The door bell rang and brought Gia out of the light sleep she’d succumbed to.
“Hi,” Francesco said as Gia opened the door.
“Hey, come on in.” Gia stepped away from the door to let him in. Francesco didn’t look good. He was wearing his usual suit, but there was no tie or jacket and he looked tired and disheveled, which was unusual for him. His eyes were blood shot as if he hadn’t had much sleep in the past few days. His normally well-coiffed hair was messy and unkempt.
Gia really didn’t want to dwell on his rough appearance. She did not want to think that she might be the cause. Guilt suddenly weighed on her – she hadn’t thought about Francesco once during the last three days. Could he have been more invested in their relationship than she’d thought?
“I’m sorry about the way I acted the other night,” Francesco said as he sat down on the sofa. Gia joined him, sitting opposite on a plump footstool. “I know Beppe is your friend and he needed you, but please try to understand. You spend so much time with him. You run to him every time he calls. Whenever you want to share something or need advice or just want to talk – you go to him. You don’t give anyone else a chance. How am I supposed to compete with that? You never look at me the way you look at him and it hurt, Gianna. It really hurt.” He fixed his almost colourless stare on Gia and she could clearly see the pain in his eyes.
He was right about everything. She’d hurt this man in her selfish desire to get over Beppe. She'd used Francesco as a decoy.
“Look Francesco, I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose...”
“I know, let me finish. I fell in love with you, Gianna. For the first time in a very long time, I fell in love. I saw a future for us as a couple.”
Gia was left speechless. Francesco was in love with her? He’d never said it before and she had certainly never felt it.
“Don’t look so surprised. You’re an amazing woman – beautiful, intelligent, passionate, talented. Who wouldn’t fall in love with you? I was scared to admit it to you, because I could see that you were not in love with me. I dreaded the rejection.”
Francesco stood up and in one fluid movement was kneeling between Gia’s legs, grabbing her hands in his. “We can still work it out, Gianna. We can fix this. I know we can. I don’t want to let you go, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
A manic gleam appeared in Francesco's eyes. He truly believed their relationship had a base strong enough to let this go and start fresh.
“Francesco... I don’t know what to say. But you’re right,” Gia began and Francesco's expression filled with hope as his lips parted into a smile. “I’m not in love with you.” When Gia finished her sentence and clarified what he’d been right about, the light in Francesco's face died. It was quickly replaced with something cold and ugly. “I’m sorry, but that’s just how I feel.” Gia tried to pull her hands from Francesco's grasp but he only tightened his grip, crushing her fingers together painfully. Gia let out a tiny gasp.
“It’s because of him, isn’t it? You’re in love with him and that’s why you can’t love me?” Francesco snarled and Gia was thoroughly terrified. His pale, reddened eyes were frantic, and his handsome face was so twisted in rage that he looked nothing like the Francesco she knew and had cared for. She’d never seen him like this, he was always so controlled, polite and civil, even when he was obviously unhappy about something.
“Francesco, let me go, you’re hurting me!” Gia cried, struggling to free her hands, but that only incited him to squeeze tighter. Pain shot through the index finger on her left hand and Gia shrieked in agony. Francesco threw her hands down viciously. He stood up, looming over her, his eyes wild.
“You fucked him, didn’t you?” he yelled into her face.
“I don’t owe you any explanation you asshole!” Gia shouted back. “We were over, you said it yourself! I could fuck whoever I wanted.” Gia tried to get to her feet. She really didn’t like Francesco towering over her, but he shoved her back down with enough force to make her teeth snap together.
“You slut!” Francesco barked and backhanded Gia so hard she almost fell off the footstool. She immediately saw stars. “I can’t believe I fell in love with you! You’re nothing more than a cheap whore, just like all the others!” He swung again, landing a blow to her other cheek and Gia felt blood trickle down her chin. Her ears buzzed and she felt nauseous. The only thing making her stay conscious and alert was the thought of what Francesco might do to her if she fainted. No way in hell was she giving him that satisfaction.
Francesco clenched her jaw in a bruising hold forcing her to look at him. There were black spots in her vision and her split lip hurt like a bitch.
“I gave you my heart and you stomped on it. You’re nothing to me anymore, you hear me? Nothing!” He spat the word as if it was the lowest of insults.
The man was delusional! He’d given her his heart? How? He’d never said anything and he certainly hadn’t acted as if he was head over heels in love with her!
For the first time in her life however, Gia decided it would be wiser to keep her thoughts to herself. Francesco looked like he needed the slightest provocation to hurt her even more.
“You’ll never work in this town again, I’ll make sure of it. From now on, your life here will get as difficult as it can be.” His lips spread into an evil grin and shoved her away, causing her to tumble off the footstool. The fall forced her to land on her already battered left hand. Agonizing pain shot through her index finger and Gia cried out.
“Oh, and by the way, I did fuck that girl that I’m suing right now. She was indeed a special surprise,” Francesco snickered evilly.
Like I care you sick asshole.
