Bella
It's been a few days since Mr. LaRusso helped me with paying all the debts. I had no idea how to repay his gratitude. Also, he had been very kind and humble towards me since that day. Because he didn't leave me with any choice, I agreed with his deal and was still working as a maid in his mansion.
Putting on my nightdresses, I opened the drawer beside my bed. I sat on the side of my bed with a photo album in my hand. I didn't have a lot of photos. Just a few photos of my parents' marriage and me with my mom.
The first page was my parents' marriage picture. My mom looked very beautiful that day. She was smiling just at the thought that her life would be different and beautiful after marrying my father. My father looked handsome too. I smiled as I trailed my finger over the picture of my parents both smiling at the camera. Our life could've been very different and happy.
I turned the other page of the album. I almost laughed at my picture which my mom clicked, where I was eating a cake, my mom made like a zombie. I was probably five or six years old. We had an old camera with which mom used to capture our memories. In the next photo, I was on my mom's lap with one finger in my mouth and my mom had her arms wrapped around my small body. She was smiling but that smile didn't reach her eyes. I brought the album closer to see the marks on her neck and arms. That was nothing new. Those marks never left her. She used to get beaten by my drunk father every second night while I used to hide myself under bed or in the bathroom and hear my mom begging for my father to stop.
Sighing, I turned to another page to see my father's picture. He was alone in that photo as he was sitting on a chair in his room and talking to someone on the phone, not noticing I clicked the picture secretly. I always wanted my mom and dad to be together and happy. I wanted my parents to drop me at my school, but that never happened. My mom used to work in a nearby shop and pay for my tuition fees.
Our life would've been better if my father had not gambled.
I closed the album and put it inside the drawer before turning the lamp off. When I was about to put the duvet on me, I heard a loud noise. Frowning my eyebrows, I got off from the bed and walked towards the window before pushing the curtains at one side. I peeked to look out the window. I saw two huge trucks at the back of the mansion and a few men beside it, who I couldn't recognize because of darkness. I saw something shining from inside the truck before someone grabbed it and put it in a bag. I was getting curious every second to find out what was going on. This mansion seemed always mysterious to me and seeing those trucks in the middle of the night didn't help this situation. I silently went downstairs and found the main door open. I looked around to see if anyone was watching me but when I found no one, I quickly made my way outside of the mansion and hid myself behind a huge tree. I could see the truck clearly with Marco and Giovanni standing beside it. They were talking to each other and the other men kept taking out the shiny stuff out of the truck before wrapping with something and putting it in a bag. I peeked more to see clearly but nothing more caught my eyes from this distance.
"Are you done?"
A cold intimidating voice from behind startled me as I flinched before turning around to see the blue pair of orbs staring intensely at me.
Mr. LaRusso stood there with one hand in his pocket and the other one holding his phone, his eyes never leaving mine. My eyes travelled from his maddening dark blue eyes to his muscular chest. I could see his muscles bulging out of his black shirt.
"I believe I was loud enough, Bella," he said again in the same cold tone.
I quickly looked up to see his dark eyes again. They were shining under the night sky. Those eyes didn't look anywhere else but my eyes.
I gulped before proceeding with his words.
"I couldn't sleep so-" I didn't know what to say but he cut me off.
"So, you decided to come out of the mansion in the middle of the night?" He said, narrowing his eyes at me. His deep voice sent tingles down to my core. His voice sounded more intimidating and hotter in the silent night.
"No! I was walking in the garden and didn't realize when I came here." I replied, scratching the back of my neck.
Mr. LaRusso raised his one eyebrow at me as if it was the worst excuse in this world.
"But what are the trucks doing here in the middle of the night?" The words left my mouth before thinking. I mentally slapped myself for putting myself in more trouble.
His eyes became darker as they kept staring at me and that suddenly scared me.
"I mean I'm sorry, this isn't anything I should know. I think I should go back to my room," I said, not wanting to put myself in anymore trouble. I could just peek from the window of my room. I walked past him before his strong hand grabbed my arm and stopped me. I turned around to look at him to see he was already staring at me.
