Chapter 23

Some swearing in this chapter! Just wanted to warn you! I don't want to corrupt any innocent mind! That's just not nice! Anyways. Get ready for a crazy ride!! *Buckles you in to your seat, hands you goggles, tissues, and whispers words of encouragement* XX, Hannah

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CHAPTER 23: Natalie woke gradually. She thought that maybe her mind wouldn't be able to handle waking up all at once and the thoughts that she knew would come with it.

She managed to peel open her eyes, her vision hazy as she blinked away the lasting remnants of the darkness that had curled around her. She looked over and found Giovanni pacing next to the large window, a cell phone to his ear as he growled words in Italian over the phone.

He looked angry.

No, she realized.

Not just angry.

He was furious.

With that thought reality was back and everything came rushing back at her with the force of a tidal wave, pulling at her, drowning her. Her throat ached unbearably as she sat up and her lip trembled so she bit it to stop the quiver.

Giovanni's head snapped to her, his eyes almost wild, animalistic in the state of fury that burned blue in his gaze as she pulled her legs protectively to her chest.

He muttered something into the phone and hung up. He watched her for a moment, his eyes suddenly softening and turning into the warm liquid pools of blue he always stared at her with. She looked away, unable to stand the sight of him softening.

Why would he soften for her?

Why would she be the one to calm him?

All she was is his bought bride and personal incubator, she thought bitterly, her stomach turning.

She heard him approach and her breath hitched as the bed dipped beside her. Soon, his scent surrounded her, pulled at her to fall into his embrace and to melt in Giovanni, to let his arms and passionate kisses take the world away, dull it at the edges and make everything better, but she couldn't allow that right now, no matter how bad she wished that was what she could do.

"Mi amour, are you okay?" he asked and his voice washed over her like silken water flowing over her skin calming her to the point of sleep.

His question snapped her back to reality and she clenched her jaw as she slowly lifted her head to meet his excruciatingly beautiful blue gaze.

"No," she whispered softly and his lips thinned as he stared at her.

"No. I'm not alright. Giovanni, my own father wants me dead. He has taken pictures of me-" she cut off as nausea rolled her stomach with the remembrance that her father had taken pictures of her undressing.

With her few words, Giovanni became angry again. She saw the angry fire come back into his eyes-so fast and so bright she thought his eyes could've been glowing in the dimly lit room. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he growled. She set a hand on his clenched fist and pulled away with the rush of emotion that filled her once their skin touched.

She couldn't have that right now.

"He won't stop, Giovanni. He won't ever stop. He is fucking crazy and what he wants is me and he won't stop until he has me and I mean we aren't even close to finding him! We have no clue where he is." She paused, took in a breath. "Even if we did end up finding him and getting him. What then, Giovanni?" she asked in a scared whisper.

Giovanni met her eyes, his own confused as he frowned. She scooted closer and got onto her knees so she was in front of him, her eyes blazing with a fire that burned brightly within her.

"What then, Giovanni?" she demanded, and then softened her voice. "If we do find him, what then? Are we just going to get married like that? Am I supposed to get pregnant as soon as we go on our honeymoon?! Then when I do have our child, you'll let me go?! Because, I'm no longer of use to you?!" Her voice cracked at the end and she looked up at the ceiling and took in a deep breath as tears stung her eyes.

She looked back at him and saw realization dawn on his handsome face, a face that she had grown to love.

Love, she realized, and wanted to laugh at the irony.

Her lip began to tremble again and a tear fell down her cheek, the tear feeling much warmer than her cold and pale skin.

"I am in love with you..." she whispered slowly as she stared deeply into his eyes.

He froze, his whole body stilling and she didn't believe that a man of his size could become so silent, and so still- so suddenly. His lips parted and his eyes widened with surprise, no, she realized. Not only surprise...horror. He was horrified and she felt pieces of her shatter off and float away painfully as she felt her own heart cracking.

"What?" he croaked in a hoarse whisper and she sobbed in a breath, unable to stop the relentless stream of tears that ran down her face.

She cupped his face in shaking hands and nodded slightly as she leaned forward and brushed her lips across his softly.

"I love you. I love you, Giovanni." She whispered and began peppering kisses across his face, sobbing as she did so, tasting the own saltiness of her tears on her tongue as she made his way back to his lips and teased them apart with her tongue.

"I love you." She sobbed in a whisper against his mouth.

She could feel his muscles bunching, feel him tense as he restrained himself from returning the kiss. He wrenched away from her and off the bed, so fast he almost stumbled and that made the tears fall faster down her cheeks. She had just told him that she had fallen in love with him, that she was IN love with him. He shook his head, slowly at first and then adamantly as his throat worked while he swallowed hard.

"No. You can't!" he shouted and Natalie flinched as she cried.

She straightened her shoulders. "Well. I do! What are you going to do about that Giovanni!? I love you! I love you and only you!" she shouted as anger began to replace the heart aching sadness. She was happy for it and used it, pulled at all of it until she was a fuming, bubbling boil of anger.

