Chapter 37
“I’ll tell everyone you weren’t feeling well and had to duck out,” Anna promises as she sneaks me out of the ballroom and walks me to the hotel lobby where I call for an Uber.
“You’re the best,” I squeeze her in a tight hug that she reciprocates with gusto. “I mean it. Thanks for your support tonight.”
“Always, girl. Now go get your man.”
I snort then nod my head in the direction of the ballroom where Percy is waiting for her to return. “Only if you go get yours.”
A dazzling smile lights up Anna’s face when she responds “I will.”
My heels click against the marble of the lobby as I head for the lift that will take me up to Zayn’s penthouse.
I send a small smile to Zayn’s doorman as I pass, recognising him from my last visit, and the kind-faced, white-moustached man nods in return as the lift arrives.
I bite down on my lip as the lift carries me up to the twentieth floor.
Will Zayn be happy to see me?
The train of my black-sequined gown grazes over the carpeted foyer when I step out of the lift and approach Zayn’s front door. I knock on the heavy lacquered wood a few times, then wait, clutching my purse to my chest in hopes of calming my racing heart.
Waiting for the door to swing open is agonising.
Moments pass by in what feels like minutes before I try knocking again.
After five minutes with no response, I turn, crestfallen, and walk back to the lift.
I didn’t think to call ahead and make sure Zayn was home before turning up here like a crazy woman.
Stupidly, I didn’t think he would be out at midnight on a Saturday night, but of course he is.
He’s a gorgeous, twenty-eight year old man.
He isn’t going to be waiting around for me to sort my shit out.
Or maybe he is inside, but with another woman.
Bile climbs up my throat.
I itch to reach for my phone and call him, but I don’t. I’m not going to interrupt whatever, or whoever he’s doing because suddenly my psycho ex-husband isn’t standing in our way of being together. If he’s moving on, then that’s my problem.
Calm down, Gianna. It’s one night out. He could be anywhere. He could be visiting his sister.
The lift doors open and I’m back inside the lobby.
“No luck, Ms Morello?”
I turn my attention to the soft-faced doorman, halting my steps.
“Oh, um, no. He doesn’t seem to be home.”
“Ah. I didn’t start my shift until seven and I haven’t seen him in that time.”
So Zayn’s been out partying all night. Or he’s holed up in his penthouse having a shag-a-thon. Those are the only two options my malfunctioning brain can come up with right now.
“How do you know my name?” I ask, approaching his desk. The fact he used my maiden name doesn’t evade me, either.
“Mr Romero placed you on his approved visitors list. Didn’t think I would let just anyone up there, did you?” He winks at me, causing my heart to soften. He reminds me a bit of my nonno back in Italy.
“I guess not.” I sigh, glancing down at his bronze name badge before I turn to leave. “Have a nice night, Bruce.”
I must look as dejected as I feel, because Bruce calls after me, “Have you tried his phone? I’ve never known Mr Romero not to answer his mobile.”
“No,” I smile sadly. “It’s okay. I’ll just catch him another time.” Some conversations aren’t for over the phone I finish in my head, but Bruce gives me an understanding nod, as though I said it out loud.
“Night, Ms Morello.”
“Night, Bruce.”
The Uber pulls up outside my apartment building less than ten minutes later and I have to run through the dark, whipping wind to get into the foyer.
In my hurry to leave the gala, I forgot to uncloak my coat.
There’s no one else around at this early hour as I step into the lift and ride it up to my floor, and by the time I’m walking down the hallway that leads to my apartment, the cold air has seeped through the fabric of my dress and into my very bones.
I shiver into the eerily quiet that surrounds me, a little jittery that it’s the first night back in my apartment since Daniel’s visit. I fumble in my clutch for my keys.
When I push my front door open, I’m met with complete darkness. My heart lurches as an unsettling feeling glides a cold finger up my spine.
I always leave a light on.
In fact, I remember leaving my bedroom light on when I left so there would be ambience when I got home, knowing it would be late. I step slowly into the darkness and run my hand over the wall, searching for the light switch that I know is here somewhere.
As I reach further inside, my foot slips away from the door and it shuts with a heavy thud behind me, surrounding me with a still, dark quiet.
