No Strings Attached

CHAPTER 51

The corners of my lips tilt up as I look down to see Ana snuggled in beside me, her legs tangled with mine as her arms wrap around my torso.

I gently kiss her temple as I close my eyes, resting my chin on the top of her head. She stirs in my arms before her body relaxes again. She finally blinks her eyes open, yawning loudly as she stretches her body out before collapsing against me.

"Good morning sweetheart," I murmur, kissing her temple as she hums lazily. I pinch her side and she laughs softly, "Good morning to you too Enzo," she teases, looking up at me as I smile satisfactorily.

"I assume you and Le Aquile Rosse took care of Leonardo last night?" I ask.

"Yep," she yawns, "So today is moving day,"

"Moving day?" I repeat, sitting up in the bed. Is she moving here permanently? Or moving away? Surely she's not moving away...

"Well moving back to Le Aquile Rosse's estate," she explains,

"Oh, so they're moving back," I say, my shoulders relaxing, "Makes sense,"

"And me, I'm moving back there too," she says casually, my body stiffening again.

"You're leaving?" I ask, "I thought you'd stay here now,"

"Why would I stay?" she asks, sitting up and facing me, "Enzo I was always going to go back home at the end of this, nothing was ever going to change that,"

"So what?" I ask, "We've finished the hit so you're just going to pack up and leave?"

"Well what else am I supposed to do?" she asks with an exasperated sigh, "I have no more purpose to being here,"

"It never occurred to you to stay then?" I ask in a scathing tone, my sadness and regret coming out the only way I know how; lashing out a person I care too much about. "Did anything that happened even mean anything to you?" I ask.

"Why would it Enzo?" she says angrily, her cheeks burning red as she narrows her eyes at me.

"I don't get why you're so frustrated by this, I was always going to leave. I never gave you any impressions that anything different was going to happen," she snaps.

"I think maybe the way we've been acting recently gave me pretty good fucking impression you were staying," I scoff.

She opens her mouth but nothing comes out and I scoff again, "But aren't I a fucking idiot for thinking any of that means something?" I say coldly.

"It did, I just, I was always going to leave at the end of this," she says in a defeated tone. "I thought you were trying to get me out of your system when all that shit happened, I didn't know you were that serious about it," she says softly, her tone regretful.

"So nothing that's happened over the last few months meant anything to you?" I ask bitterly, "It wasn't serious to you? Showering and sleeping together every night wasn't fucking serious to you?" all my insecurities pour out of me as I stand up off the bed.

"Enzo, please," she whispers, and I turn back around to face her.

"Am I out of your system yet?" I ask in a low voice. She pauses, "You said it was getting me out of your system, so, am I out of your system yet?"

She pauses momentarily before sucking in a breath, "Am I out of yours?" she asks softly.

I take a step closer to her and gently tilt her chin upwards, forcing her to meet my eyes as I rest my forehead against hers.

I let out a breath as I close my eyes, "Ana you're all I can think about. Every second of every day you run through my mind," my voice is barely a whisper as I brush my thumb over her cheek. "Sweetheart you're never leaving my system, you've flooded it and I fear you'll stay there forever," I confess, not daring to open my eyes as I feel her place her hand over mine.