"My padre's assistant is a forty something, half bald gay man who lives with three cats and he keeps hitting on me!"

I peeked over my laptop and saw capo panting heavily at my doorstep.

"Good evening to you too." I muttered and my eyes went back to the screen.

"And I hate it!"

"And here I was thinking that a knock on my door would actually give me the impression that my privacy would no longer be mine."

"He does it in front of everybody!"

I nodded very slowly. "Right. And I am supposed to arrange a romantic candlelight dinner date for you guys."

"And I cannot fire him or kill him!"

"Friday night sounds good?"

"Adrian finds it funny!"

"Eight o'clock it is."

"My padre knows!"

"Pizza for dinner date? No, no. That's so not your type. I might have to ask our chef about this." I muttered to myself.

"And he doesn't do anything about it!"

"Aha!" I exclaimed and paused the video I was watching. "A traditional Italian cuisine is perfect with slow music and fairy lights. Maybe you guys will hold hands at first then he will ask you for a dance and you'll blush. He'll try to persuade you and you finally say yes. He'll grab your waist and you'll blush again as you guys start dancing. You'll avoid his lovely eyes, but then he will grab your chin and ask if everything is all right then you will blush again because that's the only thing you know. Maybe you guys would also go to corner and do some lip locking with each other and get caught by your dear old daddy himself. Maybe then he might fire your boyfriend of one night!"

He frowned. "I do not get it. I refuse to go out with him because I am straight."

"And I am in middle of a class!" I snapped. "At least have some sense to knock before you start pouring out your frustration of being the centre of attraction to a man because guess what, capo? You are hot. There, I said it again and it is not surprising if you are attracting a man or a woman, but right now you are attracting my growing anger for you! Kindly be patient for another..." I checked the time, "Fourteen minutes and two seconds then we shall talk about your problem. Till then please do make yourself comfortable."

Silently, Leonardo Agostini took a seat on a chair kept in the corner and watched me concentrating on the lady speaking on the screen and writing notes for the next fourteen minutes and two seconds. When the class was finally over, he broke the silence by speaking first.

"I did not see him dropping his boxers for me." He said calmly.

"Pardon?" What is he talking about?

"I said, I did not see him dropping his boxers for me."

"I did hear you, but why would he do that?"

He cocked his head slightly. "Because women do that."

My eyes diluted in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"I give one look to women and they drop their panties for me."

My lips twisted downwards. "I am a woman and I don't see my panties dropping for you."

"Then you are not wearing any." He smirked.

My eyes grew big. I think I just overfilled his already overfilled ego.

I gave him a tight lipped smile. "That's very sweet of you, Leonardo. What are we talking about again?"

He grinned. "Panties."

"No." His face fell. "We were not talking about that. We were talking about you barging into my room as if you own this place."

"But I will be owning this place. This is my ancestral home. Built by my bisnonno when he took over the famiglia at the age of sixteen." He said with pride laced in his voice.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. "That doesn't mean you will barge into someone's room anytime you want. There are boundaries, limits and privacy which you do not value, that also includes your brother."

His eyes diluted as he folded his arms. "I still do not understand what the problem is."

"Of course you won't understand because you don't know how to understand." I deadpanned. "Your brother keeps breaking the lock as if it is a twig and you keep breaking the door as if it is not a big deal."

"I do no—oh!" He followed my gaze and saw the door half open, literally dangling from a single hinge. "Did I just do that?"

I gave him a stink eye. "No. My dead cat did that."

"What a strong gatto."

"This is a serious issue, capo, and I would like to have your full attention. No stupid remarks intended." He nodded slowly. "You should always knock before you enter someone else's room and not break the door, are we clear?"

"Crystal." He grinned. "As long as you are not in the shower."

I am not going to ask him about that.

"May I know your actual reason for visiting my room, signore Agostini?" I asked formally as I went through my notes.

"Are you free in the first weekend of next month, signorina Jones?"

I frowned and closed my notebook. "First weekend of next month? What an odd thing to ask me, signore Agostini."

He groaned in frustration and massaged his temples. "Just say yes or no."

"No."

"No?"

"No." I confirmed. "In fact, I haven't been free ever since I woke up here."

He sighed loudly. "I meant work wise. Are you free that day?"

"No."

"No?"

"No." I confirmed again. "In fact, I just love doing my housekeeping duties during weekends so much that I don't even get paid for it and I was actually taken away from my family at a mere age of seventeen only to do these duties in a foreign country."

