by Fariah Zaidi
I held my breath, dreading what was coming next.
“It was almost a couple of years after your birth that the attack happened. Neither Alessandro nor Silvio were home. I had gone home, to attend to my ailing mother. Around midnight, Diego and his men burst through the front door, armed with all sorts of weapons.”
Tears escaped her eyes as she continued, reliving the horrible memories, “It was a massacre. They just shot and stabbed their way through house until they reached upstairs. Sofia and Valerie put you and Stefan in the panic room, but couldn’t get in themselves. Diego’s main intention was to take back his wife, but as a punishment to Alessandro for getting involved, he kidnapped Valerie too.”
“When Alessandro and Silvio returned home the next morning, all they could see were dead bodies and blood. The smell of death and destruction hung heavily in the air.” her voice was grave, filled with both anger and despair.
“We received a mail that day. It had Sofia and Valerie’s family rings, covered in blood. It also had a CD, which showed a video of Diego, taunting us over our defeat.”
“It was hell. So many hearts were broken in one night that it was impossible to bear.” a small sob escaped Mama Bella’s lips as she clutched my hands tighter, “Nothing has been the same in this house since then. That night, Diego destroyed everything.”
My heart constricted at her words as my own tears started falling down my cheeks. How could anyone be so cruel?
“In order to prevent any harm that might come to you and Stefan, we decided to send you away. You were children; you didn’t deserve losing your mothers at such a young age.” she went on, and then pointed at me, “Your adoptive parents, Celine and Theo had always been great friends of this family. You were handed over to them.”
“And Stefan?” I asked.
“Stefan too was placed with a friend couple of ours. But they were unable to handle him. He used to have horrible nightmares; he barely ate and picked fights with his classmates. Consequently, we had to bring him back home.”
I sat there, letting all the information sink in.
“Diego’s death today is no doubt a blessing for us, but he deserved to die at the hands of Espositos.” Mama Bella said, wiping away her tears.
My heart ached for this family and all that they’d been through.
Footsteps were heard by the kitchen door and Ria poked her head in, panicking at the sight of me and Mama Bella in tears.
“What happened? Why are you both crying?”
“Diego is dead.” Mama Bella told her, “Someone shot him this morning.”
Ria’s eyes widened for a second before a dark smile stretched across her lips, “Well, good riddance. But why are you crying?”
Bella looked at her with forlorn eyes, “I was telling Zara the reason why the ‘good riddance’.”
A sad frown etched across Ria’s face, “I am so sorry Zara.”
“That’s okay.” I assured her, though my mind was still recovering from Mama Bella’s story. The kitchen suddenly felt claustrophobic and I wanted to get out of here, I needed to breathe.
“I’ll be right back.” I said hoarsely, getting up from my seat.
Before any of them could say anything, I ran out the kitchen. I did not know where I was going, I just ran. Tears were freely flowing down my cheeks and my heart was beating a million miles an hour.
Now I understood Stefan’s behavior. My father killed his mother; he probably hated my guts.
The house was huge. Afraid of getting lost and stumbling upon something I may never be able to forget, I retraced my footsteps back towards the kitchen and then the staircase, heading straight up to my room.
I hated every second of what I was going through. Even though I knew almost everything now, it was hard for me to wrap my head around all this.
In order to distract myself, I pulled up Netflix on the giant TV hung up on the wall and played a romantic comedy. But not even that helped me in any way. I had fallen asleep halfway through the movie and Ria had to come up to get me down for lunch.
By the time dinner rolled around, no one had seen or heard from Stefan.
When Rafael, Vincent and Enzo walked in, they quietly sat down in their seats. Dinner was tense, to say the least. Nobody talked or laughed, even Ria was silent beside me. As for me, my appetite had vanished and I sat there, pushing my food around the plate.
As we helped clear the table, I couldn’t help but ask, “What about Stefan? Isn’t he going to eat?”
Mama Bella smiled sadly at me, “Don’t worry. This happens whenever he is angry. He gets into one of his moods, but we’re all used to it.”
“But he hasn’t eaten anything since this morning.” I pressed.
A slightly teasing smile spread across her lips, “Since when did you become so concerned for him?”
