by Serena Light
However, Rosalie didn't feel very good about herself whenever she lied to them.
It had been a little over two weeks since the lunch incident with Arcangelo and she hadn't received any interactions from him. No call, no message, nothing. But, she figured if she were to go out of the guard's vision, he would contact Arcangelo, who would contact her, telling her to stay where she was. It was mostly messages, hardly any calls, and never any appearances.
So that's what she started to do, disappearing from the guard's vicinity.
Her ribs were healed now and she had gotten the bandage removed, meaning she could finally wear all the clothes that she wanted to.
For this specific Monday, she decided to go all black. With a short frilly black skirt over stockings, a bustier crop top with her favorite leather jacket over it, and with a pair of strappy black heels. Leaving her hair open, Rosalie did light nude makeup before grabbing her bag and making her way to the car.
She found her friends standing by the entrance door of the university building and made her way over to them, Dante being the first one to catch sight for her as slowly everyone noticed her.
"Morning, guys." She smiled as they all stared at her silently.
"Aye Papi. You hot," Maria exclaimed as she fanned herself. "Gorgeous, babe,"
"Thank you." Rosalie smiled before she got engaged in a conversation with one of the friends.
Glancing at the time, they all decided to head off to their respective classes as a lot of guys flirted with Rosalie. More than usual, that is.
She was hanging out with Maria before her biology class as they both went to the little cafe for lunch. They both were seated at their usual table and eating their meals when Rosalie's phone vibrated in her pocket. Taking it out, she read another one of Arcangelo's message: "stop trying to get rid of them. They won't leave." It read this time, and like always, she refused to respond.
"Who is he?" Maria asked her.
"What?"
"Who's the guy?"
"What guy?"
"The one that keeps messaging you and your cheeks flush every time."
"Do not!" Rosalie denied in aghast.
"Do too!"
"Not." She exclaimed with a chuckle as she bit into her meal, a sudden idea coming to her mind. "Hey, Maria. I need your help?"
"In what?" Her friend inquired curiously, her interest spiking as Rosalie beckoned her forward to whisper in her ear.
"Help me get rid of the guard," Rosalie whispered in her ear. "I need to disappear from his view and into my bio class. He doesn't know the building as we do, so I need your help."
"What are you suggesting?" Maria inquired with a smirk.
"I'm suggesting you distract him, while I slip off unnoticed."
"Done, babe."
"Treat at my place then."
"Done."
She grinned as they both finished their food.
While Rosalie was eating her last bite, Maria stood from her place, taking hold of her coffee before walking towards the guard, who was seated a few tables away. Acting to trip on one of the chair legs, she spilled her entire drink on his suit as he jumped back in surprise, looking down at his drenched attire.
Taking it as her signal, Rosalie grabbed her bag and ran towards the building.
Going around it, she entered from the back, looking over the heads to see if he was around before heaving a breath of relief. A grin spread across her face as she made her way to her class.
Settling beside Dante, she giggled at what they just did and the nonstop messages Arcangelo was sending her, these she even refused to mark as seen.
"What are you giggling about?" Dante asked skeptically as she shrugged in innocence.
"Oh, nothing," She responded in a sing-song voice as he turned away with light cheeks. "Hey, we're all meeting at my place for lunch. Wanna join?"
"I'd love to," Dante exclaimed almost too enthusiastically, however, Rosalie didn't mind as she simply smiled back in response.
The class started as the boy got lost in his thoughts, going over how he was going to ask her out. He was nervous and tense and he wanted her to go out on a date with him. Dante had it all planned out, he'd pull her to the side and confess how much he likes her and for how long he has been feeling this way before asking her out on a date to a nice little restaurant. All of his friends urged him to go for it and told him to be honest, so that's exactly what he'll do.
"Hey, pay attention." Rosalie hissed as she nudged him, jolting him out of his thoughts as he turned his mind back to the professor.
The class was almost halfway done when the doors suddenly burst open. Everyone's gaze turned towards the door, audible gasps resonating in the room.
A man with gelled back black hair and piercing blue eyes stepped inside clad in a Gucci suit and white button up. His watch glinted in the lighting as he had his hands slipped into his slack's pockets.
The professor opened his mouth to say something when the man held up his hand, instantly silencing him, everyone staring in awe.
"Fuck." Rosalie hissed under her breath as Dante's gaze turned to her, surprised to hear her swearing before he watched her try and hide behind her books
Dante looked up again, seeing the man purposefully make his way up the steps. He expected him to continue on until he stopped at their aisle. As he walked towards Dante, the younger boy instantly felt fear prickle at his skin at how large the man was and how terrifying he looked up close.
The man stopped directly beside him and reached out, for a moment Dante winced before he watched the man lower the book Rosalie had been using to hide away.
Dante watched as she tensed while the man turned her chair so that she was facing him.
Rosalie swallowed thickly as she glanced up at Arcangelo's glinting blue eyes.
"Arcangelo, hi!" Rosalie spoke quietly, bunching her hands in her lap. "What a pleasant surprise. You take biology, too? Oh, I didn't know."
"Cut the crap, princess," Arcangelo spoke in a low voice, ensuring that only she heard. "This is not a game."
