Chapter Seven

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"You actually enjoy that?" Diana asked, making me look up from my book.

After our interaction in the hallway, I didn't see Stefano again all day. I didn't see him for the whole rest of the week either. I did, however, run into Luca a few times, who I decided was a friend and not an enemy in this place.

Diana and I also got closer and I spent most of my time that I wasn't working either with her or reading in the library I'd found. I had been surprised when I'd found the room because I didn't think criminals really took the time to read.

"It helps me get my mind off of things." I told her, taking note of what page I was on and setting the book down all together.

"You're done with your chapter?" She asked, her eyes lighting up.

Diana had been waiting for that last five minutes for me to put it down. I'd promised I'd help her with her makeup for one of the events tonight. Thankfully, I'd been given the night off, so I didn't need to dress up and serve drinks all night while men talked business. I'd served at a few events so far, but I didn't enjoy them as much as Diana didn't. She loved the attention she got from the men, but I got bored.

"Come on, let's get this over with." I laughed, pulling her out of the library and towards her room. I'd gotten better at navigating the estate since I'd gotten here.

"Don't act like you don't enjoy it. You love makeup."

I smiled, but didn't admit to it. I hadn't used makeup very much before coming here, but after my first event, I'd been determined to learned, so I asked Diana if I could practice on her. According to Diana, I was a natural. I didn't find it too difficult either because it felt like art, not just makeup.

"Alaya, Diana. How are you doing?" Luca asked as we came up the stairs. He was at the top, but I was surprised to see he wasn't in a suit. Instead of his usual attire, he was wearing a shirt, shorts and a pair of running shoes.

"We're doing good. Alaya's doing my makeup for tonight." Diana answered for the both of us.

"That's nice of her. You're not attending?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "I got the night off. Are you going for a run?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, there's a ton of land here, so I can run for miles without getting board. Are you a runner?"

"I used to run track and cross country in high school."

"Do you wanna run with me?" Luca offered.

"I'd love to, but I don't have any running clothes."

"Next time." Luca smiled, continuing down the stairs.

Diana pulled me down the hall towards her room and closed the door behind us. "Is it just me, or was he totally flirting with you?" She asked in excitement.

I snorted. "It's just you. Besides, I don't think Stefano wants me with any of his men."

"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.
I quickly explained what happened on my first day.

"He's into you." Diana said once I finished.

"Who, Luca?"

"No, Stefano." She said, making me raise my eyebrows in doubt. "He doesn't care what any of us do, let alone who we sleep with, as long as we do our jobs and follow the rules. Why else would he care what you do?"

"He's threatened to kill me, like, twenty times, Diana. He doesn't like me." I reasoned.

"He doesn't have to like you to be attracted to you." She pointed out. "How did you end up here again?"

"I was sent to kill him by Francesco Bonano, but when I stabbed him it didn't end up killing him."

"Okay, I'm just gonna ignore that fact that you just said you stabbed him." She sounded almost impressed. "How'd you get close enough to him to stab him?"

"I sort of seduced him and went home with him." I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"You're kidding." She mumbled.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, alarmed by her sudden lack of enthusiasm.

"It's nothing... It's just that Stefano and I used to have something a few years back." Diana admitted with a cringe. As quickly as her frown came, it was replaced with a smile. "I'm over it though, we're friends now. I actually think you two would be a cute couple."

I stared at her for a few seconds, trying to read her expression. She seemed genuine. "Thank you for your blessing, but I don't think it's going to happen." I joke. "Stefano's a dick and he definitely hates me."

Diana wiggled her eyebrows. "Hate sex is the best sex."

"Shut up!" I laughed, throwing a pillow at her. Before long, her makeup was done, so Diana left to serve the event and I went to my room, ready for bed.

The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual and, after trying for twenty minutes, I gave up on sleep. I decided to get dressed and go down to eat breakfast before I had to work today. Luckily, I didn't start until noon, so I'd have time to eat and just relax.

I was sitting alone at the giant dining room table when something soft hit me in the face. "Wha-?" I looked up, pleasantly surprised to se Luca smiling at me.

"Good morning. I have a surprise for you." He said.

I looked down at the soft fabric that had landed in my lap. It was a pair of running leggings. I looked up at him with a grin. "You're serious?"

He nodded, pulling a pair of running shoes and a bag from behind his back. "Yup. I checked with Stefano, you can come on my daily runs with me."

I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around him. "Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me." He chuckled, wrapping his arms around me for a quick hug, before I pulled away. "You spoke with Stefano?"

"Si, over the phone."

(Yes.)

