Chapter 9 - The Choice He Never Told Her About
1210 Words
The note remained between Sofia's fingers.
HE CHOSE YOU.
She read it twice.
Then a third time.
None of the words made sense.
Alessandro stood beside the car, staring at the piece of paper as though it had confirmed something he had spent years trying not to believe.
"What does it mean?" Sofia asked.
He didn't answer.
"Alessandro."
His eyes lifted to hers.
"Get in the car."
"No."
His expression hardened.
"Sofia."
"I'm tired of being told to get in the car every time something happens."
He glanced toward the estate.
"We don't have time."
"Then make time."
For a moment, he simply looked at her.
Then he reached for the note.
She pulled it away.
"No."
His eyes narrowed.
"Give it to me."
"You know what it means."
"I know what it could mean."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
She stepped closer.
"Who chose me?"
Alessandro's jaw tightened.
"Your father."
"That's not what the note says."
"I know."
"Then tell me."
He looked away.
Sofia had learned something about him in the short time she'd known him.
Alessandro De Luca could stare down armed men without blinking.
He could walk into a room filled with danger and somehow make everyone else afraid.
But there were certain questions he didn't want to answer.
And right now, she was asking one of them.
"You said the vow began with my father," she whispered. "What did he actually ask you to do?"
His gaze returned to hers.
"Protect you."
"Only that?"
"Yes."
She searched his face.
"Then why does someone think you chose me?"
He didn't answer.
Sofia felt something cold settle in her chest.
"Did you?"
His expression changed.
"Did I what?"
"Choose me."
The question hung between them.
Alessandro looked at her for a long time.
Then he stepped closer.
"So you want the truth?"
"Yes."
"Even if you don't like it?"
"Especially then."
He lowered his voice.
"Your father didn't choose me."
Sofia's heart skipped.
"What?"
"He asked my father to protect you."
"But you made the promise."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I was there."
She frowned.
"That's not enough."
"No."
He looked toward the dark estate.
"I was sixteen when your father gave me that pendant."
Sofia's fingers instinctively touched the silver chain beneath her coat.
"He told me that one day you would need someone who remembered the truth."
"And you agreed."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Alessandro's gaze returned to hers.
"Because you were the girl beneath the olive tree."
Sofia stared at him.
"The girl who smiled at you."
A faint smile touched his mouth.
"You remember?"
"No."
"But I do."
He stepped closer.
"You smiled at me that afternoon."
Sofia's heart softened unexpectedly.
"I didn't know you."
"I know."
"Then why did you remember?"
His eyes held hers.
"Because I wanted to."
Her breath caught.
For a moment, the danger surrounding them seemed distant.
The estate.
The men.
The guns.
The secrets.
Everything faded.
Alessandro lifted his hand.
His fingers brushed a damp strand of hair away from her cheek.
Sofia didn't move.
His touch was gentle.
Almost painfully so.
"You've changed," he murmured.
"So have you."
"Yes."
"Do you regret the promise?"
His hand lowered.
"Never."
Sofia's heart beat faster.
She didn't know why his answer affected her so deeply.
Perhaps because she had spent eleven years believing she had been forgotten.
Now she was standing in front of a man who remembered a twelve-year-old version of her.
A man who had carried a promise she hadn't even known existed.
She looked away.
"We should go."
Alessandro nodded.
"Yes."
This time, when she climbed into the car, he didn't tell her to.
He simply followed.
---
The drive to the safe house was silent.
Sofia watched the city blur past the windows.
She kept thinking about the kiss.
The one in the hidden passage.
She could still feel it.
The hesitation.
The warmth.
The way Alessandro had looked at her afterward.
She turned toward him.
He was staring through the windshield.
"You regret it."
His eyes flicked toward her.
"What?"
"The kiss."
"No."
His answer was immediate.
Sofia looked down.
"Good."
A faint smile touched his mouth.
"Do you?"
"No."
The silence that followed felt different.
Less uncomfortable.
More dangerous.
Sofia shifted in her seat.
Her hand rested near the centre console.
Alessandro's hand was there too.
Their fingers brushed.
Neither moved.
A second later, his little finger hooked around hers.
Sofia glanced at him.
He kept his eyes on the road.
She smiled.
Neither acknowledged what they were doing.
---
The safe house was nothing like Sofia expected.
It was a small villa overlooking the ocean, hidden behind a wall of trees.
There were no imposing gates.
No enormous estate.
No marble floors.
It was quiet.
Almost peaceful.
"Who owns this place?" Sofia asked.
"No one."
She looked at him.
"That's impossible."
"Not in my world."
Inside, Alessandro checked every room before allowing her to enter.
Sofia watched him.
"You do this everywhere?"
"Yes."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It is."
She walked toward the kitchen.
"Do you ever relax?"
"No."
"That's unhealthy."
"Probably."
She opened a cupboard.
"Do you have coffee?"
He stared at her.
"Coffee?"
"Yes."
"We're hiding from a man who may be trying to kill you."
"I know."
"And you want coffee?"
"I've had a long night."
For the first time, Alessandro laughed.
It was quiet.
Low.
Unexpected.
Sofia turned.
She had never heard that sound from him.
And suddenly she wanted to hear it again.
"That was a laugh."
He shook his head.
"No."
"It absolutely was."
"You imagined it."
She smiled.
"I'll remember it."
His eyes softened.
"Do that."
Their gazes held.
Something warm passed between them.
Then Luca entered.
"Alessandro."
The mood disappeared.
"What?"
"We have a problem."
Sofia's smile faded.
Luca placed a file on the counter.
"We found the source of the message."
Alessandro opened it.
His expression changed.
Sofia stepped closer.
"What?"
He looked at her.
"The person who sent the note wasn't Gabriel."
"Then who?"
Alessandro handed her the file.
Inside was an old photograph.
Her mother.
Standing beside a woman Sofia had never seen.
But Alessandro knew her.
Sofia looked up.
"Who is she?"
His face had gone pale.
"Your mother."
Sofia stared at the photograph.
"I know."
"No."
He pointed to the woman beside her.
"Her."
Sofia's eyes widened.
"You said my mother was alone."
"I was wrong."
"Who is she?"
Alessandro stared at the photograph.
Then quietly said,
"My mother."
Sofia's breath caught.
"What?"
"My mother died eleven years ago."
She looked at the photograph.
Then at him.
"Then why is she standing beside mine?"
Alessandro had no answer.
Luca did.
"Because the photograph was taken three days ago."
The room went completely silent.
Sofia looked at Alessandro.
He was staring at the photograph as though it had just opened a door to a nightmare.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
"De Luca."
A woman's voice came through the speaker.
Sofia couldn't hear the words clearly.
But Alessandro could.
His face changed.
The voice spoke again.
Then the call ended.
Sofia stared at him.
"Who was that?"
He slowly lowered the phone.
"My mother."
Sofia's blood ran cold.
"But she's dead."
Alessandro looked at her.
"Apparently," he whispered, "we've both been lied to."
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD