Ciao mi amore,
I am so verysorry for your most recent accommodations. I hate that I’ve upset you so deeply. My desire has never been to hurt you. However, there needed to be a punishment for your taking up residence with three other men. I sent you warning after warning and you still allowed them to touch what is mine. You were never theirs to fall in love with. You were given to me when you were just a small girl and I intend to keep you. I fell in love with you years ago and haven’t once stopped. Not even while you disobediently engaged with those other men. I don’t take kindly to losing and I am not patient enough to wait for you to stop hating me to move things along. I am a busy man and can no longer afford to take the time it requires to tend to you myself. Rest assured, you’ll have all of your needs met with our butler, maids and chefs. There are bodyguards throughout the estate as well as at your door. Do not attempt to leave. Do not attempt to run. You will not succeed. I am not a man to make angry, mia bella, so please don’t make things harder than they need to be. Take the pain pills on the table and drink a lot of water. You need to rehydrate after being drugged. I wish it hadn’t come to that, but I had to get you to your room. You have not yet earned the privilege of knowing our location or seeing the grounds. For the time being you will stay in your room. Only once you’ve proven yourself worthy will you be allowed out. Until then, you can do your best to prove your loyalty to me - to us. Our wedding is coming up in the late summer months and I’d like to spend some time with you beforehand so you can get to know me, but that will not happen unless you earn it. You have access to food, clothing and books. If you need anything else, let your maids know and they will pass along the message. You have an ensuite bathroom to tend to all of your bathing needs. I heard you loud and clear, mi amore, and I will do everything in my power to ensure your every need is met going forward, you only need to ask. In time, I think you will learn to love me. However, you should never assume I will rape you again. I would never hurt you out of anger or spite, only for pleasure, yours and mine. By the time we become lovers, it will be because your desire is so strong you can’t help yourself. Your virtue is to stay intact until our wedding night otherwise. I’m nothing if not capable of waiting for you. Another thing, I won’t tolerate your desire to fight me. There are repercussions to your actions and you are rightfully mine to touch as I please. I will only say this one last time. Do not push me, mi amore. Just don’t. Ti amo. mia bella. Be good so we can meet properly.
Xo,
LDJ
Fucking gross.Instantly I regret not tearing up the note before reading it like I had when he was sending the notes to me at home. Of course, like always, I had to let my curiosity get the better of me. Fuck, I hate this.
Oh, god. I’m going to throw up.
Making a run for the door next to me, I push through and spot the toilet just in time to empty the very few contents of my stomach into it. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse that I’ve been eating so minimally since being locked away in the cellar.
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I stand up and look around, spotting a new toothbrush and toothpaste still in the packages on the counter. I grab them and brush my teeth for the first time in weeks. It feels so good, I may never stop.
I look around and see the shower, so I start it while continuing my quest for spotless teeth, turning the water as hot as I can possibly stand it. I do a quick perimeter check for bugs or cameras before finally stripping down and moving into the scalding hot water.
When I finally finish up with my teeth, I reach for the shampoos and soaps, noticing everything is my signature magnolia scent. I wash my hair twice, scrubbing it aggressively, before I move onto a deep condition and to scrub the excess filth off of my body. I must be close to taking layers of my own skin off because my whole body starts to ache with the desperate cleansing I’m giving myself.
I can feel the hot tears as they trail down my face, it’s not natural for me to cry, and I haven’t even done so until now. I miss my guys now more than ever. I know I can’t sit and stew in my own self-pity. I’m made of tougher stuff than that but it’s always just been me to worry about. I’ve never had other people to care about and the weight of their loss is suffocating me. It hurts. It hurts so bad that my entire being feels broken.
I give myself over to the pain and sorrow I’m feeling. I allow the depression to take over for a while, sinking to the floor of the shower, openly sobbing and curling myself into the smallest form I can. It feels as though I’ll completely fall apart if I don’t physically hold myself together. This is a whole new side of myself, that I’m far less familiar with. I must need this though because the tears just won’t stop.
