Chapter Dedication: @cupp_a_coffee
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𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀

As we walked down the ward, our hands gently brushed against each other since we were walking so close, raising my heart rate. I brought my hand to my other, clasping them together as I kept my head straight, trying to ignore the previous tingles our contact had given me.

Marco was standing outside the door with another buff guy who appeared to be guarding the hospital room.

He nodded in respect to Leonardo and I before divulging into the details. "Her parents have just went to the station to sort some things out."

"How's her condition?" Leonardo asked, his voice serious and strong. Marco shook his head with a knowing look on his face. "Not great. The surgery went well though, it's just a question of whether or not she'll wake up."

I nervously entered the room after Leonardo once Marco had pushed the door open.

Daphne was laying unconscious on the hospital bed and she looked barely recognisable. If she appeared that beaten up after surgery, I wondered how much worse it was when she was found. Her face was covered in layers of various cuts and dark bruises that seemed to have been cleaned of all blood that she was most likely found with. Her full lips and cheeks were swollen, red splotches all around them. Her throat caught my attention in particular; it was clear she had been struggling against strangulation judged on the bluish, purple marks a thick rope must have left her after the attack.

A white bandage wrapped around the top of her head, a sign of the fact that she had undergone surgery and there were more bandages on her forehead, small patches of light blood started to stain the fresh material.

Her room was small yet filled with a variety of flowers and teddy bears as though she wasn't alive. She lay in a hospital dress with a small yellow blanket covering her body, hiding away the rest of her injuries.

I placed my hand against the side of the bed, exhaling slowly as I took in her state. At least she was no longer in a critical condition, but she looked far away from regaining consciousness which meant her story could not yet be told.

"...looking through the cameras, not much yet though." Marco was speaking with Leonardo behind me. I questioned how she even ended up in the parking lot, why she hadn't been kidnapped, how she was still alive.

It was hard staring at such a young girl who's life had been violently disrupted. Her youth was no longer visible under all of the bruises that consumed her face. She was so swollen, it was difficult to see her usual look.

"...not much was found on her, some results came in and. . ."

The machine was beeping quietly beside me, indicating that she was still alive, breathing through all those tubes keeping her going.

"Daphne," I whispered quietly, suddenly being reminded of my sister. It could've been her, their age wasn't too far apart. "I will find the fucker that did this to you and rip them apart."

"Focus on healing and don't be afraid. They will never touch you again."

The sound of a familiar, jovial voice broke me away from my thoughts. "How could this happen? Her upcoming performance was supposed to be next week! Poor angel!" I turned, surprised to see Giovanni himself standing in the doorway. He was wearing a long, brown coat over his usual, vintage suit. The multimillionaire businessman himself had come just to visit Daphne, wealthy men like him would usually send some flowers, a card and yet Giovanni, who must have taken Daphne as one of his special ballerinas, was there.

Marco moved so he could enter, but Leo's eyes were dark and his large arms were folded tightly as he took in Giovanni's presence, his face unfriendly as usual.

"Mr Adami," I softly greeted, his dark eyes glistening as they made contact with mine. He was quite a tall man and as he made his way over, he gave me a sympathetic smile, his weary cheeks rising. I took his hug, his long arms wrapped around my waist while his warm body pressed against me. Giovanni was a large yet muscular man. He hugged me quite tightly, patting my back as he sighed in distraught. The man looked as if he was about to cry.

"Mia cara, you are here? How could someone do such an evil thing?" He perplexed, as I pulled away, nodding in agreement. I gently let go of Daphne's hand, some of her fingers were bandaged as I looked over the innocent girl. "I know. . .what a psychopath," I replied quietly, feeling disheartened for the girl.

"You must protect yourself, my dear one. You are our star ballerina, I can arrange for some guards-"

I interrupted politely, "no, no, it's alright." I glanced over at Leonardo he was burning a whole into Giovanni's back with an intense glare. "I'm safe, please don't worry."

Giovanni looked over at Leonardo, his eyes intent, and nodded, "your fiancé?" I smiled a little in agreement as Leo stood right behind me.

Giovanni's eyes glistened, an indecipherable look in them. "Leonardo Armani. . .quite famous, aren't you?" I questioned how much Giovanni knew about Leo and what Leo actually did for work.

"Apparently she was on her way back your place. Some kind of meeting?" Leonardo interrogated, his voice deep. He cut straight to the chase, ignoring Giovanni. His hand rested on my hip initially, then his muscular arm wrapped around slowly and holding me tight against his body.

