Hours after they'd left, Annalise still found herself in the same position, seated on the cold floor upstairs and just staring at nothing in particular as tears ran down her face.
When she was young, while Laura dreamt of a billionaire husband and a fancy house and maintaining a position in elite society, Annalise had a simple dream - to meet a kind, gentleman who will love and cherish her and build a home with little children running around the house… That had been all she'd wanted and Annalise knew she'd have been satisfied with the life.
Now here she was, married to the exact opposite of the kind of man she'd dreamt of, he wasn't kind in any way, and he certainly was never going to love or cherish her, not when he'd been with another woman on their wedding night. Who does that? She wasn't stupid, age was well aware that most made-men didn't stick to their wives, they saw them as an object of pleasure and entertainment, and a bearer of kids, it was why she had never dreamt of being involved with any man who was in the mafia syndicate even though her family was affiliated with them and would've likely been inevitable.
"... Take a sniff love, don't you smell your husband all over me?"
Isabella's words kept ringing in her head over and over again like a broken cassette with no way to stop it. Annalise didn't feel beautiful in any way, she had insecurities that made her question all of the compliments she has received and in all of her twenty-two years alive, she had received tons of them and many marriage offers but she had turned them down, she hadn't been interested. She had never had a boyfriend and she'd planned to only be with someone she thought was best suited for her, a simple, young man who'd make her happy and cause butterflies to erupt in her stomach.
She knew she didn't compare to the beauty that Isabella was, she reminded Anna of Laura, they both had the same aura - strong, independent, confident, and vocal women who were aware of their sexual prowess and never hesitated to flaunt it. Then there was she, plain, Annalise Armillo who was painfully shy, quiet, and knew nothing about anything that went on in the bedroom, naive about so much if was almost embarrassing, of course, Nicolás wouldn't want to have anything to do with her, not when he'd been with someone like Isabella.
The sound of a car approaching caused Annalise to jump from the floor, she ran to the end of the hallway where she peeped out through the large windows and she saw Nicolás come out of his car, her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of him - his brown hair was ruffled on his hair, he was dressed only in his white inner shirt and suit pants, one hand was casually thrown into the pocket as he made his way into the house, he was a reminder that she had married the most good-looking man to have ever walked the Earth.
She wiped the tears from her face and made it down the stairs just as the main door opened and he walked in, his eyes didn't for a fleeting second pause on hers, he walked past her, their arms briefly making contact as he made his way up the stairs acting as though she was nothing more than a mere art ornament hung on the wall.
Annalise stared at his back until he was out of view, her stomach was beginning to hurt seeing as she still hadn't had anything to eat and it was now midday. She made her way into the kitchen and rummaged around for something but as Leonard had said, there was only coffee here, eggs, and some cartons of expired milk.
She was going to die of starvation, Annalise was sure of it. The air in the room changed and her back stiffened, Nicolás had just walked in.
He marched right to where she was, grabbed some instant coffee sachet and a mug, and walked away from her side, Annalise stood frozen, she had no idea how to behave in his presence and it was bothersome, he was a man, not a two-horned monster, although he as well could be.
"My mother was here," She heard him say and despite herself, Annalise wished he'd talk more because she could die listening to his voice.
"Did you not hear me?" He asked, causing her to flinch, she turned to him immediately.
"Ye… Yes, she did." She answered trying to avert looming at him, those cold eyes fixed on her made her even more scared of him than she already was.
"What did she want?" He asked turning away from her to stir his coffee.
Annalise stared at him surprised, was he making conversation?
"Uh, nothing?"
"You don't want to know what is going to happen the next time you let anyone from my family into my home when I'm not around, do you?" He asked calmly as he continued with his stirring.
"No, no, I don't. I'm sorry for…"
"I do not need your apology, Laura, I need your obedience. Is that understood?" He asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry, it…" She swallowed. "I understand."
"Your luggage was placed in one of the rooms on the second floor, there's a black card on the center table and you can get whatever you want." He said, taking a sip from his cup.
Annalise almost fell at his feet in gratitude, "Thank you, I…"
The rest of her words died in her throat when he began to approach her, Annalise stepped back, she didn't know what to expect, not when he wore an expression that was never readable.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"You remind me of glass," He said, his hand grabbing at her chin and forcing her to look up at him. "All of your thoughts in view, and you have that look in your eyes, quite easily deciphered."
Annalise's eyes widened, the close contact was discomforting her in a way she never knew a contact could, her heart thumped hard against her ribcage and a foreign feeling arose in her belly spiraling down below it.
His eyes were on hers, his lips close to her face she could feel his warm breath and her fingers itched, telling her if she simply stretched her hand, they'd be on his lips feeling how soft they were and her thoughts horrified her.
"There," He said with a small smile, it went almost unnoticeable. "Your fear is evident on your face, but so is your desire, glaring lust that scares you for what it is."
And he trailed a finger down her spine, lower and lower until they reached a spot in her body, through the thin material of her clothes, his finger grazed her nipples, hard and erect, asking for more.