As soon as they went inside, Eliana's breath became heavy. With every step she took, her heartbeat was going faster. She held her hands together to stop them from shaking. Her lower lip has already become red since she was biting it to prevent any sob that was fighting to escape.
"You're fine. . . F. . .Fine," she told herself. Her head was low not wanting to see that room. She shut her eyes to protect them from witnessing that hell again. But all of these attempts couldn't stop her mind from recalling the dark memories she buried deep inside her.
"Sit there," Riccardo's voice made her flinch making him confused. He noticed her actions and he knew something was definitely wrong with her. However, being her enemy and his strong desire to see her in jail didn't let him have sympathy for her.
His eyes followed her as she took the seat in front of him. After that, there was silence in the room. He went out to bring some files leaving her all alone. She then closed her eyes trying to relax a bit.
***Flashback***
"You slut!" the slap made her fall from the chair.
She sucked her breath as she opened her eyes. The man was not there and she was all alone in that investigation room. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and fanned herself.
"Relax, nothing like that is going to ha. . ." the door swung open revealing Riccardo, "happen," she took a deep breath.
"So, Eliana Álvarez Cassidy, you know why you're here?" he threw the papers as he sat in front of her. This state made her shiver, but she didn't give up on making an effort to hide it.
"You're the one who brought me here, You tell me," she put her hands under the table, squeezing them as much as she could.
"You know Mr. Gonzal—"
"Cut the crap," she dug her fingernails into her skin.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know," he stood up after hearing her words. He took slow steps towards her. The sounds of his footsteps were giving her a hard time calming herself down. She wanted to close her eyes so badly, but at the same time, she didn't want to show her weakness. He went behind her, so now her back is facing him. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, making the tattoo on her nape visible.
"25.09.13," he said loudly, making her tremble. She bit her lips, trying to stop them from shaking. "is it—"
"Get to your point," she said in one breath.
"Why did you send him to us?" He held her chair as he leaned closer to her face.
"I don't know what you're saying," she said, trying to control her shaky breath. He harshly left her chair and went to the table. When he raised his hand to roll his sleeves, she quickly covered her cheeks as she closed her eyes expecting a slap. After calming herself down, she slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't stop the tears that were flowing from her eyes.
This made him confused. Seeing her like this was something he never expects to see. Nonetheless, he witnessed it before his eyes. He sighed turning to the empty wall. He needed time to process this whole thing. Suddenly, he heard a hiccup which made him turn to face her and the sight was not very pleasant. She covered her mouth tightly and her eyes were squeezed shut. He saw the scars and blood she just made on her hands. Her collarbones were coming out due to the hiccups that are fighting to come out of her mouth. He slowly approached her and kneeled in front of her.
"Are you okay?" he put his hand on her knee. She instantly wiped her tears upon hearing his voice.
"I want to call Edoardo," she looked away. He gave her the phone and left the room letting her have the moment she needed. After he went out, she quickly dialed his number.
***O.T.P***
"Edoardo. . ."
"Mr. Edoardo is busy. May I know who this is?" it was his secretary.
"It's Eliana. Give him the phone," she wiped her tears.
"Oh, the Great Eliana. . ." she laughed, "He's busy,"
"Listen to me bitch, if you don't give him the phone no one will survive from your family!" she tightened her fist.
"Good luck," she hung up.
"Hello. . . Hello," there was no answer. She called again but it was declined. More tears started flowing from her eyes at the thought of facing this all alone. She called again, hoping that this time she will get an answer, but the phone was off. She couldn't think of anyone at that time. A hiccup escaped her lips unexpectedly and she covered her mouth tightly.
"Do you know why you're here?" the man in her imagination smirked. "There is no escape from here," a whisper echoed in her ears before an evil laugh.
"STOP! STOP!" she sobbed covering her ears. "Please. . ."
