Luciano's heart almost broke for her. She literally broke down in front of him, showing the most vulnerable state—something she would never do.
He couldn't stop thinking about the incident for days, trying to figure out what could've damaged her so bad.
Someone had to be there for her.
Someone had to pick up her remaining pieces.
However, only he was there for her.
His mind was trying to get the pieces together like a puzzle, but it wasn't working—a piece was missing. He had to figure out what damaged her this hard.
In the moment, she allowed him access to see through her, to see through the wall she had built as a shield to protect herself—from opening up to people. He saw how she was fighting herself, trying to hide her emotions, but he saw right through her.
He was in the same position as her years ago. After all these tragedies in his life, he became numb—numb to emotions, to everything in life. It was like a switch, it completely blocked his emotions and welcomed numbness warmly. Luciano found a distraction from his nightmares, he dived into working and created the largest empire of all time.
He became the most successful gun trafficker of the whole country.
However, his nightmares still haunted him and he was sure that they would haunt him for the rest of his life. He even held a gun against his head many times. Never did he shoot—he just couldn't, a voice inside of him never let him welcome death, letting him continue waking up because of nightmares every single night.
As he sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, the thought of Layla entered his mind once again, even reading books did not help to get her out of his mind, she always found a way.
He couldn't lie to himself, he started to miss her, her presence, her energy, her aura, everything about her was so alluring, he didn't even know why, he just couldn't explain it.
This new feeling started to scare him.
However, it still did not stop him from wanting to get closer to her.
He stood up, stretching before he went to grab his gun, putting it between his pants and belt. It was time to handle some business.
Layla sucked in a deep breath, completing a hectic shift today. She took off her uniform and put on a oversized sweater as she grabbed her purse, exiting the staff room.
"Hey Layla! Wait for me! Ayo wait!" She heard Valentina yelling as she exited her workplace. She stopped, waiting for Valentina. She furrowed her brows, asking why she was yelling so loudly. The whole neighborhood literally heard her yelling.
"I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to grab something to eat with me." Valentina rubbed her neck sheepishly, "What? You wouldn't hear me if I just called you."
"I am capable of hearing very well like a normal human being, Valentina." Layla stated, Valentina catching up to her as she walked. "So, what are you up to?" Valentina asked, imitating a baby voice as she looked at her with puppy eyes. Layla rolled her eyes and chuckled, "I wanted to search for an apartment." Layla replied, Valentina jumped in excitement, "I know someone who can help! I just gotta make one phone call!" She told Layla, "You know everyone, don't you?"
"I grew up here, everybody knows everybody here." Valentina stated matter-of-factly, pulling out her phone, she made a phone call. Layla couldn't understand her, she was speaking Italian, which she can't understand yet, but she would pick a few things up sooner or later, like she did when she was with Dimitri.
She cringed at that thought. Hoping to never see that monster again.
"Alright, my friend Chris will show us a few apartments tomorrow. We gotta meet at 9AM sharp." Valentina said, ending the phone call.
'Us'? Since when is she coming with me? Well, just accept her help. It won't hurt you. Layla thought.
"Alright, thank you so much. We'll meet at the hotel lobby tomorrow." Layla thanked her. "Wanna grab something to eat?" Layla asked, "It's on me by the way."
Valentina smiled as she did her happy dance. Layla was finally starting to open up.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
After hours of searching the two women finally found an apartment for Layla and rented it successfully.
Valentina talked so much that Layla's ears started to bleed, but at least it was a successful day and she had grown to like that about her. She's just like a child—talking all the time nonstop and sometimes even nonsense, like a little kid.
However, the little kid in Layla had already died years ago.
She kept on walking on the streets of Rome, the capital of Italy, it always seemed to be busy. However in this hour of the day in which the sun welcomed the moon with open arms, seemed to be very peaceful and quiet.
A mix of orange and pink-ish colors painted the sky, a rarely beautiful sight that only the soul could cherish deeply. Layla always loved the sunrise and sunset, it reminded her to never give up on herself even if life hit her hard, because in the end of the day there'll always be a new day to start over again.
The beautiful colors seemed to comfort her in a way no human has ever done before-it touched her soul deeply. In a way she could not describe with words.
Not wanting to go too far as the sun had already set and the moon replaced its light in the darkness, Layla started to walk back to her apartment.
"I think fate has destined us to be together, huh?" She heard a familiar voice whisper into her ear. In shock, she grabbed the arm of the person and twisted it around, pinning it against the back of the person which caused her to gain a firm grip of the person. "I don't think so." She said confidently.
Suddenly, Layla was the one being trapped between the wall and none other than Luciano's body.
"What in the hell are you doing!" She scolded him, his grin annoying the hell out of her. "Let me go! Are you out of your mind, Luciano? You scared the sh*t out of me!"
His grin soon turned to a smirk, "You didn't seem that scared when you almost broke my arm, though." He stated. "I thought you were a thief or something! And I sure know how to defend myself." She told him, not letting him know that she thought he was one of Dimitri's men.
"So Valentina told me that you finally got a place." Luciano said, which caused an eyeroll, this girl can never keep her mouth shut, Layla thought.
"I did." She replied. "Good, I'm happy for you." He said gently as he stroked her cheek in a gentle manner.
Layla's eyes widened for a moment, enjoying it deep inside. What in the hell is going on with me? She thought as her brain was paniciking inside, but her heart was enjoying every second.
Their eyes told different stories only their souls could read in that exact moment. Luciano's eyes showed pure admiration, his green hazel-ish eyes sparkling in the night, lighting up even the darkest spots of Layla's heart.
Her chocolate brown eyes burned right through Luciano's heart, telling an agonizing story only his soul could unfold. Her eyes never seemed to lie in his presence, he was the one who could read her eyes like an open book ready for him to take a look. They showed so many emotions at once, it seemed to be a mix of sadness, confusion and admiration all in once. A very dangerous combination.
His eyes went down to her lips, looking back up to her eyes, debating on wether to kiss her or not.
"May I kiss you, amore?"
•••••••••••••••••••••
"We found her."
"Good." He took a deep breath. "We' ll reunite soon, Layla." He whispered, looking at the photograph of her.
YOU ARE READING
Perceptions
RomanceIn which two broken hearts meet and become one. "Why do you keep hiding from me, Love?" He asked lustfully as he looked down at her trembling form, her sweet lips-that were oh so sweet like strawberries-were trembling with fear. That was the emotio...