"It's strange that she went alone to your house." Feeling a little tense, I briefly looked at him, biting my bottom lip, wondering where he was going with it. I had been to Giovanni's house many times with other dancers for events, meetings and discussions. It wasn't new to hear that.

Giovanni glanced between the two of us, a small, deep laugh of surprise coming from him. "Yes, that is correct. Why?" He asked, his thick eyebrows narrowing at Leonardo, as he looked displeased with Leonardo's cold tone. "Do you think that I have something to do with this?"

Leonardo merely stared at him, a piercing look in his eyes as his lips tightened and his muscles grew tense. The uneasiness between the two of them grew quickly, I could sense the tension. I hadn't realised that Leonardo had found Giovanni to be suspicious - he had misjudged him in my eyes. There was no innate drive in Giovanni to do such a thing; he was a benevolent man who had been a great rock for me in the industry.

"Is it raining outside?" I asked awkwardly as I noticed how damp Giovanni's coat was, breaking the painful silence of the two men glaring at each other. Giovanni's eyes softened as he looked back at me with a small smile, ignoring Leonardo's glower. "Yes, my lovely, make sure you wear something warm when you leave." I smiled at him when all of a sudden, the beeping on the machine intensified, Daphne's body shaking abruptly as her fingers tightened around mine.

I gasped as Marco left the room to find a doctor, my eyes widening at the unexpected state of the girl who was vividly trembling on the bed, unconscious but looking distressed.

"Oh, dear, oh dear!" Giovanni repeated as I tried to understand what the hell was going on. There was a groaning sound coming from her, suppressed and restrained by the tubes blocking her mouth.

We moved aside as soon as the doctors rushed in and the nurses ushered us out the room. My hand was over my mouth as I stared inside the room from the window, the bed surrounded by doctors trying to calm Daphne.

"What do you think triggered her response?" I pondered as we walked slowly, side by side, towards the hospital exit. We had been told to leave after the sudden change in Daphne's state. Two worried stricken people rushed by us, heading up to the ward where Daphne was staying. It was a man and woman, their faces filled with distraught as they scurried past us. I knew instantly that they were her parents.

"Maybe there was too many people in the room," I answered my own question, wrapping my arms around myself as we walked. Leonardo was especially quiet since we had left the hospital room. I glanced over at him and he seemed to be in deep thought, barely taking in his surroundings. He probably hadn't even heard what I said.

"Leonardo, what was with the interrogation of Giovanni?" At the sound of his name, he looked over at me momentarily. "I was simply asking him a question. He jumped to conclusions." I rolled my eyes at his response. Mr Adami had left earlier, I was glad he wasn't with us or he would have been innocently subjected to another round of questioning by Leo.

Leonardo stopped walking and faced me, his face serious as he adamantly said, "you can't not consider people as suspects just because they treat you well-"

"So am I supposed to see everyone as potential stalkers? Do you want me to question Iris? Aife? You?"

"Yes," he slightly harshly ordered, his eyebrows narrowing at me as he seemed to get frustrated. "If it means you're questioning me too, then yes. You trust too easily and that's why people are taking fucking advantage of you." I was speechless and didn't have anything to say back to his sharp retort. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, looking exhausted. "Why do you trust people? Humans are the scariest creatures to trust."

"Not everyone is inhumane," I quietly replied as his sharp eyes that flashed with anger for a moment before he stared at me in disbelief. "You saw what she was like in that hospital bed up there. You're wrong; people are callous. The sooner you fucking realise that, the better."

"Leo, I trust the people I love. I'm not delusional in believing everyone is trustworthy but I'm not going to question every single person around me because of this stalker who is trying to mess with my head. Everyone has a reason I shouldn't trust them, even you, but I do anyway."

"You shouldn't trust me, Ria," Leonardo warned in a dark tone that sent shivers down my spine. We were so close to each other, our eyes hostile to one another unlike before. His eyes were so cold that I struggled to maintain eye contact, feeling slightly intimidated. "You don't know when I could ruin you."

He turned away before I could say anything, and left the hospital in the rain. It was dark outside, the rain was bucketing down and a wave of cold air was blowing from the entrance. I watched as he left, my heart pounding as I stared at his retreating figure in confusion and frustration.

Was that it? Was that what he was afraid of?

Ruining me?

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~ Author's Note ~

Sooo, Leonardo and Maria have paid Daphne a visit and it's clear that she has a story needed to be told.

Daphne's sudden change in behaviour is definitely something to take note of. .

As for Leonardo and Maria's disagreement, who was right in that situation? Or who was wrong and why?

Thoughts on this chapter?

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