"What are you talking about?" She asked innocently fluttering her eyelashes.
"First it was the occasional hiding, and fine, I can deal with it until they find you again. But the moment you disappear for more than five minutes and don't respond to my texts, I will personally hunt you down, you got that?" Arcangelo spoke as his voice lowered an octave, causing pleasurable shivers to go down her spine, everyone watching them in silence. "I already have to deal with matters at the estate and I cannot have you playing pranks on my men."
"This mark is not a game of hide-and-seek, it's find-and-kill. And you are not dying under my watch. So you better stop pulling such a stunt, you get that, princess?" Arcangelo murmured lowly as he cupped her chin into his fingers forcing her to look up.
Swallowing thickly, Rosalie nodded, inhaling sharply as he leaned down.
"Good girl." He murmured before pressing his lips to hers.
Rosalie instantly became alive, fire burning her from inside as she wrapped her arm around his neck, the other one messing up his professional hairdo. A chuckle escaped Arcangelo as his fingers danced across the exposed skin of her stomach, causing her to clench.
Pulling away, they both looked disheveled with their ruffled hair and flushed faces.
Standing upright, Arcangelo ran a hand through his hair, instantly fixing them as he glanced at the faces staring at them.
"Oh, boy. What a scandal." Arcangelo murmured lowly as Rosalie stifled a laugh at his words. Turning back to her desk, her chest still heaving with her uneven breaths as Arcangelo made his way out. Stopping by the door, he gave a nod to the professor, who was staring at him with a gaping mouth.
"You're a temptation, Rosa," Arcangelo spoke over his shoulder loud enough for everyone to hear, causing her to tense in her seat as people turned to stare at her. "But you're my temptation."
"Go back to work!" Rosalie responded, flustered, from the middle of the room as Arcangel
o smirked at her.
"Whatever you say, princess." He responded smugly as he walked out the classroom leaving everything in pin-drop silence as she had a shy grin on her face. Trying hard to keep herself in check, she bit her lower lip from laughing out loud. Her cheeks flushed a deep pink as she was squirming in her seat, realizing that the Mafia Boss interrupted her class just to tell her to stop messing around and claim her.
A sudden squeal threatened to escape as she held it in, her smile only growing wider before the professor cleared his throat, trying to go back to teaching. However everyone just wanted to know who that smoking hot man was and they all were whispering or passing notes to Rosalie, causing her to suppress her giggles.
Giving up with a defeated sigh, the professor dismissed them. Rosalie was the first one to leave, instantly running down the hall and out the building, wondering if he was still there.
"Rosalie!" Her friends called out from behind her as she looked around, catching sight of the ravishing devil in the parking lot.
A smile spread across her face as she made her way over to him, watching him leaning against his Lamborghini, as the peopled stared in awe while he just had eyes for her, her friends trying to grab her attention.
"Hey." She smiled shyly at him as he straightened.
"Hey." He responded as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him as she looked away in embarrassment, silently fidgeting with the buttons of his shirt. "How was your day?"
"Eventful," Rosalie spoke with a grin, looking up at him.
"Oh, really? How so?" He inquired quietly as he ran the back of his hand down her cheek, mesmerized by the smile she was giving him.
"Well. You won't believe. This, really hot guy came into my class, and he told me to stop playing games and then kissed me senseless in front of everyone before telling them that I was his. Can you believe the nerve of the guy?"
"I think it was rather bold. I mean making a statement in front of the entire university. Everyone would know not to touch you because you're his."
"But still. The audacity," She spoke in mock exasperation as Arcangelo chuckled, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her lips as she responded instantly.
A sudden squeal escaped Rosalie as she pulled away, staring at him with wide eyes as he was grinning mischievously.
"Did you just pinch me?"
"What can I say, I was tempted," Arcangelo spoke innocently as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, you look absolutely ravishing in this outfit."
"Thank you." She smiled shyly as she looked away.
"Do you have any plans for today?"
"Actually, I was about to head out for lunch with my friends," Rosalie informed while biting her lip.
"Then let me drop you," Arcangelo spoke huskily as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. "I have to get going anyways."
"Let me just confirm where we're going." She told him as she interlaced their fingers, walking him over to her friends as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.
Once they were standing in front of her friends, they all stared up at him as Rosalie asked where they were headed.
"Uh..." Maria trailed, her mind going blank as to where their destination. "Why don't you ask your boyfriend to suggest a place?"
"Well, boyfriend what do you say?" Rosalie spoke with flushed cheeks and a shake of her head.
"A good place for lunch...hmm...well you know what, here." He stated as he took out his wallet from his back pocket, taking out his credit card and handing it to Rosalie as she stared at him in surprise.
"Today's lunch is on me. Go on ahead and chose whatever restaurant." He stated as he glanced at his watch, seeing that it was high time he left. "Well, if you'll excuse me, a meeting is waiting for me," Arcangelo said as he started to walk away, everyone staring at his retreating figure.
"Arcangelo, wait!" Rosalie called as he stopped, turning around to look at her from behind his black sunglasses. "What about your card?"