Panic whispers along my skin like a light breeze as I glide my hand around desperately. Where is that light switch?
A voice creeps from the shadows as my finger lands on the switch.
“Hello, Gianna.”
I leap back violently as light floods the hall. Daniel’s leaning against the wall opposite me with a cold smirk on his face, the sight alone causing undiluted terror to spread through my veins like ice.
“Daniel, what the fuck?”
With a hand on my racing heart, I attempt to get a hold of my breathing while Daniel watches me with unfathomable eyes.
“Good night?” he asks casually, as if him waiting for me in the darkness is the most normal thing in the world. He pushes off the wall and stalks toward me. I step back, but I hit the door behind me. “I’m upset I wasn’t invited to your little charity thing.”
He doesn’t sound upset. He sounds annoyed. Deja vu captures my breath in my throat.
“What are you doing here, Daniel?” I manage to push the words past the lump in my throat. “I agreed to our session next week.”
I try to act calm but the tremor in my voice gives away my panic. Daniel raises a knowing brow, and I’m sickened to think he’s enjoying my fear.
“Don’t act coy, Gia,” he says with a smile. “You’re my wife, remember? I know when you’re fucking lying to me.” His playful tone is at odds with his menacing words. My heart rate accelerates to a dangerous level.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He stops just out of reach, tucking his hands into his pockets.
“Tony called. He was quite pissed off, actually.” He chuckles, cocking his head to the side, inspecting me with his cold eyes.
“Gave me his whole ‘protective big brother speech’. Told me you spoke about the money, so I assumed our little gig was up.”
Fucking Tony. When will my family ever learn to stop meddling with my life?
“I’ll still do the counselling,” I say, but it comes out more like a plea.
It was much safer when Daniel thought he had control over me.
Now that he knows he doesn’t, I don’t know how he’ll try to regain that control.
My stomach churns painfully at the possibilities that start playing through my mind like a horror movie.
“Now, now, Gianna. What did I just say about lying?”
“I’m not lying,” I lie weakly. I’ll say anything to get Daniel out of my apartment. Agree to anything. “I’ll commit to the counselling, I promise.”
Daniel smiles, but it a twisted, mocking smile. When he lifts a hand to graze over my cheek, my body instinctively flexes away from him, the door handle digging painfully into my back as I strain to get away from his touch.
“You’re a fickle bitch, aren’t you, wife?” He says, grasping my chin. Having his hand so close to my throat makes my terror kick up infinitely. “I might have believed you, if you didn’t rush straight to your little boyfriends place after finding out the truth.”
He chuckles as his cold gaze sweeps over my shocked face. “What? You really think I wouldn’t be keeping an extra close eye on you since we made our arrangement?”
Of course he’s still having me followed, the asshole! It dawns on me that’s how he must have found me at the reunion, too. I was too swept up in thoughts of Zayn to realise.
“Now, here’s what’s going to happen,” he says, and I try to jerk my chin away, but he’s holding me too firmly.
“You’re going to come home with me. I realise now I was too lenient letting you stay in the apartment.
We no longer have need for counselling, I reckon we can hash out our issues ourselves, hm? ”
His words are completely delusional, but he delivers them with a calm conviction that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“What are you going to do?” I retort, my voice straining with disbelief. “Lock me away in the house?”
Daniel doesn’t even hesitate. “If I have to. Until you realise that our home is where you belong.”
If I was scared before, the cold determination in Daniel’s voice now fills me with paralysing dread. He’s dead serious. He’s here to kidnap me.
“You can’t fucking do that!” I spit. My hands shake so hard I can barely make a fist. “I’ll call the police!” The words are out of my mouth before I can think them through, but fear starts to drive my every action. How long would it take for someone to realise I’m missing? A few days? A week?
My mum will think I’m going purposely AWOL again. Anna will think I’m having a shag-a-thon with Zayn after reuniting with him. Zayn thinks I fucking broke up with him.
What will Daniel do to me in that time?
“I don’t think you’ll be calling anyone, actually.” Daniel swipes my purse from under my arm, where my phone is tucked away inside. I have to swallow down the hysteria that climbs up my throat. “You’ll see eventually that this is for the best, Gia. Now let’s go.”