Upon hearing this, I instantly put up a nonchalant composure, “Why would I be concerned for him?” I haughtily folded my arms across my chest, “I just don’t think it’s right for him to waste the food that you so lovingly cooked.”
Way to go, Zara, I mentally rolled my eyes at myself, what a great excuse.
I could see Mama trying to hold back her laughter, regarding me with her soft eyes, “Don’t worry, honey. He will come around. Besides, it’s better to wait for him to come down himself than go up there right now and face his wrath.”
With that, she wished me ‘Good Night’ and headed off to her room.
I had this strong urge to find out what was wrong with Stefan. My subconscious argued- why? He doesn’t mean anything to me. I have known him for only a day. Then why the hell am I suddenly worried about his well-being?
I stood in the kitchen alone and contemplated over what to do.
Finally deciding that it was really none of my business, I jogged up to my room, changed into some pajamas Ria lent to me and slipped into the soft bed.
Chapter 8: Dinner
Zara
Four days.
It has been four days since Diego died.
And four days since I last saw Stefan.
He was either holed up in his room or working in his office. His food was taken up by one of the maids. But what worried me was that he barely ate anything. Every day the tray of food would come back down and it appeared as if Stefan took a bite from it, then changed his mind and pushed it away.
As for me, I spent my days holed up in my room, switching from one movie to another on Netflix.
Mama Bella and Ria went grocery shopping today. I wanted to go with them but Rafael said that it was still not safe for me to go to public places.
More often than other, my thoughts would drift to Stefan. His steel grey eyes would flash in my mind and I would desperately try to remember why they seemed so familiar, where I had seen him before.
I was in the kitchen, setting out ingredients to make myself some grilled cheese. Lunch was two hours ago and I was hungry again.
“Hey, sugar.”
Vincent sauntered into the kitchen, giving me a small smile and a wink.
In the past few days I had been here, I’d found out just how big of a flirt Vincent was. He never missed a chance to throw around an occasional pick-up line or call me cheesy nicknames. But that’s all he did. He wasn’t a manwhore, just a big flirt.
His heart, it looked like, was reserved solely for Ria. The moment he walked into a room, his eyes would find hers and he would give her a small smile or a wink, that would have her blushing profusely, which clearly showed that she was into him too.
Now, I was just waiting for them to get together.
“Hey Vincent.” I smiled at him as he took the seat opposite of me.
“Is Mama here?” he asked, taking off his jacket. I couldn’t help but notice that his light blue shirt underneath had dark patches of dried up blood.
“No.” I tell him, “She and Ria went out to buy groceries. What do want from her?”
“We just got back and haven’t had any lunch today.” he says, “W
e’re starving and Enzo’s stomach has been making mating calls all the way home.”
I laughed.
“I was going to make myself some grilled cheese.” I told him, “I can make some for you guys if you want.”
“You beautiful, beautiful angel.” he reached forward and dramatically held on to my hands, wiping away a fake tear from his cheek.
“Go and change.” I ordered him, laughing at his stupidity. Blowing me a kiss, he left the kitchen.
About half an hour later, I sat back and watched three giant men scarf down piece after piece of grilled cheese.
“This is so good.” Vincent moaned with his mouth full.
“Seriously,” Rafael said, taking another bite, “will you marry me, Zara?”
I laughed loudly. Being a chef, it was one of the best things to see that people enjoyed your cooking. And to think that something as basic as grilled cheese was making them so happy.
Quick to realize that a couple of slices won’t do any good, I’d used the entire pack of bread. And I was not wrong.
A sudden thought occurred to me.
“Guys, where is Stefan?” I asked, serving another slice to Enzo.
“In his room.” Rafael mumbled, refilling his glass with more iced-tea.
“Wouldn’t he be hungry?”
“We asked. He wasn’t.” Vincent said, reaching for another slice.
I slapped his hand away.
“Hey! I want that.” he screeched, looking heartbroken at being denied food.
“Nope. If you’re still hungry, have a fruit.” I declared, pulling the platter away.
“But I don’t want to eat fruits.” he whined, “I want the cheesy goodness.”
“I am taking this up for Stefan.” I said, reaching for a fresh plate.