"Be serious, will you?"

I shot him a glare. "You think I am not serious?"

He got up from the chair and sat on the bed, in front of me. "You are, but try to understand my point here."

I closed my eyes and sighed in exhaustion. "Right. Of course. What is it?"

He scratched the nape of his neck. "Are you free that day?"

"I get a day off once in two weeks." I revealed, "And I usually spend my time sleeping, eating and cutting the bars of my poor window."

He muttered something Italian under his breath, probably remembering the beautiful pain he must have received when I landed on him while I was remembering the pain he then inflicted upon me.

Oh! Those were the days...

"And I don't think I'm going to get the whole weekend off after what I did a few days ago." I added.

He raised his eyebrow. "What did you do?"

"It's a long story." I laughed it off. "Why do you ask this?"

"I am planning to take you out. Show you the city of Trento."

All that giddiness and whatsoever I was feeling for him washed down the drain and the unbearable ache in my heart which I had been trying to keep away, surfaced.

"What did you say?" I whispered in disbelief.

He chuckled, unaware of my growing anger. "Now I think you are the one who has got some wax in her ears. I said I am planning to show you the city."

I pointed to my broken bedroom door, my face void of any emotion. "Get out."

His expression changed. "Mi scusi?"

I got up from my bed as an effort to control the bubbling anger inside me. "You heard me."

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked curiously as he got up from the bed too.

"Oh believe me, capo. You said everything wrong." I whispered hoarsely. "So I want you to leave."

"What did I do?" He asked, confused. "Is this about my plans?"

"This is about everything. You still do not understand the meaning of boundaries and limits!" I whisper yelled, glaring at him. "You can't just decide to take me out of this mansion only because you feel like it. You can't do that. The last time I stepped out of this place, I was tricked, I was a runaway and dead to my loved ones!"

"I said I am sorry, didn't I?" He gritted.

"I am not finished, Agostini!" I shouted which made him shut up. "I never asked any of it, you hear me? I never asked for that to happen and I certainly never asked for any of this." I motioned my hand to the room we were in, "It is all you and I am reminding you that. I don't even know what this is." I motioned my hand between us and saw his expression turn into something unreadable, "But whatever this is, it is something and there is a margin in it too. You need to understand that. You cannot simply decide to take me out and show me the city I have been trapped in for all these years. Even though I hate those shitty rules of lies, I am entitled to follow them till some extent. You might be some sort of boss with loads of power or whatever that shit is, at least try to think rationally when it comes to me and don't say stuff like these."

I was panting heavily by the time I finished my little speech and waited for him to say the words I am unbelievably expecting him to say.

Three.

Two.

One.

"You really do talk a lot." The Agostini son murmured in amusement and shook his head.

I rolled my eyes and huffed in annoyance. "And you really need to get somebody to fix my door. You broke it under two kicks."

"I will."

"And?"

"My little girl is scared." He cooed.

My eyes narrowed to slits. "First, I am not yours. I do not belong to anybody. I never did. Second, I am not little and lastly, I am not scared. I am just telling you to keep it low key, under the radar and especially among our close acquaintances. I don't want to raise any suspicions or let anybody think that...that..."

He smirked. "That we are doing some tongue wrestling under the stars and we go after each other's neck under the sun?"

I covered my face in embarrassment. As serious as I am trying to be here, Leonardo Agostini is trying to be the exact opposite of it. Tongue wrestling? He could have come up with something more better than that.

"Exactly my point, August-mini. You took the words out of my mouth. Now will you let me finish?"

"Do continue." He said with a smug look on his face.

I heaved another sigh. "I don't want to raise any suspicions about anything that is related to me and you. Your stupid plan of taking me to the city happens to be very suspicious and I refuse to go out with you. I refuse to be the centre of attention and I especially do not want to attract the attention of your dear old daddy. This is the part where we are now talking about margins and boundaries and limits which is something you don't understand because you can lead your life just the way you want it, unlike me who has no certainty over her future and her present. Are we clear?"

He scratched his chin, humming in approval. "Boundaries and limits, you say?"

"Yes." I mentally patted myself for finally getting this point clear to him.

"So you are telling me that I am not allowed to cross it?"

"Exactly. I am glad that we have finally come to an understanding for the first time." I smiled proudly.

"Not crossing any boundaries. I definitely understood that." He grinned in a sardonic way and I didn't understand why he was behaving like that.

I swear if he does something which I won't like at all, I will go batshit crazy on him and probably deprive him of 'reading' at night.