This continues until the water runs cold. I pull myself up, wrap myself in a towel and drag myself back to my new bed. Too emotionally exhausted to bother even looking for clothes. Knowing at some point I’ll have to pull myself together, probably sooner rather than later but for now, I’ll continue to grieve. Grieving the loss of my mom and my nonno alone feels so damaging I can barely stand it.
I’m grieving the loss of SB, my best friend. My sister. The only friend I think I’ve ever actually had. I’m grieving the loss of my determined Matteo, my fierce Noah, and my loyal Cohen. The three guys who own my entire heart and soul. The three men who know me inside and out.
I know I’ll find them again someday but in order to escape this place, in order to survive, I’ll need to play along, which means I’ll need to let them go for now. Knowing this, I give myself over to my grief and when I wake up tomorrow, I’ll play this game better than anyone ever could. Tomorrow, I’ll be the perfect little queen to this masked king. I’ll own his heart, mind, body, and soul and then I’ll bury him six feet fucking under.
With that thought, I fall into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Six
Alessandra
For the following week, I’m on point with my good girl routine. I wake up and shower. I dress myself in the luxurious satins and silks left for me in my closet, it’s total bullshit that there are no actual clothes, just lingerie and silken nightgowns. At some point I’ll need to talk to someone about that. I’m supposedly here to marry some self-entitled prick, one that sounds possessive on a crazy level that may exceed that of Matteo. He can’t want me wandering around in front of his guards in panties, right?
I make myself as presentable as possible and when the maids come in, I keep myself perfectly pleasant, making sure to use my manners and not ask for too much. I’ve been allowed books to read and paper to write on, apparently the pen and paper is just in case I’d like to send notes to the masked man but I honestly can’t find it in me to do so just yet. One of the few requests I’ve made is for the information in regard to my studies. At this rate, I’ll be able to graduate this summer. The staff has done an excellent job of keeping me up to date with my school requirements. Although, I imagine school will be out soon enough for summer. It has to be close to the end of April by now if it’s not already.
I do what I can to get back into fighting shape by working out, which isn’t easy without weights, training bags or anywhere to run, but I do what I can with some basic floor workouts and shadowboxing. My main goal is to get my strength back up so when I have the chance, I’ll be able to have a real chance at escaping. I’ll bide my time, but at some point in the near future, I’ll be free as a bird.
My days are freaking boring for the most part, but a decent portion of the books I’ve requested are also fun reads so between that and my shitty workouts, it’s not all that different from my previous life in Chicago. It seems I’m destined to be a prisoner to my own life no matter where I am. At least this place is clean and I don’t have creeps trying to pick me up on every street corner.
My next goal is to gain access to the house I’m staying in and eventually the house grounds, and if nothing else, maybe the internet. I’m not quite on SB or Cohens level but I can do some minimal hacking to try and reach out to someone from my real life.
Knock,knock.
“Come in!”I yell from my bed, my face buried in a physics book.
I don’t bother to look up, assuming it’s one of the maids bringing me food.
“Ahem” I hear a gruff voice, interrupting my thoughts, causing me to snap my attention towards an older gentleman.
“Hello, Miss Salvatore. My name is James. I’m the butler here at the manor and I’ve been told to escort you throughout the house to give you a tour. It seems you’ve done quite well to earn some privileges.” The old man speaks words I’ve been desperate to hear, so I do my best to give this new man my attention.
The man himself is definitely older, maybe sixties or so, with dark brown eyes. He’s short with well-trimmed white hair. He’s exactly what you’d picture a proper butler might look like, dressed conservatively in a formal waistcoat and pantsuit. If I had to describe him in one word, it would for sure be ‘stuffy’.
“Oh, shit, I’m sorry. I’d have paid more attention, had I known you weren’t the maids with a tray of food. Um, call me Alessandra please. Here, let me put my books away, I’d love to see the rest of the house.”