At the same time, Riccardo came inside the room to make sure everything was okay. Instead, everything was terrible. Her hands covered her ears not wanting to hear something he doesn't know and her eyes closed shut not to witness everything. He slowly approached her and held her shoulder. But she screamed and fell on the floor. She then started mumbling something that wasn't audible to him. Her hands never left her ears and her head never stopped shaking. He couldn't see her like that. So he went towards her and kneeled in front of her. He removed her hands from her ears making her face him. That's when his eyes met her red ones. Her wet eyelashes, swollen orbs, red nose, and shaky cheeks made him wonder what made her like this.
"Are you okay?" he cupped her cheeks. She quickly looked away removing his hands and wiping her tears. She then took a deep breath and stood up. He was looking at her every step not knowing what to do or say.
"Is he coming?" he asked to break the silence.
"No, we can proceed with the investigation," she took the seat.
"I'll be back," he went out. She sighed loudly as she looked at the ceiling. She rubbed her face in frustration.
"Great, Eliana. Eight years have passed, but you still can't control it," she cracked her neck as she massaged her nape. Riccardo finally came inside and sat in front of her giving her a cup of water. She gulped it in one go.
"So, what did you want to know?" she asked as if nothing happened a while ago. But her eyes couldn't hide the fear anymore.
"Why were you like that? I mean you—"
"Mind your business," her voice was firm.
"Okay," he crossed his arms. After a moment of silence, a knock on the door caught their attention. It was Santiago.
"He is here," Riccardo nodded.
"Did he finish everything?"
"Yeah, he is waiting outside."
"Good," he turned to her. "You can leave," she frowned. He just left without further explanation. She left the room even though she was confused.
Walking out of the room, she saw an old man wearing a tidy back suit. He looked impatient waiting for someone. As soon as his eyes met hers, he rushed towards her pulling her into his arms. She tapped his back and pushed him slightly.
"Are you okay, princess? What did they do anything to you? Why are your eyes red? " he checked her entire body to see if she is actually okay making her more tired than she already was.
"I'm okay," she removed his hand. "How did you know I was here?"
"Someone called me," she saw Riccardo through the man's shoulder. He just leaned against the wall with his hands inside his pocket.
"It was not necessary," she glared at him.
"What are you saying? I'm your father, you're my responsibility," he took her hands and looked into her eyes.
"Let's just go," she sighed taking her hands from his. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and they left the station. He opened the passenger seat for her and she went inside silently. After making sure she was comfortable enough, he went to the other side sitting beside her.
"I'm glad you're fine," he kissed her hand. She yanked it harshly and looked away gritting her teeth.
"You shouldn't have come,"
"Princess—"
"I'm not your princess," she glared at him grabbing his collar.
"You're not going to forgive me, are you?" she left his collar and looked away. "It has been nine years already," she was silent. He sighed loudly knowing that this conversation was useless.
"Your mom has made your favorite," he tried to change the subject. She hummed in response and rested her head on the window. The whole ride was silent. Her dad was trying his best just to hold her hand but she kept pushing him away. So he diverted his gaze to the other side of the window and was lost in his world.
"We're here," the driver spoke after thirty minutes of silence. She hurriedly got off the car and went inside without waiting for her dad.
When she went inside the white mansion, her mom welcomed her with a warm hug. She was taller than her daughter so she shielded her inside her arms. Eliana chuckled at her mom's silliness which made her earn a slight slap on her back.
"I was scared, you know?" she fixed her daughter's hair.
"I'm sorry," she said, wrapping her arms around her mom's waist.
"I'll be in my office," her dad went inside since he didn't want to be ignored by his princess.
"You still—"
"Where are Bella and Marco?" she immediately changed the topic.
"Paula took them home."
"Why?"
"It's Sunday tomorrow. She will take them to picnic," she said making Eliana lower her head. She noticed that and lift her chin to make eye contact. "Leave eve—"
"I'm tired," she said before kissing her mom's head.
"What about dinner?"
"I'm not hungry," she said as she run upstairs to her bedroom.
The room was bright white, unlike her preference. But it didn't bother her. She smiled when she saw those white walls and sniffed the scent of the room she always loved.
"It's so nice to be here," she sighed.