to panic.
“Why was Alessio’s suit jacket under your pillow?”
Even though I knew what she was going to ask, it still took my breath away and I swallowed hard as dread filled my frozen body.
