Inessa stared at the screen, her mind swirling with thoughts. Was Luca really the phantom? But why would he reveal his identity so easily? There must be something that she was missing. Something that Luca was hiding.
Downstairs, Luca still sat on the living room sofa, with all lights closed and staring off in space. What was he doing here? He didn't show it, but the way he was constantly jiggling his leg, it was clear. Luca Pesaro was nervous.
He knew the dangers of being in a place where he was. And now that he has seen her face, they would be more cautious. But he was determined. He needs to do what he came here to do. This situation, his wounds, nothing affected him. He would finish what he started, no matter what.
Inessa sighed deeply. Today's events were catching up with her, and she felt her eyes drooping. She switched off her lights and walked out of the room. Going to her bedroom. Even though her body was heavy, her mind refused to calm down. Many thoughts swirled inside her head until she felt a headache coming in.
When she finally hit the sack, she instantly fell into a restless sleep. Inessa woke up abruptly, sweat covering her body, and her oddly colored eyes widened. It didn't take long for tears to slip away as she tried to shake off the horrible nightmare.
Her mouth was dry, so she walked out of her room and towards the kitchen. Inessa's head burned with pain and combined with the pain of her wounds; she looked ghastly.
After drinking some chilled water, she sat on the kitchen stool and rested her forehead on the cool steel counter. Her body relaxed as the effects of the nightmare wore off. Inessa flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder, igniting a wave of pain to go through her.
"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." a voice apologized.
She turned around to find the man, who was slowly becoming the bane of her existence.
"What are you doing here?" she groaned, resting her forehead back on the counter.
"I never went back. I was up, when I saw you walking towards the kitchen. You looked haggard. Is everything okay?" Luca asked, scratching his head.
Inessa grumbled something. "What?" Luca asked, as he didn't get what she said.
"Mind your own business." she grumbled louder. Luca shook his head, amused at her antics. He never thought the notorious queen would be like this in real life.
"If you say so, my queen." he replied, playfully bowing to her, when his eyes landed on her shoulder. The angry red line that peeked through the slipping tee; looked painful.
"What happened?" he repeated, an unbidden worry in his voice.
Inessa was about to retort back a snarky reply, something like fuck off, when she felt his finger touch the bruise on her shoulder. His touch was gentle, but it still ached. And she closed her eyes as she felt that pain.
"None of your fucking business!" she opened her eyes to glare at the blue-haired goon.
Luca stared into her eyes, noticing another unique thing about her. He has never seen such an odd pair of eyes. And under the dim light, they sparkled like gems. He didn't know that she was not only hiding her face, but also her eyes. And he understood why.
No one would forget the eyes that glared at him. No one can forget the fire that burned beneath them. And he was burning slowly, as he fell deeper in those pools of hell.
Luca snapped out of his thoughts when she groaned and closed her eyes, throwing away his hand from her shoulder.
"I am so sorry. I just got lost in my thoughts for a minute." he apologized, as he realized he had increased the pressure on her bruise unconsciously. When she said nothing, he went towards the refrigerator to look for an ice pack.
When he found one, he brought it over to her, pressing it gently on her wound. Inessa glared at him, unable to understand the man in front of her. But she was in no mood to play games. She shrugged off the ice-pack and stood up. As she was about to walk away, her foot got caught on the stool, and she slipped.
But before she could kiss the ground hello, a tight grip on her waist straightened her up. Inessa's eyes watered up again as the pain in her back intensified because of the tight grip.
Luca noticed her grip getting tighter on his shirt that he borrowed from Nikolai, and he stared at her suspiciously. Before she could stop him, he turned her around and lifted her tee slightly to find another bruise that was swelling up.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Inessa bellowed at her limits with this man. She slapped Luca, hard. Her breathing rough from the pain and anger.
Luca said nothing. He understood her reaction. But he also couldn't let her be; the pain would only increase.
"Let me see your back. Your bruise is all swollen up. I'll help you put some ice-pack on it." he breathed. But Inessa only glared at him. Anger blinded her, and she refused to acknowledge the genuine concern in his eyes.
"Fuck you." she said and stormed off towards her bedroom.
Luca sighed, but he just couldn't get the sight of her bruise out of his mind. He ran behind her.
"Inessa, please wait. Let me just put the ice pack on your back. I'll leave you after that." he said as he stopped her by holding her wrist.
Inessa turned around and clasped his neck with her other hand. She increased the pressure, but saw no panic in his amber eyes. A hand gripped her wrist and loosened her grip on his throat. Luca handed her the ice-pack instead, and walked off, saying nothing.
Inessa stared at the ice-pack when she noticed the blood on her fingers. Her expression turned to one of guilt as she realized that she might have opened his wound.
She groaned and walked away, deciding to repent her actions tomorrow. Right now, she needed some damn sleep.