The sun shone brightly in the sky, filling the world with life and warmth. The brightness of the sun peeked into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows, letting the people inside know that another new day had begun.
The soft glow of sunlight fell over Isabella's eyes, making her frown. She tried to move to avoid the sunlight, but the numbness and stiffness in her body made her stop with a wince.
She frowned in confusion when she felt a solid, cold thing beneath her instead of a soft mattress. She could feel that she was not lying; instead, she was half sitting and also lying?
But why was she sleeping like that? Her confusion deepened, and she slowly opened her eyes. She squeezed her eyes as the brightness of the sun shone in her eyes.
She sat up and groaned at the pain in her neck and back. The pain in her body made her wonder whether she was really nineteen years old or a seventy-year-old grandma.
The fogginess in her mind was hiding some memories from her, making her more confused. She looked around sleepily with her tousled hair to find herself in the living room. She wondered why she was sleeping there in this bad posture instead of on her soft, warm mattress.
She sat there for a while, staring at nothingness, and tried to recall the events of the previous day. As she was one by one playing the events of yesterday, the fogginess in her mind was slowly getting clear, and her eyes fell on the blanket over her.
She stared at the blanket for a few seconds in confusion. The blanket wasn't supposed to be over her. She remembered placing it over someone else. Yeah, she placed it over the mysterious man.
The sleepiness finally disappeared from her mind, and all her hidden memories came to light. She recalled the mysterious man. He was injured. She brought him into her home. He was at her home.
She hurriedly looked at the couch to find it empty, making her frown. Why was the couch empty? Where was he? When did he wake up? Where did he go? Did he go to the bathroom? What if his wound started to bleed again?
Many thoughts ran through her mind at his absence on the couch. She quickly stood up and, worriedly, went to her room in search of him.
She stood in front of the bathroom and knocked on the door softly while asking,
"Are you inside?"
Isabella waited for a few seconds for an answer, but instead of an answer, her question was greeted by silence. She thought maybe he hadn't heard her, so she knocked loudly this time but got the same response. Isabella grew impatient and knocked again while trying to hear any kind of noise from the inside, but she didn't hear anything.
Isabella frowned at the odd silence and wondered if he was really inside. In the end, she decided to check by entering the bathroom. She twisted the doorknob and stepped inside the bathroom cautiously, only to be welcomed by no one. She stood in the empty bathroom, wondering where he was if he wasn't there.
She pondered where he could be and, in the end, decided to search for him in her apartment. She went back to her room and started to look for him in her apartment.
After a while, she stood in the empty living room without any trace of him. She searched every nook and cranny of her apartment, but she didn't find any trace of him.
It was like she had never brought him into her house. It was like he never existed. But he did exist. That only meant one thing: that he left.
"Did he leave without telling me?" Isabella murmured to herself in astonishment.
"How could he leave without saying anything?"
The feeling of annoyance slowly crept into Isabella, making her huff in anger. The fact that he left without saying a parting word to the person who saved him without any care for danger upset her. It was bothering her more than it should have.
Isabella stood there for a moment in complete annoyance before sighing in defeat. Now that he had left, she couldn't do anything other than let it go. She took a deep breath and released it to control her emotions.
"Forget it. I shouldn't care about a stranger like that. It doesn't matter whether he said something to me or not," she muttered, still thinking about him.
Isabella's stomach rumbled in hunger, putting a stop to her thoughts. She put her lips in thin lines and nodded at herself before saying,
"Yeah, forget about him and concentrate on my life. Let's freshen up and eat, or I will die from hunger."
Isabella, without wasting any more time on her thoughts, rushed into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and stepped into the shower. The warm water touched her skin, making her relax. As she relaxed her body, her mind slowly went back to him.
She wondered how his wound was now. She wondered if he was fine now. What if his wound had worsened?
Isabella smacked her head to make her come to her senses. She shouldn't be worrying about him. She shouldn't, but she couldn't help worrying about him.
