CHIARA
"Come on," he held out his hand for me. I gazed at it for a moment, and so did his two men, and Storm, who were looking around now stared at me. As if they were also waiting for my reaction. Slowly, I placed my hand in his, and he intertwined them and started to walk past the streets. With his three bodyguards following closely behind us. It was lively, and most places filled my nose with a delicious aroma.
After a ten-minute stroll, a castle that held a rich story with its stunning view stood before us. Carmelo explained to me, "It used to be a military fortress, transformed into a private residence, and now it is open to the public as a museum and venue for events." I nodded in response as we entered the castle.
Surrounded by Mediterranean gardens, full of flowers, a rose garden, and pergolas. Inside were numerous reliefs and furnishings of fine workmanship, in marble or slate. I looked behind us, not to find the bodyguards. In the stairwell, I tilted my head up to admire the medieval wooden colored roof, painted with images of saints, martyrs, and rulers. Upstairs, there were various themed rooms.
"This way," Carmelo said, his face not able to contain his excitement. I followed him to the terrace. It was set up with two wooden easels and a white canvas; between them was a table filled with painting equipment and two round wooden stools. My eyebrows furrowed, and I turned to face him. "What is all this?" I asked. His smile widened. Should it go any further, I was going to slap him and ask him to stop with some action. "This is the surprise, love." He said, his hands spread wide, gesturing to our surroundings.
"You have been stalking me, you must be aware that I don't know how to paint. I sell paintings." I said. He chuckled, "I know, but there is a first time for everything." He came to stand behind me, held both my shoulders gently, and then ushered me to the easels and helped me wear the smock before putting on his own. "You and I are going to sit here and paint for the first time in our lives and enjoy the beautiful scenery." He said.
I placed the purse on the table, now facing the canvas, after sitting down. This, with no doubt, was Safiya's professionalism, but this man was keen to see me embarrass myself. He laughed, positioning himself before his easel. "You think it's funny," I asked, frowning. "Don't think so much about it. Just take a deep breath, close your eyes, and imagine something. Or just look around you and draw anything that you want. We're not competing here, love, just having fun." He said, mixing the colors on a palette. I sighed, cursing under my breath. I mixed the colors as well, my face scrunched at the smell.
The last time I drew was in secondary school, during my biology class. I could only imagine the mess I'd create the moment I held the brush. I peeked at him and found him engrossed. Frowning, my hand paused while my mind worked hard to think of what brush to use. If only I'd paid more attention to Safiya while she was painting. Sighing deeply, I finally picked one and left my hand to decide our fate.
Moments later, we were done, he drew a perfect view ahead of us and captured every important detail while I just drew the deep blue sea, clouds, and two birds flying above them. "What the hell?" I said. Gawking at his painting. He lied to me, this good looking moron. I knew I was going to end up embarrassed. "Well, in my defense, I didn't want you to reject drawing just because I knew how to." He said. "How do you know how to paint?" I asked, crossing my hands over the paint-stained smock. Was there anything this man couldn't do?
"This place is very meaningful to me. I used to come here with my grandfather on weekends. Which rarely happened because he was a busy man. But the days he was free, he'd treat us all with our favorite things. In my family skills means power. So, since young we're told to accumulate as many as we can in our sleeves." He explained, taking off his smock, and rubbed his hands with a rag. "But I like your painting." He added.
I scoffed, "Stop mocking me." I took off my smock as well. "I mean it. And the best part is that we're going to exchange the paintings. Come on." He took his canvas from the easel, and I mirrored his action. And then we exchanged them. I felt terrible that he had to take my bad one, but I was too selfish to have his. Then we took pictures on the terrace.
"I was thinking, why is it only the two of us in the museum?" I asked. I didn't see a soul since we arrived, apart from a guy who let us in and disappeared afterwards. "I rented it." He replied, coming to stand with me by the terrace, hands on the stone railings. "You rented this whole castle—" he interrupted, "For us, yes." I shook my head at him while he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"What if I want to go away? You do know that you can't hold me captive forever here, right?" I blurted. His smile dropped, and he looked away from me. "I know. And you are not a captive here." He said in a low voice. "What if after all of what you are doing, I still don't fall for you?" I probed further. I shouldn't have because honestly…I had nowhere else to go at the moment. Now it was his turn to scoff. He covered the distance between us and caged me in by the railings. Not touching me anywhere, but I could feel him everywhere. "Do you want an honest answer?" He asked. My heart raced and my skin heated, recognizing his presence. I managed a nod. "Simple, I would be miserable without you. Fuck, I might lose my mind or die if you don't want to be with me, Chiara." His words left me speechless.
He then raised his eyes to face me; they were a shade darker than before. There was no softness that I was used to since I arrived here. "I waited for you for five years. Five fucking years, Chiara. If you think you could make me give up on you now, then you are so bloody wrong, baby." His face moved dangerously closer to mine, and I could feel his heavy, hot breath fanning my face. He squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing, as if preparing himself for what he was about to say.
"Even if you deny me, I won't stop. I won't give up. I will continue to pursue you until I change your mind, and I will. Do you want to know why?" He paused, his eyes blurry. My eyes widened at the sight of it. Cold, dark, and teary. Was he about to cry or eat me alive? I couldn't pick. "You and I are made for each other. You are just too blind to see it now. You were meant to be with me since the day my eyes found you. And don't think I won't be able to find you after leaving. I will search for you, even in hell and convince you to return with me. I will drag you if I have to because you are my heaven, love. Only you." His voice broke at the end.
My hands gripped the railings, swallowing hard because I saw the truth of his words deep in his eyes. My lips parted, and my eyes began to sting. I didn't know what to do with all that information. All I knew was that it was new and too much. He buried his face in my neck, breathing shakily. I swallowed as I stared ahead in utter disbelief. "It's always been you, baby. And if you leave, make sure to take my life with you because there is no me without you."