What man doesn’t look after his woman?
Oh my God. This man was certifiably insane.
I’m not your woman!
This is an invasion of privacy. How the hell did you get into my apartment? Do you realise how unhinged this is? You need serious help.
For running you a bubble bath?
You are now officially stalking me. I’m calling the police.
I raced back to the window and glared down at him. He read my text and then looked up at me. Our eyes met, and even though I couldn’t see the lower half of his face, I knew he was smiling.
Tell them I say hi. They’re great friends of mine.
I clenched my teeth and shook my head furiously. I knew I shouldn’t be entertaining him. But since I would have to change my number and the lock on my door, this was probably my last chance to say what I needed to. The security men got out of their car, speaking into their phones and reporting him to my father, no doubt.
I’ll pick you up tomorrow night for ourdate. Say 8?
I scoffed.
I’m working.
You’re not. I’ve seen your rota.
Said like a true stalker. Good luck getting past my bodyguards, whose sole purpose is to protect me from you!
Don’t worry about them, beautiful. They won’t be a problem.
They’re not who I’m worried about!
I’m asking you nicely, one last time. Leave me alone.
You’re adorable when you pretend that’s what you want.
It is what I want.
Come down here and tell me that,la mia bella ribelle. If you can look me in the eye and your voice doesn’t shake with the lie, I’ll leave.
Stop calling me that.
Stop liking it.
I groaned, glancing up to see that he was now having a conversation with the security guard. He was throwing his arms around in some animated gestures before he laughed… and then they were laughing too, like they’d been friends for years. Jesus Christ, this man was infuriating.
He shook their hands and climbed back onto his bike as they walked back to their car. My phone started buzzing in my hand, and I quickly answered the call from mypapi,knowing he must have been worried sick.
“Aria? What’s going on? Security just reported Santino outside your building. Are you okay?”
I narrowed my eyes as Sani blew me a kiss before pretending I blew one back to him, catching the imaginary air and pressing it to his chest. He leaned back asif he’d been struck by Cupid’s arrow. The man was a complete lunatic.
“I’m fine,” I answered, pulling the curtains sharply across the window in response to his over-the-top display. I heard the roar of his engine and listened as it gradually faded into a distant rumble. “He’s gone.”
My father let out an exasperated breath down the phone as I walked back through my flat, searching for any clues or signs that he had broken in or left anything else behind. All the windows were still closed, and there was no forced entry on the door. The balcony doors were locked from the inside. I shook my head, pressing my hand against my forehead because I felt like I was going mad.
“Unfortunately, driving down your street isn’t a crime. He’s clever. He’s threatening you without actually threatening you, but I’m worried, Aria. This isn’t going to stop. You should pack your belongings and move in with me.”
“No,” I argued, detesting the idea of losing the last bit of my freedom. I could just about cope with the bodyguards and the surveillance because I still had this flat. I still had a place where I was left alone and could feel normal. I gritted my teeth as I listened to my father’s very logical argument that I wasn’t safe and that, because Santino hadn’t actually done anything I could press charges against, we were in a tricky situation. But that wasn’t technically true, was it? Why was I protecting this psycho?