The fact that she was more worried about him than angry annoyed her. And that also made her angry at herself for still caring about him. A rude, ungrateful stranger. She closed her eyes and whispered,
"Stop worrying about him. He is completely fine; that's why he left. You wanted to save him, and you succeeded in doing that. Now forget about him. He is a stranger you don't know and won't meet again."
Completely shutting off her thoughts about him, Isabella stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her.
She went to her walk-in wardrobe, dried herself, and put on a pair of black short pants and a black hoodie.
As it was the weekend, Isabella was free from her classes. She decided to enjoy herself today, and before that, she needed to make herself a simple breakfast as her stomach was giving her death threats.
She quickly made her breakfast and chose to enjoy it while watching the news. She grabbed her breakfast and went to her living room. She turned on the TV and made herself comfortable on the couch.
The moment she sat there, the scent of him hit Isabella's nostrils as it still lingered on the couch. The scent of him refreshed her mind and made her feel oddly safe.
The feelings his scent brought made Isabella perplexed. But before she could dwell on it, her eyes fell on the paper under her notebook.
She extended her hand to grab the paper. As she grabbed the paper and opened it, her eyes fell on the TV screen. In a second, her eyes widened when she saw the mysterious man she saved on the TV.
Isabella stared at the TV, frozen in shock. The image of the mysterious man was not what shocked her, but the news about him did.
The young reporter was talking about the success of the Costa Organization and the CEO of that company, Nicholas Costa, the youngest trillionaire in history.
Isabella's heart stopped beating as the reporter continued about how Nicholas Costa was not only the youngest trillionaire but also the ruler of the Costa empire. He was the mafia king, the most powerful man who ruled Italy.
"The mysterious man is the mafia king," Isabella whispered in fear.
Isabella heard about the mafia king, but she never saw him. She heard how brutal he was. He was a man without any tears. He was a man who was called the devil. Numerous cruel rumors surrounded him, but still people respected and honored him.
Terror flooded inside her, and her breath got stuck in her throat. She took the mafia king into her house. She took the world's most dangerous man into her house. She brought danger home by herself. She could have died.
But the man she met was far from the man she heard about. He wasn't like the rumors at all. But it all could be just a facade.
Isabella didn't regret saving him at all, but she was afraid. He could have killed her. He could have if he wanted, but he didn't. Maybe it was because she saved him.
Whatever the reason was, it didn't matter. She was glad that she was alive. The anger she had towards him for leaving vanished and was replaced with relief. She was relieved that he left her without doing any harm to her.
Isabella released a breath of relief and looked at the note in her hand. She frowned as she wondered what that note was about and started reading.
"La Mia Luna, first off, let me express my gratitude to you for saving me. And now let me give you a lesson, Mia Luna.
Bringing a stranger into your home wasn't the smartest move, sweetheart. You shouldn't have done that. You don't know what your little bravery did to me.
I'm pleased that I'm the first person you took home, but I should be last too. You should never bring anyone else into your home, no matter what, or it wouldn't be pleasant.
You have become my desire and my need. I want to have you, but I'm leaving you as a reward for saving me.
Take it as advice, sweetheart; don't approach me again. Because if we meet again, I will have you. I will shackle you with me.
The next time I see you, you will be mine. Whether you like it or not, you will be all mine, La Mia Luna.
Nicholas Costa."
Isabella's heart trembled with fear, and the paper slipped from her hand. As the content of the note slowly settled into her mind, even her soul trembled with fear.
She wondered what she had done. She did save him, but she ended up risking her life. She ended up catching the eye of the devil.
What should she do now? As panic was rising in her, she closed her eyes to calm herself down and tried to find a way. Isabella finally found a way, as she remembered the note.
He said he let her go. That means it was the end. He said if they met again, he would have her. Then everything would be fine if she didn't approach him. She just needed to never meet him.
"Yeah, I will stay away from his sight and never meet him. Then I will be safe." Isabella whispered, sighing in relief.
Isabella promised herself to never approach him again. And knowing the world difference between them, she was sure that they would never meet again.
But in all those thoughts, she forgot that we were the slaves of fate. And life never went the way we plan.
She didn't know at that time that what she thought was the end was actually just the beginning.