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𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀

Waking up the next morning under the heavy, black duvet, I didn't have the feeling of relaxation like my previous nights at Leonardo's house.

The actions of the previous day had come to slap me when I woke. The running around, dancing, just simply moving had weighed down on me. I hadn't even done by evening stretches before sleeping. I groaned as I woke up and stretched, expecting to feel Amalia next to me. It was a struggle to get her to sleep.

Iris had saved me. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have been able to take care of Amalia properly, she even gave me advice on how to get her to sleep.

Frowning, I noticed I was in bed alone. I rubbed my eyes for a moment and pushed my hair away from my face with a yawn. I made the bed and opened the windows slightly to let some fresh air into the bedroom.

After showering and brushing my teeth I settled with wearing a ruched, cami black dress that had thin straps with some patterned sheer tights. I finished putting on my makeup, sprayed perfume and put all the things away to keep the place tidy.

As I headed downstairs, my cream coloured slippers clacked against the floor. The apartment was silent and clean as usual and I assumed Amalia had probably gone home which made me feel slightly sad since I didn't get the chance to say goodbye.

With another yawn, I searched for Leonardo. He wasn't home when I went to bed, making me question if he was safe and well.

I heard the sound of his deep voice coming from his office. I hadn't yet been inside it since I avoided places I didn't need to necessarily go to. The place was small but I hadn't had the chance to explore it fully. Following the his voice, I recognised that he was speaking Italian. He sounded so attractive that I almost didn't pay attention to what he was saying.

As I drew closer, I realised he was on the phone, talking about what seemed to be selling cars. It was a known fact that the Romano family had various successful businesses in many different sectors. The man was loaded and yet chose to live in such a small penthouse in a building bought by him just for himself.

Looking through the crack of the door, I could see how concentrated he looked. The man was sat in his large chair wearing a black shirt, fully buttoned and long sleeved but it showed off his extensive muscles bulging from underneath his shirt. He was staring seriously at the computer, his hazel eyes full of determination, focus. It was alluring to watch; I could stare all day. My heart beat increased at the sight of him. He gave orders on the phone emotionlessly yet full of sternness and authority and when he hung up, he tossed his phone down causally, letting it slightly slam against the table as if it cost nothing.

I forced myself to get out of the trance and pushed the large door open, gaining his attention as I walked into his office. It was compact and dark like the rest of the house. He had the big curtains closed and the small lights from the simple chandelier turned on. The room was black themed - dark yet sophisticated with wooden cabinets, a midnight rug under his table that was in front of a gallery wall with several paintings hung. There was a bookshelf filled with stacks of organised with hidden lights on one of the walls and two chairs facing the front of his table which I took a seat in one of them, giving him a wide smile.

"Cosa stai facendo, tesoro? {what are you doing, honey?}" I curiously asked as my eyes took in the magnificent room.

"There's thirteen girls missing," Leonardo unexpectedly stated, making me raise both my eyebrows at the fact. I nodded, sitting more straight at the sound of his serious tone. He was focused on the big computer, clicking here and there. His eyes suddenly flickered over at me, slightly surprising me.

"I don't know some of them. Come here."

I was unexpectedly stupefied at his words but got up away, moving around the glass table and towards him. My eyes landed on the computer screen as I stood behind him. I held back from placing my hand on his broad shoulder. I was practically leaning into his neck to get a better look at the bright screen. He had the profile faces of the girls lined up, each of them staring back at us. I bit my lip as I scanned them all, reconciling each dancer.

"Which ones?" I spoke softly, taking in how close the two of us were. He moved the mouse around two girls and I told them who they were, as well as which companies they were signed to. He nodded, quickly scribbling down what I said on the notepad in front of him. His handwriting was skilful and neat, it was fancy and cursive which suited him, much better than mine.

"These two look the same," he murmured as he moved the mouse around their faces, before asking me to repeat who they were again.

"You're right," I replied, squinting my eyes at the sight of the two brunette girls. They had the same heart shaped face, slim cheeks and wide eyes. Leaning closer, I noted that he was right, he wasn't just bad at distinguishing.

"In fact," I started, placing my hand on top of his warm, large one and moving the page downwards. "They all look. . ." I hesitated, trying to find the best word as I gazed at the screen.

"Similar. . ." Leonardo murmured quietly, placing his elbow on the table and leaning in, rubbing his jaw as he stared more closely at the screen. "Maybe this person has a particular style. . .or looking for a particular person."

I agreed, humming in agreement. It did occur to me that the girls, despite differences in ethnicity looked similar. "Not to mention, the profession is the same too. They have a thing for ballerinas." I added, continuing to stare.

Leonardo shocked me by turning around out of the blue, his chair swerving. My heart stopped for moment as our eyes connected. His handsome face was so close to mine, I stopped breathing in surprise as my eyes widened at him.

"You look. . ." He trailed off, narrowing his eyebrows. His hand went for my jaw, his fingers lifting my head gently. He was warm in a good way, his eyes looked so mesmerising and as he spoke, I couldn't help but focus on the movement of his lips. I wanted no more than to just close my eyes and to kiss him, we were in a perfect position in that moment. I temporarily forgot about the main agenda there.

"Like them in a weird way. ."

I blinked, astounded. He then turned back around quickly, writing something down again before closing his notepad. I cleared my throat and stood straight, pulling a strand of my hair behind my ear as I tried to stop myself from blushing. I hated how shy I suddenly felt in front of him.

It never occurred to me that the girls had some kind of similarity between them or even that I looked slightly like them. I didn't like the thought of it.

On a lighter note I asked him, "where's Princess Amalia?"

"With her grandmother."

I frowned and poked his shoulder with my finger. "Why didn't you let me say bye? We had fun yesterday."