The next thing she heard was the front door rattling the walls as it slammed shut behind him. Thank God he’d left! She honestly thought he was going to continue beating on her. He'd looked that unstable. Gathering all her strength and determination, Gia stumbled to the door and engaged all of the locks with trembling fingers. Relief flooded her as she slumped to the floor, sobs wracking her body.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Gia woke up feeling her whole face throbbing with acute pain. The horrific events of the previous evening came flooding back. If it hadn’t been for the pain she’d have thought she’d dreamt it all.
Francesco was completely insane! Going from ‘I love you’ to ‘I hate your guts, you whore’ in ten seconds was certifiably crazy. How could she have been so blind? Why hadn’t she believed that girl that had warned her at the club? Why hadn’t she paid more attention to the little things he did or the looks he gave her from time to time or the things he said?
Because she hadn't really cared enough, that’s why. She hadn't truly been interested in getting to know the real Francesco. She’d been careless and stupid, and it had cost her.
Gia gingerly pushed herself up in bed and immediately wished she hadn’t. Her head felt like some had hit her with a sledge hammer and left it lodged in there. How she'd managed to get to her bed last night was a mystery – she couldn’t remember much after Francesco had left.
Bracing herself, Gia got up and padded towards the bathroom. Time to face the face.
It was ghastly. Both her cheekbones were bruised to bluish-green; her lower lip was split and inflated to twice its size; there were angry, red finger marks marring her jaw. Worst of all, her index finger hurt like hell. Gia was pretty sure it wasn't broken because the swelling had gone down and she could move it, but it was definitely sprained.
Moving away from the mirror, Gia decided the best thing she could do was to take a shower, clean herself as much as she could and think about everything else later.
Half an hour later, her body clean, her hair washed and combed, she lay in bed with an ice pack on her face, trying to switch off her brain and forget about everything that had happened last night.
Her phone ringing downstairs brought her out of her trance. Groaning, she reluctantly got up. Still holding the ice pack to on
e side of her face, Gia descended the stairs and headed towards the infernal noise. She found it under the coffee table, palmed it and looked at the display.
Beppe.
Oh my God, Beppe!
Gia dropped the ice pack to the floor, the thought of Beppe and what he’d do when he saw her face set off a new round of pain swimming through her skull. She silenced the phone, unable to talk to him right now. She needed a plan and she needed it fast. Soon, he was going to call again and if she still didn’t pick up he’d be at her doorstep to see her.
Gia did the only thing that came to mind – she called Lisa.
“Thank God!” Gia said, grabbing Lisa’s arm and hauling her inside the house, slamming the door shut behind her. Lisa’s horrified expression would have been comical if Gia had any sense of humor left right now. Beppe had called again right after Gia had phoned Lisa, but she’d managed to convince him she wasn’t feeling well. Gia had stressed, multiple times, that Beppe shouldn't come over in case it was contagious.
“What the hell happened to you?” demanded Lisa horrified.
“Please keep it down. My head is pounding. Come, let’s make coffee and we can talk.”
Lisa followed Gia to the kitchen and sat down at the table. Gia busied herself with making coffee while telling Lisa all of the gruesome details. Lisa listened quietly, frowning deeply. When Gia was finished , Lisa asked, “Did you call the police?” Anger was flashing in her green eyes, transforming her usually calm face into something much more dangerous. Gia shook her head. “Why the hell not?”
“What’s the point? He’s not going to get charged with anything – he’s probably got half of the police department on payroll. They’ll drag this out for months, the media will blow the story up and my face will be plastered everywhere. I’d rather just forget about this and move on.”
“I don’t care if he’s got the President on payroll. We need to go to the station right now and report the son of a bitch.”
“No.”
Lisa closed her eyes for a long moment, visibly trying to calm down. She squeezed the coffee mug in her hand until her knuckles blanched from the strain.
“Gia, you need to do this,” she said softly. “If not for you, do it for every other girl that comes after you. He’ll do this to them too. I know it will be hard, but you need to show everyone what an abusive piece of shit Francesco Naldo is.”
“You don’t understand, Lisa. Even if I report it, nothing will come of it. I met this girl, Carla. She cornered me in a nightclub about two weeks ago and told me that she dated Francesco about a year ago. She said he beat her so badly, she was admitted to the hospital. When she reported it to the police, the statement just disappeared.”
Unexpected, tears closed off Gia’s throat. She hated how scared she was. Francesco was obviously unstable mentally, but he hid it so well that no one knew until they experienced it firsthand. What if he did something to Beppe out of spite? What if he came back for her?
Lisa fell silent, digesting this new information. Gia could see it in her eyes that Lisa had now discarded the idea of getting the police involved.
“What if we go straight to the press? Walk in Rai Uno’s office and tell them what happened?” Lisa suggested.
“They’ll never believe me without proof. They'd probably hunt him down for a comment and he’d deny it. But their first question would be, ‘Did you go to the police?’ and we’d be back to square one.”
“We have to do something...” Lisa said thoughtfully.
“I tell you what we’re going to do. I'm going to pretend I’m ill and not leave the house for a week. At least until my face heals. You’ll stay with me as much as you can, guarding me from Beppe and lying through your teeth if he comes over to see me.” Gia’s determination rubbed off on Lisa because she straightened her shoulders and started nodding her head.