She stood, too and stalked to him.

"I love you!" She screamed and hit at his chest.

"I know you feel something for me!!" She said as she pushed at him.

He shook his head. "Natalie... No." he whispered and a sob caught in her throat even as her anger bubbled over.

"You COWARD!!" She shouted and punched at his chest until she was panting.

She pushed herself away from him, unable to hold in her sobs. "Get out." She said in a deadly low whisper and he took a step towards her.

"GET OUT!!!!" She screamed, her voice cracking.

Giovanni's jaw clenched, along with his fists. Finally, he spun away from her and stalked to the door.

"You are foolish for loving me. I'm nothing but a monster. I cannot love you." He said in a cold voice and she sobbed as he closed the door.

She took her head into her hands and sobbed and she let out a scream of frustration. She spun around and took the lamp that was on the small table and threw it across the room so it shattered. She grabbed the pillows from the bed and threw them across the room as she ran to the book shelf and started ripping books out and throwing them.

Finally, her body suddenly felt so drained so tired she felt it deep in her core and she sobbed as she slumped to the wall and fell until she was huddled up on the floor.

She tried to focus on her breathing, but she couldn't because the only sound that she could hear was the shattering pieces of her heart cracking inside of her chest.

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Giovanni walked at a fast pace down the hallways of his house, his body running hot and cold at the same time.

She loved him?

Natalie loved him?

The thought made warmth fill him that was quickly replaced with the thought that nobody could love him and nobody should ever love him. He would only destroy her and he couldn't bear to destroy something so beautiful and so bright.

He was darkness and she would always be the light in anyone's life.

He couldn't dim that light and he felt that if he let himself go with her that he would only end up dimming her light with the darkness that constantly surrounded him. He walked to his office, growling and snarling under his breath as he threw the door open and slammed it behind him.

He stalked over to the mini-bar and grabbed a glass, clenched it in his fist as he filled it with whiskey. He needed to stop thinking and the only way he could do that was with alcohol or killing somebody.

He filled the glass and raised it to his lips before downing it one gulp, enjoying the burn that slid down his throat and into his stomach.

He grit his teeth and filled the glass again and made his way over to his desk.

He took a sip, looking down at all the papers strewn messily across the maple wood of the desk.

In the corner of his desk was a picture of Natalie, the picture that Nicholas had given him when he had first found her. Giovanni hadn't thought much of it when Nicholas had called and had something to talk to him about, but he didn't know that it would change him because as much as he didn't want to admit it, his life did change with Natalie, hell, he was changing because of Natalie. He didn't want anyone to change him.

He had formed ice in his chest and now, with three simple words he felt the ice chipping and thawing away, melting slowly and he was angry that because of a woman all of the armor he had worked so long and so hard to build was fading, chipping, and falling away.

He couldn't let her chip away the rest of his defenses because then he knew he would be a goner. Maybe, he already was.

Could he love her?

Did he?

He banished the thoughts and the small flicker of hope that came. Hope was a stupid thing that was always fucking there to ruin things.

Hope was a FUCKING bitch.

He snarled down at the picture of his love, his mi amour, his Natalie and slammed the glass down on the desk before, with a growl, he swept his arm across the length of his desk. Things shattered and papers floated to the ground as his chest heaved, growls escaping him without him even noticing. Grabbing the glass of alcohol, Giovanni brought it to his lips when his eyes caught on a piece of paper that was laying over the photo of Natalie. THIS would solve his problems, he thought with a sinister chuckle as he picked up the yellow folder.

He flipped it open and saw 'JOHNNY' circled in red in a list of other men.

He stared down at the name with hate, gulping down some more whiskey-feeling the burn help the ice to form in the hollow of his chest again. He pulled his phone from his pocket without even thinking about what he was doing. He hit the dial button, hearing the ring only barely over the roar of his heartbeat in his ear.

A groggy voice answered, but Giovanni didn't bother with casualties.

"Get the location." He said in a low voice.

There was a pause.

"Are you sure, sir?" Nicholas asked.

"I'm fucking sure. GET THE LOCATION and get a jet ready." He growled and hung up.

He downed the rest of his drink and slammed it down onto his desk. He picked up the photo of Natalie and stuffed it into his pocket and stepped over the mess he had created as he walked out of the door and to the cars.

He knew what he had to do, just so that he could get rid of these fucking feelings.

His blood was burning and his hands itched to cause menace.

Oh, he was going to cause some menace alright...

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OH EM GEE! *slaps hands over cheeks like the kid on home alone* SO! Natalie admitted that she loves him! Cliffhanger! What do you think will happen next, my beautiful readers? What menace is Giovanni going to cause? Ahh! I can't take the suspense! Keep tuned! More to come. Vote. Comment. Follow. Share. Xx, love, Hannah <3