You had your time alone last night.
Be at breakfast on time and dressed properly.
Draco
That’s what the note said, but I ripped it up and tossed it in the trashcan.
After I’m all cleaned up, I get dressed and then brush my hair until the waves are loose.
I look towards the chocolate cosmos again.
I hate those flowers now. I want them gone.
I pick them up and then rush to the bathroom, dumping them in the trashcan where the note is.
The water trickles into the bin as well. I watch it all disappear and satisfaction courses through me.
I turn around and walk to the door. Gripping the doorknob, I swing the door open and walk down the hallway. I have more than enough time to make it to breakfast. I know if I miss breakfast too, Draco won’t be so kind.
I took it as a sign that I could have my moment last night because he didn’t bother me anymore after what happened in the garden of cosmos. I didn’t even hear him walk past my bedroom at 2 a.m. He left me completely alone and I was glad.
As I trot down the stairs, pretending I’m okay, I make a sharp right and slam right into someone’s back.
The person’s bulky body turns around slowly, his familiar stacked shoulders causing me to take a leap back. His dark, coal-black eyes bolt on me and he glares. He glares so hard I feel like he’s watching my soul cry out for help.
His bald head is shiny with minor scars. There are faint yellow and purplish bruises around his eyes. There is a bandage across the bridge of his nose, and his upper lip is slightly swollen.
Behind him is Bain, and he watches me with a narrowed gaze, looking me up and down in my maxi skirt and cami.
My eyes flicker over to the first man again.
It’s Axe Man.
A chill cloaks my entire body.
He says absolutely nothing to me as I walk past him and Bain.
Bain I can feel watching me, his disgusting gaze making my stomach form into knots. When I get closer to the dining room, I take one glance back and they are both still staring my way.
Axe Man grimaces.
Bain smirks.
I snatch my line of sight away and hurry into the dining room.
Seeing Draco sitting at the head of the table somewhat relieves me, but trust me, I am still pissed at him. He watches me come closer and when his eyes dip around me to look at them, he narrows his gaze.
I hope the frustration is on my face. I hope he can tell that I’m not comfortable with them around, especially Axe Man. He looked at me as if he wanted to eat me alive.
I sit down and scratch at my cuticles. Francesca isn’t here but I wonder what’s keeping her. She normally beats me to the table.
“What’s wrong?” Draco asks calmly.
I look up. “Nothing. I’m fine,” I lie.
“Did they say something to you?” He gestures towards where Bain and Axe Man were standing. They aren’t there anymore.
“Nothing at all.”
Draco scans me thoroughly. He doesn’t believe me. But this time it’s true. They didn’t say anything…but their looks shouted it all.
“Just wondering where Francesca is,” I add in. What a load of bullshit.
“Not feeling well,” he informs me. “She gets intense migraines.”
“Oh.”
He sits up in his chair. “She suffered a few concussions before she came here under my roof. Ever since, she’s been getting migraines more often.”
“Are they bad?”
“I had to buy black out curtains for the room she’s in, so yes. Very bad.”
“Oh.” My lips twist. At least he’s sympathetic. “You still…let her eat, don’t you?”
His laughter bellows, filing the empty spaces of the dining room. “Gianna, I know you think I’m a monster, but I wouldn’t deny her food because of something she can’t control.” He rubs his thumb and forefinger together, glancing at his mother. “Someone I knew well used to deal with migraines. I used to be a witness to the pain they caused. I don’t take them lightly.”
I bob my head, pleased to hear that.
When I see how he looks at his mother and how she smiles faintly at him, I realize he’s probably talking about his father.
The butlers come out with the food and we dig in without many words to rub together. I can feel Draco glancing at me every so often as he eats and drinks. I’m certain he’s thinking about yesterday.
He should know that I will never forgive him.
I am just a prisoner here, and he hates that he wants me so much.
“I want to go to the city today,” Mrs. Molina says in Spanish, lowering her fork. “There’s a new flea market. I could use more thread and needles. I would like to make some more quilts.”
“Yes, mama. You can go. Just make sure you take Patanza and Diego with you.”