"No, you should know."
Before I could understand anything, he turned me around and pulled me towards the trucks. I had no idea what was going on there.
As soon as Marco and Giovanni saw Mr. LaRusso, they quickly nodded in acknowledgement, but their eyes widened seeing me.
"What's she doing here boss?" Giovanni said in a stern voice. I slightly hid myself behind Mr. LaRusso's muscular body.
Without answering, Mr. LaRusso held my hand and walked closer to the trucks. I scrunched my nose as a rotten smell hit my nostrils.
He let go of my hand before grabbing something from the truck and held it up to my level. My eyes widened in shock.
"These are pure gold, 500 grams each. One truck has already left, these two trucks will leave soon. Total worth millions," he said simply as if that didn't matter to him at all before throwing it back in the truck.
I frowned my eyebrows at him. What was he going to do with these golds and why in the middle of the night?
I looked behind him to see the rotten hotdogs. Those men were putting the golds in the rotten hotdogs before covering them with a bag. Nothing of those set well with me. I tried my best not to think the worst about him.
"It seems like illegal goods," I whispered but he heard me.
"That's because it is Bella," he simply said, and my eyes widened even more if that was possible. I looked at him to see he simply was staring at me with his cold eyes. I was living in some illegal businessman's mansion?
"Bella," he said. My name rolled out of his mouth so beautifully. "You see, these trucks were supposed to leave earlier tomorrow. But Marco got the information that cops somehow sniffed this news of the golds being smuggled so I had to hurry everything. I was going to check them out now before being smuggled. Now you got me?" He finished.
He spoke but my eyes were on his gorgeous face. He looked even more beautiful and breathtaking under the shimmering night sky. I shook my head before proceeding with his words. Did he just say smuggling?
"Smuggling?" I asked.
"Yes, Bella. That's a part of my business." He simply stated, all the way, his eyes were on me.
I flickered my eyes a few times to take in his words. So, he was an illegal businessman.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.
"Because I want you to know," he said, his voice sounded husky.
I kept looking at him, not getting what he meant.
"Bella, it's late night. You should be in your bed now." He said.
The night wind was cold. The cold breeze hit my face as some of my hair fell on my face.
"But-" before I could say anything, he came closer to me. His hand came up as he softly tucked a few strands of my hair behind my ear. My eyes looked up to him as his breathing fanned my face. I could feel his warmth radiating in my body.
"You ask a lot," he chuckled lightly and that made him look even more gorgeous. I tried to take my eyes off him, but I failed. I couldn't look away. His eyes seemed so magnetic that pulled me towards him.
Before anything, he took my hand in his and walked towards the main door of the mansion.
"Tornerò" he said sternly to Marco before entering the mansion with my hand still in his.
(Translation: I'll be back)
All the while, I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to think worse about him and that's what happened. He was an illegal businessman. But that shouldn't matter to me. I was just a simple maid in his mansion working for him. But still, somewhere in my heart, I didn't want to accept the fact.
I didn't realize when we reached my room. He opened the door before walking inside holding my hand.
He stopped in front of my bed before looking at me. "Now Princess, stop worrying your little head too much and go to bed," his voice sounded soft as feather.
He came closer to me. What he did next was what I never expected. I released a sigh before closing my eyes. It felt so warm, soothing and I felt like giving myself to him for a second. This small moment made my heart flutter. My eyes opened to look at his shimmering soft blue eyes.
"Goodnight Princess," he whispered softly. He gave me a soft smile before leaving my room as I stood still in the same place.
My hand came up to touch my forehead as I rubbed the place and closed my eyes to feel that again. I felt heat creeping up to my neck and cheeks.
He kissed me on my forehead.
It wasn't like he kissed me for the first time. We kissed before but I wasn't in the right state of mind. But this time, his kiss was different. It was filled with care and so much more that I couldn't decipher.