Lucia and the Bodyguard

Chapter 7: The New Neighbor

All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.

-Marc Chagall

Lucia Salazar's POV

"Good morning, Señorita."

I stopped locking my apartment door and turned sideways to look at the familiar voice of a man mirroring my gestures of locking the door in front of him. I frowned at him questioningly. "Did you just really come out from that door, Diego? What the hell are you doing on the apartment next door?"

He made a gesture of dangling the apartment keys in front of me with a self-satisfied smile on his handsome face. "Starting today I will be your new neighbor."

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. I didn't think I heard him right I probably need to clean my ears again because I swear to God he just announced from now on he would be living next to me. "What did you do to the previous owner of that unit?" I asked him intriguingly. "Did you kill them so you can get the apartment? Did you bully them to give up their home for you? Or perhaps you used black magic to throw them away in that dwelling?"

Anger flashed in the depth of his eyes. I silently cursed myself, I was probably hurt his ego unwittingly because of my harsh remarks but I couldn't help it since it caught me off guard because of the sudden turn of events. "Do not categorize me with the likes of your brother's friends who resort to bullying to get what they want, Señorita. For your information, it's been months since the last tenant reside here. This unit has been for lease for three months."

"Oh," I breathed. I couldn't help the heat spread through my cheeks. He got it wrong; I did not mean to hurt him. "But why did you decide to lease that unit?"

He shook his dark head with a mocking smile. "You seriously don't know?"

I shook my head in return, looking at him with questioning eyes. "Do not tell me you did this because you of this stalking thing, Diego?"

"Of course."

I eyed him with worry. "Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, the price range of this apartment building is quite high even for me. I don't want you to spend all your money for a pricey home just to protect me."

"Do not worry about me." He reassured me with a twitched in my lips. "The salary I get from your brother is more than enough to afford this apartment. Besides, it's not the best option for me to continue to sleep in your living room every night. I don't want people to get the wrong impression if this continues."

Upon mentioning the pattern we adopt since that night I couldn't help but blush at the image inside my brain. It's been three days since his first sleep in my living room when we saw a shadow in the veranda and from then on he'd been doing so until last night.

Never in my wildest dream would I ever think this could happen to us. Diego and I were inseparable for the past few days we've been sleeping only feet away from each other when in the past we've been avoiding each other like plague.

I shook my head remembering everything. This was the last thing I expected when I chose to become independent and start to launch my career as a fashion designer in a foreign country. I never thought that my life would get crazier—there's this stalker who was giving me headache and scare sometimes and there's this man...

I silently groaned. If Leila and Coco would hear about the latest happenings in my life right now I'm sure that two women would have a field day! I just hope that this madness would end soon before they learn anything about it.