Sometimes I think about what would've happened if Leo wasn't Carrisi. We could live happily ever after for the rest of our immortal lives without being afraid and running.
"Please, let me in. I want to explain," he pleads once again, breaking into my thoughts, and I return to the not-so-perfect reality.
"Go away!" I yell. "I never want to see you again!"
I walk away from the door and take a seat on the bed. I can't believe Raph let this man stay in our house after what he planned to do. How can my brother act like that? After everything Leo wanted to do, after he nearly killed him!
I hear a slow turn of the key and hold my breath. It can't be possible.
And then the door opens, and Leonardo walks into my bedroom, holding the key in his hand.
"Where did you get that? How did you manage to steal the key?" I glare at him, digging my nails into my palms. I don't understand my reaction; what am I so afraid of? That he'll touch me without my permission, or that I won't be able to resist?
"I didn't steal anything. Raphael gave it to me," Leo explains calmly, closing the door behind him and taking a step.
"Stay where you are!" I warn him, even though I have no idea what I would do if he came closer.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, and you know that," he continues in a calm voice, and it pisses me off how calm he is while I'm dying from anxiety.
"Where's Raphael? How could he give you the key?"
"He went to Katie's house to make sure she was okay, even though I already told him I hadn't seen her, much less touched her. I won't hurt innocent people; I'm not my father."
"The apple never falls far from the tree," I hiss in response, even though I know that Leo is telling the truth. I'm not sure why I believe him; maybe it's an instinct or my subconscious, but I do. But I want to piss him off, make him lose his temper, and make him feel anxious, the way he makes me feel all the time.
"That's not true in our case, and you know that," he says as calmly as before, taking a step closer.
I tense, unable to take a proper breath. Our eyes lock, and we stare at each other for a couple of minutes. We are aware that we are both feeling this same pain inside, this need to be closer, join together, and never let go.
"Why are you here?" I ask after a pause, and with each second, it's getting harder for me to keep looking into his eyes.
"Because I love you," he says as if it's obvious. I scoff in irritation, turning away.
"Sometimes love is not enough," I whisper, staring at the floor as if it’s the abyss, trying to find the answer I already know.
"Love isn't enough if you don't fight for it." He takes one more step, and now he's standing a few feet away from me. "And I am ready to fight for you, Bea. If needed, I'm ready to fight for you with my immortal life. Because that's what true love is: you don't even know it exists until it hits you like a tsunami, and then you have no idea how you’ve lived without it for all those years."
"You speak so sweetly, but what did you do in real life?" I look up at him again, my eyes filled with tears. "You tried to kill my brother!"
"If I wanted to kill him, he would already be dead, and you know that." He takes one more small step, and now he's standing right against me, and I can do nothing to make him leave. But the thing I am more ashamed of is that I don'twanthim to go.
"Get out," I whisper so quietly that I can barely hear it. Of course, I don't mean it. I want him to touch me, to press me closer to himself and never let me go.
But instead of listening to me, Leonardo gets down on his knees in front of me. I look at him in surprise.
"Marry me, Beatrice," he says and then reaches for the inner pocket of his jacket and pulls out a small black box. When he opens it, I see a vast ruby surrounded by diamonds in a rose gold frame.
"It's not even a question," I hiss in response, even though I know that nothing could piss him off right now.
The ring is unbelievably beautiful, to be honest. The stone is huge, no less than nine carats, and its texture is as clear as glass. I know this ring is from another century, though. I can feel the energy it vibes.
"Will you marry me?" He asks this time; his endurance and self-control would be the envy of all employees of the special services.
He isn't down on one knee. Instead, he’s on both, bowing his head in front of me liked a condemned man, asking for pardon.
"Raphael would never agree to this." I shake my head, looking into his dark, intense brown eyes, which express so much anticipation.
"He already did," Leo says confidently, and I open my mouth in surprise.