Chapter 58
Bianca Ferrucci
The sun had risen only a few hours earlier, and I watched the gates of the estate open.
I hoped it was Marco, after spending the entire night trying to call him.
Anxiety was eating me alive, and I was worried.
Sometimes, I had the impression he always kept his phone within reach, waiting for my calls, considering how quickly he answered.
“Shit!” I exclaimed when I saw Tiziano’s car pull up.
I rushed to the stairs, hurrying down to the living room door and opening it before he even had a chance to knock.
“Were you really that anxious to see me?” he asked, a mocking smile on his lips.
“No, I just came to tell you to leave. I’m not in a good mood,” I replied in the same tone.
He watched me in silence for a few seconds, as though analyzing every detail. Before I realized it, he was already moving closer, wearing that look that always disarmed me.
“What is it?” I asked, trying to remain calm.
He stepped closer and gently touched my waist with one hand, making my heart race.
“Nothing... I was just thinking,” he said, his voice soft and calm.
He moved a little closer, studying me so intently that I began to feel naked.
“What were you thinking about?” I asked, almost not wanting to know, but I couldn’t help myself. Curiosity was consuming me.
He took another step, and his hand rose gently to my face, his fingertips brushing my cheek as though it were the most natural thing in the world. His touch was so soft that, for a moment, I forgot everything he had done to me.
“That you should come back to me, that I should wake you up with kisses every day, that I miss the feel of your touch moving over my body, and how stupid, how much of an idiot I was for letting you walk out of my life.”
Here is the improved version:
“And you think that changes anything?” I asked quietly.
“It does,” he answered sincerely.
“What do you think it changes?” My question came out almost like a challenge, still angry, but carrying a weakness I didn’t want to admit.
He took a step toward me and, with a slow gesture, pressed a hand against his own chest.
“Here,” he said, his hand firm over his heart. “In here. I love you, Bianca.”
His words hit me, heavy and gentle at the same time, and it was impossible to ignore the impact they had on me, even with all the pain he had caused me still throbbing inside.
I turned away, unable to respond, swallowing the words that threatened to escape me. One of my guards approached, out of breath, breaking the heavy silence.
“Ma’am, we located Mr. Marco.”
My heart lurched.
“Where?”
I saw Tiziano’s expression change instantly, his gaze locking onto my guard with an intensity that looked capable of killing him with a single glance.
“Where?” I repeated, my voice more urgent this time.
My guard hesitated for a second before answering. Unable to stop myself, I grabbed my phone and called Marco’s number again. My fingers were trembling, and the ringing seemed louder than ever. To my surprise, the phone didn’t just ring. I could hear it... in my own garden.
My heart raced, and anguish took hold of me. The repeated, insistent ringing made my palms sweat. My body moved instinctively, and without thinking, I started toward the door.
As I got closer, the ringing became clearer. Then, finally, I stopped in front of Tiziano’s parked car. The phone was ringing inside it.
“Where is he, Tiziano?” I asked, my voice already breaking with anxiety.
Tiziano looked at me calmly, as though someone else’s phone ringing inside his car were perfectly normal.
“Unfortunately, alive. That much I can guarantee you,” he replied with disturbing calm, almost uninterested.
“And why is his phone in your car?” I demanded.
Tiziano shrugged as though he were enjoying himself.
“I was counting how many times you’d call him. And it was a lot. I’ve never gotten that many calls from you,” he said, a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
I couldn’t stay calm.
“Take me to wherever he is,” I ordered.
He didn’t answer immediately. His eyes narrowed, and then he said calmly:
“No.”
“No?” I asked, stunned.
“He’ll be answering your calls again soon.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” I exclaimed.
“I wanted to kill him, but unfortunately, the bastard is one lucky son of a bitch. But the fact that he knew you were pregnant before I did pissed me off even more.”
My heart sped up.
“How did you find out?” was all I managed to say.
“That’s not the kind of thing you can hide for very long, Bianca.”
“This has nothing to do with you!” I replied, trying to distance myself from the situation, trying to deny it, but the truth was right there, plain and undeniable. I couldn’t hide it anymore. He knew.
“No?” he questioned with a crooked smile. “So what are you planning to do? Pretend I’m not this baby’s father?”
“Tiziano, don’t hurt him,” I pleaded, wrapping an arm around my stomach as though I could protect my child from everything happening around us.
He looked at me with a softness, a vulnerability unlike anything I had ever seen in him. He approached slowly, and then, with unexpected calm, answered:
“Hurt him? How could I hurt a part of myself? How could you think I wouldn’t love my own child?” He placed his hand over my stomach.
“He has the blood of the man you hate.”
“Fuck the blood!” Tiziano replied firmly, his eyes locked on mine. “That baby is a part of me. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Those words made me pause for a moment, but I couldn’t give in.
“That doesn’t change anything between us,” I replied.
“It changes everything! I’m not backing down, Bianca. I’m not going to let you and my child slip away from me again. I need both of you, now more than ever.”
I frowned, my chest tightening with anguish at hearing those words. I knew he was serious, but my anger, my pain, were still too raw.
“I’m not going back to you, Tiziano,” I said.
He stood there silently for a moment. I could see the muscles in his face tense, as though he were fighting something, and then, with a more resolute look, he answered:
“I accept that. I accept that you’re not coming back right now, but I’m going to give you reasons to come back to me, Bianca.”
“How? By imprisoning my friends?” I asked, making no attempt to hide what I was truly feeling inside.
Tiziano didn’t hesitate, never taking his eyes off mine.
“I’ll have him released. Satisfied?”
“This isn’t a game, Tiziano.”
He touched my face and smoothed my hair.
“I know. I’m going to do it right this time, Bianca. I’m going to bring you and my child back home, to our home.”