“Trust me, if you think this is bad, the shit is going to hit the fan if Beppe finds out.”
******
Lisa was reading a book on Gia’ sofa when someone knocked at the door. She’d stayed the whole day with Gia, calling to cancel her evening art class. She’d never done that before, because she loved co-teaching the class and always took her responsibilities very seriously. But she was not going to abandon her friend who was in need of her now.
Putting a bookmark between the pages, Lisa left the book on the coffee table and went to answer the door.
“Oh, hi,” Beppe said, a bit surprised to see her.
“Hi, Beppe. I’m here because Gia’s ill and she asked me to help her while she gets better. She’s really, really ill, throwing up and everything,” Lisa rambled, blocking Beppe's entrance. He gave her a confused look as he brushed past her and walked in without waiting for permission. Unless Lisa tackled him to the floor, she didn’t see any other way to stop him. She needed to get it together and rapidly improve her lying skills.
“I know, she told me. I brought her some soup, steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes to help settle her stomach.” Beppe headed for the kitchen to leave the bags he was carrying. He returned a few minutes later, heading straight for the stairs and Gia’s room. Lisa ran to intercept him on the stairs, hopping onto the first step and turning to face Beppe.
“You can’t go up there,” she said, panic settling in her eyes. Beppe raised an eyebrow in silent question. “It’s very contagious, you’ll get it. She explicitly told me not to let you see her.”
“I know, she told me not to come,” Beppe chuckled. “She should have known I wouldn't listen,” he said and winked. Once again he brushed past Lisa to go up the stairs.
“Wait, Beppe, no. Please...” Lisa was frantic. What was she supposed to do now?
“If it’s that contagious, why are you here? Aren’t you afraid you’ll get it too?”
“Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that. “Um... I already had it, last week. So I’m immune now.” Beppe didn’t pay any attention to her answer, he continued up the stairs and down the hall, pausing in front of Gia’s room. He knocked, but entered without waiting for an answer. Lisa stormed after him, her blood running cold as she imagined the scene that would play out.
Only, Gia must have heard them and dodged into the bathroom. Beppe knocked on the bathroom door and pressed on the handle but it was locked.
“Babe, are you OK in there? Do you need any help?” he called through the door.
“I’m fine. Go away.”
“Since when do you lock the door to your own bathroom?”
“Since some people have no respect for privacy and would have barged in on me with my head in the toilet!”
Beppe chuckled and turned to Lisa. The fear she felt in her heart must have been plastered on her face, because Beppe’s demeanor changed in an instant. He picked up on Lisa’s uneasiness and furrowed his brows. She averted her eyes in a last attempt to hide how she felt.
“Gia open the door,” he said, calmly but firmly.
“No! Go away Beppe! I don’t want you catching my cold. I don't want you to see me like this.”
Beppe’s eyes never left Lisa’s as he spoke.
“I’ve seen you ill dozens of times. I’ve been there for you and you know I never get sick. So open the damn door.”
“No.” That one word in Gia's scared voice sent Beppe over the edge.
“Lisa,” Beppe said, his voice growing lower and colder by the second. “Tell me what the fuck is going on before I knock this door down to see for myself.”
Tears filled Lisa’s eyes as she imagined the repercussions of Beppe seeing Gia’s disfigured face.
“Beppe, please, just go. I’m begging you.” Her tears spilled over and Beppe’s anger bubbled up.
“Gia, you have five seconds to open the door or I’m knocking it down.” He gritted between his clenched teeth.
Nobody moved or even breathed for an endless moment. The door remained closed.
“One.”
“Beppe, please, just trust me on this. You need to leave this al
one.”
“Two.”
Lisa heard a sob coming from the bathroom as her own tears rolled freely down her cheeks. She braced herself for the inevitable.
The lock clicked and Gia opened the door, coming out of the bathroom. Beppe took a step backwards. The sight of Gia’s injured face nearly brought him to his knees. He managed to regain his balance quickly and strode to Gia, gently touching her bruises.
“He did this to you, didn't he?”
“Beppe...”
“Don’t you dare lie to me, Gianna. Don’t you fucking dare.” His eyes had misted over and his hand trembled as he stroked her face.
Gia nodded in answer to his question.
“I’m going to kill him,” Beppe stated in a calm, lethal voice.
He abruptly let go of Gia and purposely walked out of the room. Seconds later they heard the front door slam shut.
Gia crumpled to the floor, her sobs tearing her apart as Lisa kneeled down to wrap her friend in her arms.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Beppe tossed the cigarette butt to the ground and stepped on it with more force than necessary. He’d arrived at ‘Orchidea Nera’ five minutes ago and had set to waiting at a safe distance, hidden in the shadows. The place he’d chosen for his stake out was strategic enough so that he could see everyone going in and out of the restaurant from both the front and the back exits.
It was well past 11:00 pm so Francesco, should be out soon. Beppe had lucked out when his initial instinct had been to check the restaurant. There he'd seen Francesco's black Porsche Carrera parked in the employee parking lot.
Then, Now, Forever (Heartbeat #2) Page 20