"Is there anything else?" I asked.

"No." He answered. "I will send somebody for the door and I will knock next time. Just like an obedient man I am."

"And send this message to Adrian." I added with a huge fake smile on my face.

"Good."

"Good."

And yet he was standing here like a statue.

"This is the part where you take your leave." I motioned him to leave.

He blinked rapidly. "Right, of course. Leave."

Then he began walking towards my broken door.

Something in me was screaming at me to stop him, but why should I? I don't need his presence anymore. I don't have to spend time with him anymore. Besides, he said it himself, we go after each other's neck under the sun and do tongue wrestling under the stars. Nothing else. It was plain simple truth which we both knew and he was the first one who spoke it out aloud.

I bit my lower lip when another thought surfaced in my mind.

How long will it be when he suddenly decides that he doesn't want anything which includes me would return back to the monster he was months ago?

And I am actually scared about that.

With a heavy heart, I watched him walk out of my room. I started arranging my notes as an effort to remove that strange pang in my chest and that screaming in my head to stop him.

Suddenly, I heard a knock. I turned around and much to my surprise, I saw Leonardo standing on my doorstep again.

"Yes?"

"Adrian..." He cleared his throat and muttered something in Italian under his breath, "Adrian told me that you were having...uh...well, umm..." His eyes went to the notes on my bed, "...umm, doubts? Questions regarding topics you are having trouble in understanding?"

A small, genuine smile appeared on my face as all my previous insecurities and questions about everything happening between us flew straight out of the window.

I never told Adrian anything like that.

"Y-Yeah, I do." Everything in me started somersaulting as he entered my room again.

"If that's the case, I was thinking if I could help... regarding the topics, if you want. I do have a degree."

I picked up my notes. "You–You want to help me?"

"Si." He gulped.

"Aren't you busy or something?" I blurted and mentally cursed at myself when I saw a frown on his face, "I-I mean, I don't have any problems but I don't want you to waste your tim—"

"I'm free." He interrupted me, "For an hour or two. We can start right now."

My breath hitched. "R-Right now? Right here?"

He shrugged. "I did say and I quote, 'if you want'."

"Well, um, then we can!" I chuckled and sat on the bed, my tight grip crushing the notes in nervousness.

"Good." He hummed and looked around, "Where do I sit? On the chair?"

"Beside me." I answered quickly and bit my tongue to stop myself from speaking further.

I watched him walk over my bed, remove his shoes, pull up the sleeves of his very usual white shirt then I felt a dip on the far corner of my bed.

"Closer." I said boldly.

He shifted towards me yet he was not quite reachable and suddenly, I wanted to punch my super fluffy queen size bed for being like this.

"More closer."

He shot me a look and shifted more closer to me till our arms brushed against each other.

"Perfect." I grinned. "Don't worry, I won't bite."

"You are enjoying this, aren't you?" He hissed and started playing with a loose strand of my tied up hair.

"Very much so." I giggled and opened my laptop.

He scowled. "Then I suggest that you better start asking your doubts or else I won't hesitate to leave."

Said the man who openly gave me the signal that he wants to spend some time with me. I really think that this playing dumb game is getting more interesting than before.

I tapped my chin, pretending to think. "Do you think watching cute kitty videos in YouTube would help us pass some time?"

"That is a very silly doubt, little girl. Next."

"Hmm, what were you doing around the staff quarters that day?"

"I believe I have already cleared that doubt. Next."

"Is it true that you have only one..." My eyes travelled to his do-not-kick-me-there region. I don't exactly know what it is and why is it such a huge matter, but the I had to confirm the rumours which had been spoken about him.

And believe me, there are lots of it.

I was going to make sure that he cleared each and every one of it.

"I do not!" He snapped, his neck had turned into a very bright shade of red and was spreading above. "This is out of topic. Next."

I spent the next hour or two asking him anything and everything I could ever ask. Some were rumours which he kept denying, some were pure nonsense I made up on the spot, some were actually related to the topics I did not understand during my class and some were a bit personal; his likes, dislikes, first kill, first drink, college experiences and so on.

Not surprisingly, Leonardo was also doing the same.

At the end of the day, I was laughing at myself. Who am I to talk about boundaries and margins?

I was the one who was breaking everything, scratch that, I had already broken it at the very beginning and I didn't even realise that Leonardo is now trying to break it too, only to be with me.

But after breaking things, there is always a price to be paid for repairing everything.

And to be honest, I was scared of that.

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