A throbbing pain pulled him out of a deep slumber. His hazy mind was slowly trying to start to work again. But it was taking time, and his body was hurting. He didn't open his eyes; instead, he tried to remember the reason for the pain.
Why was he feeling pain? How did he get hurt? When and how did he fall into such a deep sleep? For a person with insomnia, falling into a deep slumber like this was very odd. What actually happened?
When he was pondering all those things, his mind finally got free from the haziness. All the events from earlier rushed into his mind, making him shoot open his eyes with alertness.
The harsh light blurred his vision, causing him to close his eyes and grimace. Where was he? His memories were still blurry, making him confused.
He took in a deep breath and tried to clear his vision before slowly peeling his eyes open again and meeting a white ceiling. He tried to abruptly sit up in caution of his surroundings but instantly groaned when a stinging pain shot into his abdomen. All the memories of his click, and he remembered that he was in an apartment.
He, with a sigh, lay back on the couch and stared at the white ceiling for quite a few minutes, waiting for his strength to come back to his body. He was feeling better and more awake than before. And he could also feel the fatigue slowly leaving his body.
When he was sure that he could now move without any difficulty, he, with the help of the couch, sat up slowly. When he finally sat up, his eyes fell on the person sleeping near him.
Although the floor was cold, she was lying there. She leaned against the couch and rested her head on her arm on top of the couch.
Relief rushed into him as he saw Isabella. And all the wariness he had disappeared. He found it shocking how easily he let his guard down around her instead of keeping it up.
He found it funny how his emotions changed towards her so dramatically in a few hours. Emotions, he said. This was the first time in his life that he felt something called emotion.
He was shocked at how he trusted her, a woman he met a few hours ago. And how he was so intrigued by her.
She was the first person who approached him without any selfish motives. She was the first person to help him without asking or expecting anything in return. He never thought he would find a woman like her in this greedy and selfish world.
He saw worry in her beautiful blue eyes for him. For him, who was a complete stranger to her. And immense joy filled his heart at the knowledge that he was the first and only one. The only owner of her worries.
A few strands of black hair fell on her face, making his hand twitch at the urge to touch them. Giving in to his urge, he extended his hand, brushed her hair from her face, and tugged it behind her ear.
He should have pulled his hand back, but instead of doing that, he slid it on her soft cheek. The warmth of her made his hand trickle and his stone heartbeat for the first time. He wanted more of her warmth.
So, he gently stroked her soft flesh but quickly pulled back his hand when she stirred. She rustled for a few seconds, then fell back asleep.
He sighed and cursed himself for what he had just done. How could he do that? Why did he do that? He stared at her with his heart still beating rapidly.
He couldn't understand the feeling he was having. He couldn't understand what his feelings were toward her. And in the hope of understanding it, he started to wonder about it.
There was something about her that made him drawn toward her. Something about her made him enchanted by her. He had never seen someone this pure, kind, and innocent, yet strong. Someone with so many emotions.
Maybe that's why he was so captivated by her. She was like an angel. A pure angel. An angel that was bound to be destroyed by the devil.
And he was the devil who wanted this angel. He was attracted to her. He felt attached to her. He wanted her.
"I like her," he murmured softly.
His eyes widened as his feelings finally got the name. He fell for her. No matter how absurd it was, it was true. He liked her.
He ran his hand through his hair, pondering how it came to that. How did he fall into this? How did everything lead to this? And how every situation unfolded.
Everything started at the Star Club. It was a fine club in the light, but in the shadow, all the dirty and underworld work was done there. It was owned by one of his close friends.
And like always, he was at the Star Club, sealing yet another deal with a party that would be more beneficial for him than the other party. When his work was done there, he made his way out of there with his guards. As he got some distance from the club, the words of his guard made him alert.
"We have got people behind us," his trusted guard, Max, said in alert.
He looked back to see that some cars were trailing him. He ordered his guards to shake them off since they seemed to outnumber him, but they failed to do that, and instead, they got surrounded by the enemy's cars.
His guard was about to call for backup, but one of the assassins' cars crashed into the side of his car, making it lose balance.
