CHAPTER 16: THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HEART

HAVEN'S POV

"Can I open the window?"

Allessio kissed the back of my hand. "Not yet, gattina."

Since the day we arrived here in Italy, I really haven't been outside Allessio's property. It's not that I'm complaining. With everything I have to do, I don't really have time to go out. Besides, I might even struggle just to get around his entire property because of how big it is. Everything about him is big, that's why. Meow.

I cleared my throat when heat started to creep up from my neck to my face. When I glanced at him, I saw him giving me a knowing look as if he somehow could understand what I'm thinking, even though that feels implausible. Unless he can actually sense it whenever I have inappropriate thoughts. I wouldn't be surprise if that's his superpower. If the seven deadly sins are weapons, then "lust" would be his most favorite sword.

"Why not?" I asked, pushing back my lusty thoughts.

He just shrugged in response which made me pout. I shifted slightly to the middle of the backseat so I could glance at Fierro, who was quietly driving.

"Why not?" I repeated my question, this time directing it to Fierro.

"In the case that someone decided to blow your head off."

I gasped at the same time that Allessio cursed loudly at the man who just scratched his head in confusion. I've been with them for more than a month, and if there's one thing I can describe about Fierro, it's that sometimes he could be brutally honest.

Allessio's arm shot out to wrap around my shoulder, and only then did I realize that I had unconsciously moved closer to him. He's built like the world's strongest shield. He has this air around him that tells me that even a bomb wouldn't be able to succeed in scaring him.

"I won't open it," I mumbled.

"You can." Allessio tipped my head back so that I could meet his eyes. "Later, you can. Okay?"

His lips didn't move, but his eyes smiled when I nodded and then shifted closer to him as if we weren't close enough to each other.

Leaning my head on his chest, I watch the view from his window. The beautiful landscape of Florence slips by in a steady blur as the car continues its consistent speed.

I suddenly remembered that I have no idea where we are going. Allessio just told me to dress up and that we're going somewhere, so I did as he asked me to without question. Something I've been noticing about myself lately. It's like there's satisfaction whenever I fulfill the things he needs from me because I can see how it pleases him when I do so.

I wasn't like this before. Not for the past year nor the Haven I was before. I was what people often call bullheaded. But with Allessio, everything feels different.

Maybe it's because I know he doesn't ask for something unreasonable and because most of the time, what he asks is for my own benefit anyway. Like when he told me to sleep, but I didn't, and instead, when I got back to my room, I finished a book until the sun was up in the sky. I ended up having a persistent migraine all throughout the day. Totally worth it, though. That book was awesome.

"Where are we headed to?" I asked no one in particular.

Fierro looked like he was about to respond, but when he glanced at the rearview mirror, Allessio was glaring at him.

I raised an eyebrow at Allessio. "Will I get shot at if you let me know?"

"No, but I don't want you to freak out before we're there."

"Now you're freaking me out."

He tugged me toward him, but as if that wasn't enough, he lifted me onto his lap.

That's one of his favorite things to do when we're together. He's either holding me close, kissing me, or keeping me on his lap. It's like he hates the thought of distance and always needs to have maximum contact. I wonder if he's like this to all the women he's ever been with.

"Don't worry, Haven. They're good people," Fierro said, glancing at me from the rearview mirror.

My gaze shifted back and forth between him and Allessio. 'They?'

His only response was a kiss on the tip of my nose before he turned to Fierro. "Focus on driving and mind your own business before I decide to cut off your tongue."

With Allessio, you really don't know when he's being serious or not. "Don't be like that to your friend. It's not his fault that every little thing freaks me out these days."

Fierro theatrically made an exaggerated sad expression. "You tell him. I'm trying to be such a good friend here that I'm even chauffeuring him around without anything in return, but he just keeps on threatening me. Do you know that he even tried to strangle me to death last time?"

My mouth gaped, and I glanced at Allessio, who's giving Fierro a murderous look. "Why did you strangle him?"

