Marco's grip tightened around Alessia's arm, anger boiling within him. Marco felt like punishing someone for the misfortune he's been facing in his life, and unlike Alessia who had full control over, Laura wasn't under his feet. He deserved to do so because life can't be fair to them when it's not fair to him, so he thought. He would make everyone pay, starting with her.
As he forcefully dragged her, Alessia tried to speak but her voice caught in her throat, her heart racing within her, her eyes darted to bystanders, silently pleading for help.
Suddenly, the screech of tyres pierced the air. A car barreled toward them, and before Marco could react, it slammed into his vehicle. Alessia screamed as glass shattered around them, the raining sound of breaking glass seizing that few seconds.
"Who the fuck is that?" Marco yelled, rolling up his sleeves.
A man in a black suit emerged from the car with fluid grace. His tailored suit draped effortlessly across his broad shoulders, and he walked toward them as if on a runway. With a subtle adjustment of his cufflinks, he straightened his posture, commanding attention like a magnet draws steel.
"Mr. Kane," Alessia gasped.
Marco glared at the man before him. He knew better than to act rashly in front of Xavier. Though his company at home in Italy wasn't good, he at least had one in Atlanta. If he offended Xavier now, he would crush all that was left of him at home and abroad.
"Mr. Xavier, when did you get back?" Her voice cracked as she trembled, fidgeting like she was caught at a murder scene.
"Why are you still in heels at this hour?" was the first thing Xavier asked, his jaw ticking as he stared intently at Alessia like she was the only entity that existed in the surroundings.
"I was just coming back from work."
"Who said you should...Get into the first Jeep."
"O-k-ay, sir."
Marco, sensing a hint of familiarity between them, felt his blood run cold. When he saw L'Arcobaleno on the tracking app he used to tail Alessia, he thought that she eventually got a measly job there, just enough to get by. He didn't know that she would be affiliated with Xavier of all people.
"Mr. Kane." His voice came out almost as a whimper.
Xavier made a sign at his convoy that arrived shortly after. At that, he walked toward his car. The front end was now damaged too, so he couldn't drive it. He walked toward the first escort jeep.
"I'll drive. Make sure that wimp doesn't escape."
"Yes, sir," the bodyguards in the car chorused.
Alessia bit her lip where she sat. She always told herself she wasn't scared of Marco any longer, but whenever he came at her, her mind went blank, and she couldn't think of any defense.
Xavier slammed the door shut as he sat. His long arms stretched forward, his gloved hands wrapping around the steering wheel, holding it tightly.
"Alessia Angneli, what impression is associated with me?"
"A very intimidating man," she whispered, her voice nearly inaudible.
"You now work as an assistant to a very intimidating man. Why can't you just act the part?" Xavier said in a restricted tone.
Without waiting for a response, he turned on the ignition of the car and drove toward her house. She sat silently in the car, ruminating on what had just happened.
She would definitely not tell Sofia this, as she would get a good scolding from her. She had stopped attending the self-defence class Sofia enrolled her in after she moved, and Sofia was now in the US, so she could only nag her on the phone.
Alessia sighed as she thought of what Xavier said. She couldn't afford to be a dead weight to him. As far as she knew, someone, Marco, had prevented her from getting a job in all of the North Central, so she had to do this job with all diligence, also considering the astronomical amount she was getting for her job, which was quadruple what she got from Marco.
Soon, they were at her house.
"Thank you, sir," Alessia appreciated as she unlocked the seatbelt.
"If you want to keep your job, be at Il Masso gym daily by 5 a.m., starting tomorrow."
Her eyes widened as her head whipped towards his direction. That was her precious sleep time! Who wakes up that early?
Her voice of protest died immediately within her when Xavier turned and looked at her.
"Are you planning to sleep here?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'll get down now. Welcome back, sir," she said with a bow before shutting the door.
Xavier watched her walk toward the door to her home. She suddenly turned around and walked towards him.
"It would be rude of me not to offer you anything now that you're at my house."
"Letting men into your house is you being rude to yourself,"
Xavier reversed the car and zoomed away. She watched the retreating car with a scoff.
"Did you think I wanted you in my house too? This grim reaper-looking guy." She snorted as she walked back, removing her heels outside.
She missed her brother, Matteo, most. On a stressful day like this, he would have offered her comfy slippers as she entered and a glass of water or juice.
"Living alone is overrated," she murmured, remembering that she now had to cook since she dropped her food package.
Xavier watched her through the rearview mirror. When he was far off, the car finally screeched to a stop. Xavier ripped off his tie, gasping for air like he was being suffocated.
The sight of Alessia, so close yet unreachable, tore at his resolve.
Xavier declined her offer because he knew that if he stayed around her for just one minute longer, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from yanking that tailored shirt off her body just so he could feel the warmth of her body on his. He missed her so badly, but he couldn't do anything as Xavier.
He took a brand new phone from his pocket and turned it on. He had gotten it that same day after he saw her off but he was skeptical about leading two lives for one person. He had always kept each of his identity distinct, with no one that knows one ever getting a glimpse of the other, asides Thomas.
Taking out the card, he slowly pressed in the phone number with a bitter chuckle, watching the control he built for over a month just came crashing down with just seeing her.
The dial sound permeated the car, as Xavier's long fingers tapped on the steering wheels in anticipation, each ring echoing his growing desperation. The call went through and Alessia spoke.
"Hello... Giovanni?" Alessia's voice quivered through the line. Xavier's grip on the phone tightened, his heart pounding as he prepared to break his own rules.
And just like that , their bittersweet tragedy began.