"I'll get it later." He told her as he walked backward, a cocky smirk sported on his lips, the look causing butterflies to erupt in Rosalie's stomach. "Besides, I get an excuse to drop by."
Chapter XVII: Storming Nights
Four days of nonstop working and investigation, and it all led nowhere. Arcangelo and Vincent had dealt with every possible person--hell, they even interrogated anyone that may have the slightest possibility of being involved--yet, they were nowhere close to finding the mole.
They used every possible method in the book. They went through every single video feed leading up to the day of Rosalie's assault, and it was all a dead end.
The fourth day of their investigation was coming to an end, and the weather perfectly mirrored the conflict brewing inside.
The night was dark with the moon hidden away, rain pelted down like rocks as lighting cackled overhead followed by the deafening roar of the thunder. Every so often, the intensity of the rain would increase, and one knew, a minute spent outside would mean being soaked to the bone within seconds.
Arcangelo stared outside as the lighting struck far away, the rumble of thunder following shortly after. He heaved a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.
This was frustrating, and he just needed some good news to combat this lack of success. However, he wasn't getting that anytime soon. Even now, as the rain poured outside, he would generally find himself enjoying its intensity; but today, he just didn't feel like it at all.
Vincent stepped into the room, silently taking a seat as he threw back his head, heaving a heavy breath as he felt just as useless as Arcangelo at the moment.
"Wanna grab a drink?" Arcangelo suggested from beside the window, knowing that a drive and some whiskey should lighten the mood.
Those plans, however, seemed to be shot down by the delay in Vincent's response.
"I would love to..." Vincent trailed uncomfortably as he knew what this meant. "But I gotta get back to Alyna. She's waiting up for me and-"
"-Yeah, no. I get it." Arcangelo nodded, momentarily having forgotten the professional set up between them which Alyna had forced them into when Vincent informed her that he was being reinstated.
Arcangelo had never hated his sister more than he did when he was told that they would either be purely business or Vincent wasn't coming back. It was like taking his best friend away from him without him being dead. The blonde haired man hated it just as much as the taller one did.
It all just felt so foreign. The formality, purely business, no jokes or light-hearted banter. It was sickening, because this was the man he came to consider his brother, and now they were nothing more than business partners with an employer-employee relationship.
"Head on home, Moretti," Arcangelo stated monotonously. "Leave before the weather outside worsens."
He heard the rustle of fabric as Vincent stood from his seat, momentarily hesitating and shuffling before bidding his boss a goodnight and walking out of the office. An uneven breath escaped him as he braced himself against the window pane, feeling the cool glass beneath his palms.
Without thinking, he grabbed his car keys from the desk before making his way out of the room.
"Sir?" Major called in surprise when Arcangelo walked passed him and down the hall. "Sir."
He didn't acknowledge his calling as he stepped out into the rain, Major's voice muffled and distant to his ears. The rain was cold and harsh against his skin and within seconds his shirt was clinging to him. Getting in the car, he didn't care if he was spoiling the interior or ruining his designer clothes, or the fact that he might fall sick.
He just needed to leave.
Leave and get away.
As he drove aimlessly, Arcangelo realized that he wanted hot chocolate. So, he spent the majority of the time driving around and looking for an open cafe or dinner. But due to the weather, and the time, everything was closed.
Without much thought, and with no actual purpose, he parked the car.
Stepping o
ut, he walked across the street and made his way into the apartment complex, glancing at the sleeping clerk before riding the elevator up.
Arcangelo knew he was drenched from head to toe and had Goosebumps all over his body as well. He even acknowledged the fact that he was shivering and felt the way his clothing clung to him.
His shoes made a squelching sound as he walked down the hall and glanced at the camera, knowing that his men understood what he wanted. Slightly shivering, he wracked his knuckles against the wooden surface and waited.
When he heard nothing, an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach before he glanced down at his watch, his eyes widening slightly as he realized it was past midnight.
"This was a mistake..." He muttered to himself shuffling back and getting ready to leave.
Before he could even take a step away from the door, he heard the lock click before the door was opened slightly, showing Rosalie peek her head around to get a look at the person. Seeing Arcangelo, she threw open her doors as he was left gawking. She stood before him in a white satin nightdress that reached till the middle of her thigh, held up by two thin straps as she had a cream-colored robe covering her.
"Arcangelo," She gasped as she took in his condition. "You're drenched!"
"Can you make me hot chocolate?" He asked, ignoring her words as she gaped at him.
"Get in here and out of those clothes! You'll fall sick!"
"I'm fine."
"You're shivering!" Rosalie shrieked as she closed the door behind them, starting on unbuttoning his shirt as he tried to tell her otherwise.
"I'm fine, really. I just want hot chocolate."
"You will take a hot shower and get changed into some dry clothes, you hear me?"
"I'm-
"You are freezing, you are shivering and you are soaked to the bone." She interjected. "Do not tell me you are fine because you are not. Go take a shower."
Arcangelo stared at her in silence for a moment, wondering why he was allowing her to talk to him in this way. No one had the audacity to speak against him, and here he was arguing with her whether he was well or not. He would have set her in her place if he hadn't looked into her eyes.