“Good luck with that.” Rafael mumbled, wiping his lips.
“But he didn’t even have his breakfast properly. Surely he must be hungry.” I pressed, my tone worried.
“It was our job to warn you. He is not in a good mood right now, sugar.” Vincent said, shaking his head at my suggestion.
Dejectedly, I placed the grilled cheese back on the counter and Vincent jumped at it, squealing like a kid.
God, he was such a pig.
The time for dinner came and one by one, everyone walked in, kissed Bella on the cheek and took a seat at the table.
But the one person everyone was waiting for didn’t come. Mama Bella shook her head sadly. Even when she told me it was usual, didn’t mean that she was worried.
Dinner today was prepared by me. I made my famous three cheese lasagna with ground meet and sausages, adding an extra thick layer of mozzarella on top. Praises and compliments were thrown my way and I was once again proposed to by Rafael.
Soon, dinner was over too and everyone retired to their bedrooms. But I stood in the kitchen, unable to erase Mama Bella’s sad frown out of my mind.
Before I knew it, I was setting a plate of lasagna and a glass of wine to take up to Stefan’s room myself.
And now, as I stood in front of his door, I realized the stupidity of my decisions. What was I thinking, willingly coming here to face Stefan in all his enraged glory?
But I was also determined not to chicken out. So I shook my head, took a deep breath and knocked on his door twice.
No answer.
I knocked again.
Still no answer.
Did he fall asleep? I pressed my ear to the door, straining to hear any kind of sound. When I heard the sound of running water, I realized he was taking a shower.
What I should’ve done was turn right back around and leave him be. But no, the moronic, caring part of my brain urged me to open his door and walk right in.
And I did.
If I said my room was huge, then Stefan’s room was humongous. It was designed in black and white with a king sized bed covered in the monochrome colors- white and black pillows, and a black comforter. A TV was set up on the opposite wall, and a big black couch had been placed in one side along with a glass table.
I took another look around as I put the tray of food on the table. The room, a little too dark for my taste, was beautiful, but it was perfect for someone like Stefan.
Dark room for a dark soul.
It had a view of the entire estate from its window. The vast fields looked endless against the backdrop of the night sky.
I was so lost in the view before me that I did not even hear the bathroom door opening.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
I swiveled around at Stefan’s deep, velvety voice, which might or might not have been a big mistake.
Standing in front of me, wearing nothing except for a towel hanging loosely around his waist was none other than Stefan Esposito.
My mouth went dry at the sight as my eyes involuntarily took a tour of his body- like a Greek God, it looks like it has been chiseled to perfection. His chest is scattered with a light layer of hair, and below that his abs are taut and glistening with the water that drips from his hair. The sharp V of his abdomen is visible with the low hung towel.
What captures my attention more is the calligraphy of tattoos on his body.
There are so many, starting from his abdomen and licking their way to his chest and his back. It’s hard to differentiate one from the other. Some are written in Italian, some Roman numerals and other are just symbols that I don’t know the meaning of.
It is so breathtaking that I felt I could just stand there all day and uncover the secret behind every phrase, every numeric and every symbol etched in jet black ink. Because that is the kind of man Stefan was- full of secrets.
I watched as he raised his hand and ran his fingers through his hair, shaking the water off.
Damn.
What the hell was wrong with me? I shook my head, unable to believe that I was staring at Stefan that way.
Maybe I was nearing my period. Yup, that definitely explains my heightened hormones.
“Zara?”
The sharp edge to his voice snapped me out of my lust- infused thoughts.
“Wh… what?” I stutter, my mouth still dry.
Without a word, Stefan began walking towards me. Slowly. Like a predator stalking its prey.
Oh crap! In my lust-driven, inner monologue, I had forgotten to focus on his mood.
Stefan looked dangerous in that moment. His eyebrows were furrowed in anger, his eyes holding a raging storm. I instantly regretted my trip to his bedroom.
Why, oh why, did I have to be so caring?
With each step that he took forward, I moved back one. My heart had started hammering in my chest, threatening to break free.
Finally, there was no place to back into. I mentally cursed when my back hit the huge window, the cold glass pressing into my back.