"I mistake him for a stress ball," Allessio answered in a deadpan manner. "Maybe I should make that a rule. When someone gets on my nerves, they should be my stress ball."

"I get on your nerves," I reminded him.

His lips tipped up from the corners. "I like you in there." He brushed his nose to mine playfully. "Like I like to be in you as well."

There's no doubt that there's a sexual innuendo behind his words. The look he's giving me is already dripping from it.

I wasn't immune to his pull when it comes to him bringing me to the land of lust. It's probably one of his territories, and he ruled over it like no other can. It was not surprising that the tension in the car went up, something I was grateful that only the two of us could feel. But if Fierro were to glance at us, it wouldn't be surprising if he noticed the hunger clearly visible in both me and Allessio.

Fortunately, that was the moment the car slowed down. Fierro rolled up the window near me just like what they promised. When I looked outside, I saw that we were entering a large, open gate.

The view of the house we were heading to was just as breathtaking as Allessio's, but this one had a more relaxed feel, unlike the fortress-like atmosphere of the other house.

We stopped in front of it, and my whole body stiffened when I saw two people standing outside waiting for us

As if a victim from a horror movie, I slowly turned my head towards Allessio, who I found is already looking at me, gauging my reaction. "This is your parents' house!" I hissed and jabbed a finger towards the window. "That's your parents!"

"Yes," he answered simply.

"You're just telling me now?!"

He kissed my forehead, and when he straightened, his eyes were shining with amusement. "Yes."

I gaped. "I'm going to kill you."

He chuckled before kissing me again. This time, it was on the lips. "Kill me later. Meet my family first."

I FEEL LIKE I'm swallowing nails not because the food wasn't to my liking but because of something else.

Ever since we got out of the car and now that we're here at the dining room of the house, Allessio's father hasn't done anything but stare at me.

If Allessio's intimidating, his father Ezio Cascella is even more so. It's like he drinks the blood of anyone that pisses him off and uses their bones to stir his coffee in the morning. Okay, that's definitely gross.

"You don't like the food, Haven?"

I glance at the older woman and despite everything, I couldn't help but give her a smile. There's something warm about her that one can't help but feel at ease a little even in the most uncomfortable situation.

Amaris Cascella radiate both light and gentleness—and something else that I can't pinpoint—but I have no doubt that she also has the temper that runs strong in his son. Must be the Italian in her.

I remember Allessio vaguely mentioning his mother being half-American and half-Italian. She doesn't have a strong accent when she's speaking the language and her English isn't as thick as Allessio's. And probably his father's as well, though he hasn't really spoken yet.

My mouth opened to tell her that there was no problem with the food she had prepared, but before I could say anything, I accidentally glanced in the direction of her husband. I gulped out of nervousness when I saw that he was looking at me more intensely now, as if daring me to say anything bad about his wife's cooking. Which I wouldn't in the first place because it's delicious.

"Papa, let her eat." I felt Allessio reach for my hand from under the table. "Or we're going to go back home and eat there, and I'll leave you to mamma and her wrath for driving us away."

I gape at Allessio, who's now on a stare-down contest with his father. Looking at them like this, I feel like I can already see what Allessio will look like in the future when he's older. He's like the younger version of his father who's equally as handsome as him.

Amaris gave me a look and rolled her eyes. "Boys. They don't grow up even at the age where they should have already." She shook her head, looking at her son and her husband, before giving me an apologetic smile. "You have to excuse them. The Cascellas men are known for their temper. The Italian in them is too strong. Stronger than mine, obviously."

Don't I know that? Allessio already showed me his bear-like personality. Sometimes he's sweet as honey, but sometimes he's also like an angry grizzly bear. "Umm..."

"My husband is not usually like this, though, but he's sulking. He's at that age where he's mostly grumpy." She winked at me. "If you don't want to live a life of chronic headaches, you should run away."

I opened my mouth to speak, but the two men beat me to it.

"Mamma!"

"Cara!"