His guards instantly reacted by crashing their car back and shooting the tire of the car before speeding to get rid of them. But he wasn't able to go far because one of the assassins shot the tire of his car, making it scratch on the road and come to a halt.
He cursed under his breath, and without wasting any time, he got out of the car and ran into an alley with his guards trailing and protecting him from behind. The assassins soon caught up with them, leading to gunfights.
He and his guards shot at the assassins while running and took down half of them. Some of his men also died, leaving him with only his four men. Max hurriedly called for backup. Both sides ran out of bullets, and they started to brawl.
While fighting, he got separated from his guards, and one of the assassins followed him. The assassin attacked him unexpectedly, and before he could react, he stabbed his abdomen with a knife.
He groaned in pain and kicked him away from him. In a second, he pulled the knife from him and stabbed the assassin's heart with it. The assassin's body fell to the ground lifelessly.
His movements made him bleed excessively, making his body lose strength. He forcefully dragged his body to his nearest alley and sat there, waiting for his people, knowing they would track him soon. And there he met her. He refused to go to the hospital because it was risky.
This was undoubtedly the work of his uncle. But instead of feeling angry, he felt thankful. Thanks to his uncle, he was able to meet her.
"Thank you, uncle, for making me meet her," he whispered with a smile.
He wanted to make her his. He wanted to learn about emotions from her. He wanted to cage her with him.
The buzzing of his phone forced his thoughts to come to a halt, and he reached out into his pants pocket for his phone.
He took out his phone and saw a text from Max. He stared at Isabella and carefully slid down from the couch. He grabbed the blanket that was on him and gently placed it over her.
He went to the balcony and met with the dark sky, but it wouldn't be long till it filled with colors. He called Max, and before even one ring could end, the call was received.
"Mr. Nicholas, have you woken up?"
"Where are you?" Nicholas asked coldly.
"At the door of the apartment, boss."
"When did you find me?"
"When you were sleeping, boss. We tracked you and hacked the apartment door lock to open it. When we entered, we found you sleeping with your wound treated. That's why we stayed outside, guarding."
"Have you ended all of them and found out who was behind it?"
"Yes, boss. The backup came, and we ended them. And it's your... uncle, boss." Max uttered with a push, and Nicholas closed his eyes as he already knew that.
"Prepare the car. I'm leaving. Also, find out about her," he ordered.
"I already found all the information about her, boss. I will prepare the car." Max replied.
He hummed in satisfaction and hung up the call. Max was smart, had also worked for Nicholas the longest, and knew how to handle things without him ordering. That was why he was still with him.
Nicholas took a deep breath before going inside. The call from Max was a reality check. A realization of how dangerous his world was.
He sat in front of Isabella and stared at her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her beautiful blue eyes match the sky, and many emotions dance in them. Ebony's long, wavy hair smoothly fell into her waist. And soft, creamy skin that felt heavenly to touch. He wanted to touch it again.
The more he stayed with her, the more his desire to take her with him and shackle her in his house increased.
But he couldn't do that. He couldn't put her life in danger. He needed to leave. He needed to leave before his attraction to her became an obsession. And if that happens, even he wouldn't be able to stop him from having her.
He stood up and wore his clothes. He took the notebook from the table and wrote a note for her before tearing the page, folding it, and leaving it on the table. He looked at her and whispered before leaving,
"Addio, Angelo Mio."
He sat in the car, and Max handed him a tablet that contained all the information about Isabella before starting to drive.
"Isabella Russo," Nicholas whispered as he was reading the information about her.
As he was learning about her, he was having the urge to return and take her with him, but he stopped himself.
He could have her if he wanted, but he didn't. He left her as a reward for saving him. But this was the only chance he gave her. He protected her from his demon.
The demon inside of him wanted to come out at the desire of wanting her, but he caged it to protect her.
But if she approached him again, he wouldn't be able to save her from his demon. He would have her at all costs. He would make her his. Even by shackling her to him, he would have her. And deep down, he wished for her to approach him again.
Nicholai stared at her image on the screen and promised darkly.
"I let you go this time to protect you and as a reward for saving me, but if we meet again, I will devour you. I will seal your fate and soul with mine. You will be mine."