"So he's not back yet?" I asked. I hadn't seen him in over a week and I wanted to keep it that way. I would never admit it, but a small part of me wanted Luca to say that he was back.

"No, he's still in Italy. He should be back in next week. There's an event he has to attend here." Luca informed me.

I wrinkled my nose. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have to serve at that event."

"You'll survive. Go change, I'll meet you at the front door." He said, handing me the shoes and bag.

With one last smile, I rushed up to my room to change. In the bag, I found two extra pairs of leggings, three sports bras and one sporty top. Excited, I pulled on a pair of leggings and a sports bra. Lacing up my shoes, I was about to head downstairs when I caught my reflection in the mirror. Immediately, my smile left my face.
Staring back at me was the gruesome scar Marco had left on me in the shape of the letter C. It had healed for the most part and I hadn't thought about it in days, but looking at it now, in full display, I felt disgusting. I held back the tears prickling behind my eyes and took a deep breath.

Shamefully, I pulled the top that was in the bag over my head. This way, no one could see how I had been branded. No one could see how the Colombo family had laid it's claim on me.

I tied my hair up into a ponytail as I made my way down the stairs, where Luca was waiting by the door. "Are you ready?" He asked me.

"God, yes." I hadn't run in months and now that it was a possibility, it was all I could think about. I was ready to use it as a distraction to my negative thoughts as well.

Luca and I set out at a good pace down the front steps. He lead me towards the tree line on the right side of the house. I followed him down the trail, enjoying being outside.
I hadn't been outside sense I got here and it felt nice to breath fresh air. My smile grew with every stride. The further we got into the tree line, the thicker the trees got and the more I forgot about my situation. I kept up with Luca easily, which seemed to surprise him when he finally slowed to a walk.

"I wasn't sure you'd be able to keep up, but I'm impressed." He admitted, catching his breath.
I put my hands on my head, breathing heavily. "Running was my only way to escape when I was in high school. It kept my mind off of my problems."

"I run every day. If you'd like, you can join me."

I smiled. "I'd like that." I looked around. We had been running for a while now. "Are we still on the estate's land?" I wondered aloud.

"Yes, it's really big. It's gated all the way around too."

We talked a bit more before taking off again. By the time we finally got back to the estate, I was out of breath and sweaty, but I was happy. Luca and I set in to a routine. I would meet him in the morning and we'd run before starting our days. Some days, I'd make breakfast for the both of us before, which Luca really enjoyed. He surprised me at breakfast one morning.

"I spoke to the head cook." He said over breakfast.

"About?"

"Getting you into the kitchen to cook instead of doing dishes."

I put my fork down, giving him my full attention. "Wait, really?" I hated doing dishes and if I could cook instead, I'd be so happy.

"You're a good cook. You don't belong by the sink scrubbing dishes."

"Luca that's amazing! Thank you!"

Everything was going well, which naturally made me suspicious. I wasn't used to things working out for me. I was running, cooking and reading. Not to mention, I hadn't seen Stefano in over two weeks. At this point, I was just waiting for something bad to happen, so I wasn't surprised when I overheard Luca and Diana talking.

I was headed to Diana's room to ask her to go down to the pool with my when I heard them speaking in hushed whispers.

"Everything's going according to plan, we just have to be careful." Luca was saying.

"How much longer?" Diana asked, sounding worried.

"Just a few more months. I don't think anyone suspects anything."

"He's getting impatient." Diana muttered. Who was she talking about?

"I know, but he has to wait. Stefano's unpredictable and unstable. If he catches on to us, he'll kill us. Tell him to be patient." Luca said sternly.

"I don't like being the one to meet him all the time. What if they figure out where I've been going?" She sounded panicked.

"You know that if I go, there's a better chance they'd start asking questions about where I've been. This is the only way." He insisted.

I decided I'd heard enough and I quickly and quietly rushed back to my room. I don't know what was going on, or what they were talking about, but I don't think anyone was supposed to hear that. I really hoped that I completely misinterpreted everything I heard, but something told me I hadn't.

I couldn't tell anyone. No one would believe me. It's not like I wanted to help Stefano anyways. Luca and Diana were the closest things I had to friends, so I would keep this to myself. It didn't matter what they were doing and I didn't care. If something bad happened to Stefano, who was I to care? I owed him nothing.

Still, the bad feeling didn't leave, even long after I'd overheard the conversation. I had a feeling that was only the start of trouble and that the calm before the storm was over.

I know I'm a day late, I'm sorry!! It took me forever to write this chapter and I had to writing the second half of the chapter on my phone in a plane. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but oh well. The next chapter is when things start to really pick up.

Don't forget to vote if you liked this and please comment and let me know what you think!

-Emma🎶

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