Tied to You - ON HOLD

Chapter Twenty Eight

Alessandro POV

I opened my eyes gradually, pushing my head further into the pillow. I felt myself drifting back to sleep, but I forced my body to stay awake.

With as much effort as I could muster, I pushed myself up and sat with my back to the headboard. My shirt had disappeared and my stitches had been fixed. I vaguely remembered hearing Chiara yell at her father, but nothing more than that.

The door creaked open and I glanced in its direction. Chiara peeked her heard around the oak frame and her gaze softened when she saw me. I didn't miss the specks of blood that littered her outfit, but I figured it would be best to her later.

I closed my eyes, breathing slowly. I felt the bed dip as she sat and her fingers grazed the cuts on my face. I opened my eyes again to see her staring at me intently, a million thoughts running through her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" She asked me. The question was so simple but from her it meant everything. She was worried.

"I'm managing." I croaked out.

"Barely," She scoffed, "You collapsed on my doorstep."

"Actually, you caught me, so..."

She rolled her eyes at me. Her concern was still present but it was clear she felt some relief knowing I was okay.

She inspected my cuts further and helped me into a more comfortable position; she sat beside me tracing obscure patterns on my arm as we remained in silence.

"Why did you leave?"

She froze. There wasn't a single answer she could give that I would be happy about. She contemplated her answer, opening her mouth to speak before deciding against it. I gave her a look and she returned it nervously. 

"I didn't feel safe."

"Our home is my safest. You had no reason to be afraid there."

"Maybe I just felt unsafe without you."

I looked up and her and saw her face soften.
How could she feel like this?

"Besides," She continued, "I didn't want Milena and I alone in that house without any proper protection."

"What makes you think that my mafia wouldn't have protected you?"

She swallowed. "When you were in the hospital, and we got back here, none of your men were stationed near you. No one believed it was necessary to have you protected when you were left in that hospital with only your parents around."

My blood ran cold. How could this happen? My men knew better than to make mistakes like that and I wasn't ready to believe her. What about Tony?

My brother was well aware of the expectations within our mafia, and it was clear that this was his wrongdoing.

"How did you know?" I asked her, taking hold of her soft hand in my palm.

Her hand tensed then relaxed in my hand slightly before she spoke. "I walked around for a bit as I was talking to my brothers and I didn't notice any other men with us before we went in or after we left. I called Sergio and asked him and he said that he didn't think it was necessary. Ero arrabbiato, so I had a go at him and demanded he fixed the issue."

[translation: i was angry. ]

That's my girl.

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and thanked her for what she did. It was clear to me that something else was on her mind, so I urged her to speak.

"Our wedding is tomorrow." She stated, absentmindedly tracing the tattoo on my hand.

"I know, baby."

She stopped her tracing, then continued again. "We can't get married like this. You almost died a few days ago. You're injured."

"Whether you like it or not, we're getting married tomorrow. If I have to be dragged down the aisle then so be it." I answered.

"Alessandro."

"Chiara."

She shook her head and sighed, "You're crazy, you know that right?"

"Only a little."

She remained in silence for a while. I shifted slightly towards her, and she moved closer to me.

"Do you have my phone?"

Chiara stopped for a moment, then answered. "I think it's still with the rest of your stuff. Do you want me to get it?"

I nodded, smiling faintly before she got up to find my belongings.

It didn't take her long to return with my things. Once she did, I dug around on my pockets to find my phone and one more thing.

A black box smaller than my palm was there, and I held it out to her.

"What's that? ""She questioned, ironing, the box carefully.

I didn't say a word, and open the box for her to see.

I watched as her face visibly lit up. She took the small box in her hand and examined it closely. It was a ring, carefully designed just to her taste with the help of her older brothers. She took it out of the box and slid it onto her finger.

"How did you.." She breathed.

"Lucky guess." I shrugged.

She swatted my arm, so I faked a wince to earn her sympathy. Immediately, concern washed over her face but she scoffed as I tried to stifle my laugh.

"Thank you, Alessandro. Seriously."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Chiara began admiring the shiny stone on her hand again. I'm so glad she likes it.

"How about I get you something to eat?" She asked me.

I glanced at the time on the clock and realised it had been hours since I had eaten a good meal. I nodded hastily and thanked her.

I waited patiently as she left, looking at any messages I had missed. Just as I was about to reply to my mother who had asked where I was, my phone rang.

"Alessandro." I answered.

"Alessandro, we need to call a meeting. Immediately," My father said, not wasting any time.

"What happened, Papa?"

"Tony's gone off the grid."

I stilled. "What do you mean?"

I heard him sigh, muttering a few things to someone else as he held the phone.

It didn't make sense. I had only seen him the day of my crash. How could he have gone underground so quickly? Had he been planning this for a while?

"Alessandro, are you even listening?"

My concentration went back to the phone, "I didn't hear you- what did you say?"

"Cazzo, Alessandro. Tony took his car with him, but I haven't got any signs of him stopping anywhere. We need to find him fast."

"Papa, the wedding is tomorrow."

"I know. I know."