He chuckled making me smile. "Are you sure about that? You looked like a mess when I came home."

His exposure made me feel ecstatic. "Oh!" I exclaimed as he looked at me. "So you came home yesterday and saw us?"

He lost contact for a moment, confirming my words. "I had to check that she was still alive."

I chuckled and leaned against the table, folding my arms. "Don't say that - I took good care of the princess. Nothing went wrong."

"Nothing?" Leonardo repeated in an amused tone. "Nothing at all? That's not what Iris told me earlier this morning."

I gaped at him. "What? You spoke to Iris." I groaned, "little snitch." Another chuckle came from him as he took down the page off the computer. "Lia cried, ate soup, played too much and watched too much television, went to sleep past her bedtime after refusing for hours - and you also managed to learn to clean her shit."

I laughed, remembering the awful experience. "Hey!" I refuted, giving him a look. "She didn't cry all day - she just missed you! Amalia and I had fun." It sounded like I was more convinced myself but it was the truth. "We watched Disney movies together after I downloaded it on your TV and played with cars and dolls that I found in the closet."

"Oh -" I began, giving him an innocent look. "Sorry about the mess. . .I was way too tired to clean it up."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "I hate mess."

"You'll get used to it. . .and me."

"I can see how much she loves you," I told him, earning some more of his attention. "She kept calling for you." Leonardo had a small smile on his face for a moment which quickly dissipated as he said, "she was hugging onto you when I woke her up in the morning."

My smile widened at his words and I let out a small squeal. "Yes! A win!" I exclaimed, my hands squeezing into fists. "She loves me more than you now. Don't separate us again - she'll be crying for me next!"

Leo rolled his eyes in disbelief, looking back at his computer.

"Seriously though," I said wholeheartedly, my hands holding onto the desk behind me. "I will care for Amalia. . .take care of her and keep her safe."

"You don't need to," he responded nonchalantly, not looking at me.

"Let's go on a date, Leo."

Briefly, his eyes flickered over at me. "Why?"

I didn't know what to say for a moment as I swung one foot over the other, feeling little. "So. . .we can talk. . ."

"We're talking right now."

I almost rolled my eyes at his coldness. "I mean so we can understand each other more. . .romantically." I hated pointing out the obvious. He knew what I wanted, what I was leading onto and yet he was making me extend my words. "It doesn't have to be dinner. We can go for a walk together with Bear. Or maybe go ice skating - although, I'm not too sure you'd enjoy that - but anyway - you get my point."

"I want to be with you somewhere comfortable where we can both relax."

He didn't say anything for a minute which had me there impatiently waiting for his response.

With a sigh, Leonardo firmly said, "we're a contract, Maria. You give me what I need, and I give you what you want. That's it. There's no romance involved."

It felt like he shot me with those words. I wasn't taken aback by them, but a slight tinge of frustration ate at me. I swallowed, looking at the bookshelf, feeling annoyed at his mean yet truthful words.

"What if I want romance to be involved. Would you give me it? You know that's what I want from you." I sounded more stern, but I hated also sounding desperate. I folded my arms and looked at him more earnestly; wanting him to stop giving me dry responses.

"I told you-"

"And I told you," I slightly snapped, inhaling sharply as I tried to stop getting irritated.

"I told you I would come back," I said, "I've told you I love you and I fucking know, somewhere in your empty heart, you love me, otherwise you wouldn't have agreed. You don't need this arrangement."

"Don't be delusional."

I scoffed in annoyance. "You stop being delusional. You're holding back. What happened? You're telling me you don't love me? Say it right now, Leonardo. Tell me you don't love me." I moved his chair, turning it so he was facing me. Staring down at him seriously, I waited for his answer as my heart thumped harder.

"Tell me you love me. Tell me your sorry for what you said that night. Just say it," in a lowered, hushed tone I said, gazing into his eyes. It hurt to think about those horrible things he said before I left all those years ago. I wished for his comfort, his apology.

"I can't," Leonardo replied, barely meeting me eyes, his words matched my low tone.

"Why not?" I questioned weakly.

"Because it wouldn't be true. Stop forcing something that's not there. I meant what I said then and it's the same now."

Then he scowled at me, a familiar look of coldness almost made me break the hard glare on my face. "Did you not understand the last conversation we had?" His words hurt, I didn't expect him to respond so coldly. I could feel myself beginning to tremble with slight rage at the memory of our last encounter years before. What did I even expect from him?

"I do," I snapped, before exhaling quietly and clenching my jaw. I could feel my nose begin to tingle as I blinked a few times. "I fucking remember every single word you said, Leo. It hurt. You didn't apologise, send me any letters, you didn't search for me - you pushed me away."

"If it hurt so much," he retorted, his eyes dark as he glowered at me, before continuing his words dripped with spite, "why do you still want me?"

He wasn't wrong. I scoffed, standing up more straight and hardening my gaze at him. "You're right," I bitterly sassed, tired of arguing with him. "Why do I?" I fought back the urge to burst into tears, feeling my cheeks flame up with fury.

With an exhale, I looked away, not wanting to get overwhelmed.

"Fine," I said in a deflated tone. I stood up off the table, walking around the table. "I won't force you then," I continued in a bitter tone as I looked back at him.

"Soon, it's Francis's wife's birthday party. We're both attending. There, you'll meet him and discuss your own arrangements." I couldn't remove the glare forming on my face. "I expect you to speed up the process of finding that psychopath. I can't have more girls taken."

I walked to the door, about to leave before thinking better of it and turning around to say one last thing.

"I'm your first love, Leo, and the only love you'll be with in this life."

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~ Author's Note ~

Leonardo and Maria's argument. . .
Who's right in this situation? Or is neither of them right?

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