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Disappointment slithers through my chest and tightens around my heart.
It immediately makes me angry. Because I have no right whatsoever to be disappointed.
Rico and I were done. I had spared his life and he had spared mine. We were even. Finished. So he was under no obligation to save me when he found me unconscious in that park. But he did it anyway.
So I have no right at all to feel a bit disappointed that he just walked out without another word.
And yet, there is a strange ache in my heart as I stare at the door that he left halfway open on his way out.
Cursing myself for a fool, I shake my head and start to slide down from the headboard so that I can lie down again. Each small movement sends a spike of pain through my body, and I pause for a second. Then I grit my teeth and get ready to try again.
Footsteps sound in the hallway outside.
I stop moving and blink in shock as Rico walks back into the bedroom. Frowning, I glance down at the items he is holding. Books. Four of them, to be precise.
He strides up to the side of my bed and then drops the books on the nightstand. They land with a loud thud.
“Romance,” he says.
My mind is spinning, so I just stare up at him in complete befuddlement. “What?”
“The genre.” Amusement blows across his features briefly before that neutral mask is back again. Then he taps the topmost book. “Romance.” He moves his finger to the spine of the book underneath it. “Thriller.” Down to the third one. “Fantasy.” And the last one. “Horror.”
“Uhm…” is all that makes it out of my mouth, because what the hell is going on here?
“Try them and see which one you like.” He slides his hands into his pockets and shrugs nonchalantly. “And let me know if you don’t like reading at all, and we’ll try something else tomorrow.”
My entire brain is malfunctioning, so all I do is sit there and stare at the pile of books while his words echo inside my skull.
He knows that I don’t know what I like. So he’s…
Movement registers at the corner of my eye, and I realize that Rico is walking back to the door. I give my head a quick shake to clear it, which only partly works, and snap my attention back to him.
“The doctors said you need to rest,” he says over his shoulder. “Especially today. So just stay in bed and get some rest.”
“I’m fine,” I blurt out. Because what else am I supposed to say?
He pauses with his hand on the handle and turns back to level a commanding stare on me. “Get some rest, Isabella.” A burst of light glitters in his eyes, and the ghost of a sly smile tugs at the corner of his lips, ruining the otherwise perfect mask of hard authority. “Don’t make me get the handcuffs.”
Then he walks out and closes the door behind him.
I wait for him to lock it. He doesn’t.
As I sit there in the soft bed, staring after him, I suddenly want to burst into tears. Or maybe laugh. Or both.
But I can’t fall apart. Not here. Not now.
So instead, I reach towards the nightstand and pick up the first book.
38
RICO
An entire week has passed since I brought Isabella home with me. And to my utter amazement, she hasn’t tried to sneak out and disappear without a word. Instead, she has done exactly what I was hoping she would. Stayed. Rested. And let her wounds heal.
Thankfully, there were no complications or lasting damage. Her bruises are starting to fade and the cuts on her chest and abdomen are healing nicely. She slept a lot the first few days. But even after that, she has done as the doctors ordered and not moved around too much.
I’ve skipped all my classes every day since then. I told my guards that it was because I was taking precautions since the two assassins were spotted so close to me, which was an excuse my grandfather happily accepted.
