“A demonstration for the soldiers; we’re going to kill all the traitors, make their deaths a warning, so they understand what happens if they do it again.”
“What about the Russians? Do you think they might attack to avenge Nikolai?”
Luca looks at me without saying a word, takes hold of my chin, and pulls me toward him, covering my lips with his; I run my hands through his hair and give myself to him. He looks at me, smiling as he pulls away, aware of the power he holds over me, over my heart. “Don’t worry about it; I won’t let anything happen to you.” I don’t think before embracing him, feeling my body close to his, feeling his heartbeat close to my face, his woody scent taking over my senses, feeling the security that his presence brings me. “I’ll kill anyone who dares to hurt you. I’ll carry out a massacre if necessary, but no one will ever make you suffer again, Principessa.”
His arms are around my body, and I feel a small traitorous tear slide down my cheek. I know you don’t feel the same way, but I love you, Luca. Don’t ever forget that. His grip on my body increases, and his heart speeds up a little, something almostunnoticeable.
“I have to go!” His arms let go of my body, and I can’t help but wish to be between them again.
“Don’t hurt yourself!”
“Nothing will happen, Chiara, not to me.”
“Come back to me, please!” A hoarse laugh fills the room, and he holds my face with both hands, placing a light kiss on my lips.
“I’ll always come back to you!” The words come out of his mouth quickly, paralysing me; he doesn’t let me think or give an answer; he just walks out of the room, leaving me alone with a passionate smile on my face.
I get into the car accompanied by Francesco, with a smile on his lips. He looks at me with a strange look as if he knows something, smiling amusedly, which makes me offer him the middle finger, making him laugh.
I pick up my phone for the thousandth time to check the time; time seems to be passing more slowly than usual, and there isno news from Luca. I lie in bed with the phone in front of my face, trying not to let my anxious demons attack my body; he’ll be fine; he has to be fine. He promised to come back to me, and men of honor always keep their promises.
I wake up to someone jumping on my bed; I look up to be graced with my own constellation before contemplating my two older brothers lying on my bed, looking at me with macabre smiles.
“For someone who’s just had an operation, your fiancé is in pretty good shape.” I look at Vincenzo, not knowing what he’s sayingordoing here,and sit on the bed, staring at them.
“What are you doing here? And what’s this about Luca being in good shape? How do you know?”
“We arrived in Rome this morning; I wouldn’t have missed the bloodbath that the Camorra organized; it was incredible, areal massacre!” Vincenzo’s voice sounds too enthusiastic, and my stomach turns.
“The massacre; why the hell did you go and see it?”
“The men who were killed were conspiring with Nikolai, and Nikolai’s victim is you; at least you were what he wanted; the whole attack was programmed according to his sick obsession with you.” A few tears gather in my eyes, realizing that Lorenzo is right; many died because that man wanted to marry me, to have me as his prisoner. “Luca killed them allin a brutal way; he avenged everything they did, andthey got what they deserved.”
“We’ve seen Luca kill several men, so I’d say he’s in good shape. Now the question on my mind is, how do you know Luca’s in good shape?” Vincenzo’s face gradually comes closer to mine, with an amused smile on his lips.
“Stop that!” I look down and try to push his face away with my hand, causing them both to laugh.
“Looks like our little sister isn’t so little and innocent anymore, Lorenzo!”
“They grow so fast!”
“Stop it now, both of you. You’re so annoying.” I look at them and see them smiling at me. I can’t help smiling at them and throwing my arms around them, finally hugging them.
The ring of my phone makes them let go of me; I reach out to pick up the phone on the bedside table and see Luca’s name fill the screen. I see my brothers smiling at each other before leaving the room without saying a word. I answer the call, putting the phone down on my legandnervously biting my thumb.
“Principessa!” His voice sounds hoarse when he speaks, and a smile appears on my face at the nickname.
“Are you okay?” I hear his laugh, and I know it’s due to the anxiety and rapidity in my voice.
“I’m fine; nothing happened. I promised I would come back to you, I intend to keep that promise.”
Butterflies fly around my stomach incessantly, and I finally understand why they say you feel them when you’re in love. It’s not a bother; it’s good, and itmakes me want to fly with them. “I hope so; I’m too young to become a widow.”
“I don’t intend to let that happen any time soon; after all, I’m only twenty-two!”
“Twenty-two years old, you told me you were twenty-one.” Luca lets out a laugh, making my insides vibrate.
“Today is May 24th, which means I’m twenty-two years old!”