Ignoring them, Amaris tipped her head towards Fierro, who's just quietly stuffing his face with food. "Be like Fierro. He knows how to appreciate the food in front of him, and he's a sweetheart who even brought me flowers."

Fierro did give her flowers. It was in the trunk, so even Allessio didn't know he brought one with him that we were all surprised when the he appeared beside us, holding a bouquet of flowers.

"I gave you a garden, cara," Ezio Cascella reminded her.

"I'm paying people handsomely to send you flowers once a week, mamma."

She just rolled her eyes at them. It seemed like if there was one person who wasn't intimidated by the two Cascella men, it was Amaris.

"Fierro also doesn't glare at beautiful women for no reason at all. Right, Fierro?"

Fierro finished the contents of his plate, then downed the remaining drink in his glass before turning to the lady with a smile. "Sì, signora Cascella." He stood up, ignoring the two men glaring at him. "If you would excuse me, I have to make a call."

When the older woman nodded, Fierro quickly made his escape. I'm jealous. No wonder he's been eating non-stop. He must have predicted this so he planned to escape early.

"Go try the Pollo alla Cacciatora. That's my wife's specialty," Ezio Cascella said, looking at me.

I quickly grabbed the food he's pointing. At that moment, I would have eaten a rock if he told me to.

"And I apologize if I scared you. My son doesn't bring women here, so we're a bit surprised." He shot Allessio a glare. "He doesn't even stop by to visit us. Imagine our surprise when he told us he'd come for dinner, bringing a woman who a scum senator met before his own parents."

So, he wasn't annoyed at me. He was annoyed at his own son. If there was a competition for giving deadly glares, those two might have already won.

Allessio sighed. "I told you I was busy."

"You had a party," his father reminded him.

"That's for Fierro's birthday and I invited you but you were out of town with mamma."

"You could have visited us when we came back or even before that party." Ezio glanced in my direction before turning his attention back to his son. "From what I found out, she's been here for more than a month. That's plenty of time to introduce her to us."

"I couldn't do that."

The older man's face went tight. "Are you ashamed of us?"

My eyes continue to shift from father to son when Amaris patted my gently. She pushed a plate of food towards me and mouthed, "Eat". She doesn't look a bit alarm at the two, as if she's used to it already.

"Papa, why would you think that? Of course I'm not ashamed. We're both in this life, and Haven is aware."

"Then why are we just meeting her now?" His face looks like he ate something bitter. "Enrico Bellini met her first? That asshole is a king of all assholes that I won't even introduce my fish to him, figlio."

Allessio massaged his temple. "You don't have a fish."

"Allessio Cascella." The older man's warning was clear in his tone.

The man next to me squeezed my hand as if apologizing, but I just gave him a small smile. At first, I was admittedly scared. But now, I'm finding them a bit entertaining—the way Amaris is also just watching them with a shake of her head. They're really the best example of father and son. They're both stubborn.

"I was trying to stay away from her, Papa. That's why I didn't bring her here."

The older Cascella's forehead knotted. "Why would you do a fool thing like that?"

"For one, she's too young for me."

Amaris scoffed and turned to me. "How old are you, dear, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm..." I looked at the men before answering her. "I'm turning twenty."

"Allessio's father is fifteen years older than me. I was a little older than you when we became together, but I first fell in love with him when I was sixteen." She scoop more food on my plate. "Age is nothing but a number. The mind always sees everything. Most of the time, it over complicates things. But the heart doesn't recognize numbers, nor does it care. Its sole responsibility is to beat loudly so it could be heard by the other person it's yearning for."

I finally thought of another thing that radiates from her: wisdom. She has years of loving a Cascella and being loved by one.

She held my eyes and smiled. "The Cascella men might be stubborn, but they're no match for us. That's why we're both here. They simply couldn't resist."

And to that, not even the frightening Cascella men could say anything. It seemed to me that it was their way to acknowledge the truth of her words.

But is it possible? The lust I couldn't deny. But the involvement of Allessio's heart? Could it really be true?