the terror from him
1007 Words
~CHAPTER FOUR:
Alessia took a step back. She did not even know why but she felt like she needed to run.
Her papa always told her to run from Giovanni Tommaso and everything related to him.
Giovanni seemed to continue walking towards her despite her obvious retreat.
After some time, Alessia's legs were too shocked to move.
Giovanni was now two feet away from her. He met her gaze with the level of confidence she expected a man like him to have. "Good evening." He greeted her.
Alessia was too stunned to say a word. She did not nod or show any signs of hearing him.
She was standing in front of the first son of the Tommaso family. Her lack of words was not far fetched.
"I am certain that you can hear me." Giovanni stated.
Alessia's state of shocked turned into that of pent up anger. This people had been at war with her family for years. Now that her papa was murdered, they suddenly decided to show up and rub it in her face.
"What are you doing here?" Alessia snapped.
Giovanni raised his brows. "I see that you lack manners."
"Coming from the person who gate crashed my birthday party, I do not think you have any manners to begin with."
Giovanni's expression remained blank. "I do not think you have the abilities to think."
Alessia clenched her teeth. "what are you doing here, Mr Tommaso?"
"I have an invitation. I merely honored it."
Alessia clenched her fists. Her uncle had a lot of questions to answer. "Well, I would like to inform you that the invitation did not come from me."
"That is merely why I honored it." Giovanni retorted.
Alessia was livid at this point. Nothing stopped the man in front her from bring a suspect. She regarded every single member of the Tommaso family as suspects.
"Good for you!" Alessia snapped then looked away.
If her papa was still alive, he would get a heart attack when he saw her talking to Giovanni.
"Your manners are not as polished as I heard they were." Giovanni said to her.
"Manners are shown to those who deserve it."
Alessia knew of her status as Morani Vincenzo's perfect daughter. Her father made her take etiquette classes every single day. She was taught to only display perfection.
Giovanni c****d his head to the side. "You seem to be out of touch with reality."
This grabbed Alessia's attention. She looked at him again. "Ignoring you makes me out of touch with reality?"
Giovanni shook his head. "You are not ignoring me. You can not do that."
Alessia folded her hands. "What makes you think so?"
Giovanni's stoic expression remained on his face but his jaw hardened. "My presence is dominant. Even in your sleep, you will acknowledge it."
Alessia believed every word he had uttered. She had nightmares with him in it. Even then, she was only ten years old and had never met him.
"Unfortunately, I do not find myself in that category." Alessia said nonchalantly.
Giovanni's expression became more stoic, if possible. He had a defined jaw line and sharp features. His eyes were a mixture of blue and grey. A combination that Alessia had never seen before. He was extremely goodlooking. As goodlooking as he was ruthless.
"The only reason I am tolerating your disrespectful attitude is because I believe you are in a state of grieve." Giovanni warned.
His cold tone brought chills to Alessia's spine. "Yet, you showed up to my birthday party." She remarked sarcastically.
"Yet, you threw a birthday party." Giovanni pointed out.
"This party was not my decision."
"I see you went along with it."
Alessia was offended by his words. "listen to me, you do not know me so you are in no place to judge me."
Giovanni looked indifferent. "You should take your own advise."
"It was not an advise, it was a warning." Alessia did not know where she got the courage to utter those words.
"Be careful. What did your papa tell you about monsters?" Giovanni said coldly.
His words made Alessia take a shocked step backwards. Monsters. How did he know her father told her about monsters?
"Who are you?" Alessia breathed out.
Giovanni smirked. His smirk was filled with mystery. "The monster your papa warned you about." He whispered to her.
Alessia forgot how to breathe. She suddenly felt like she was choking on her own breath.
"I know you killed my father." She accused.
Giovanni ticked a muscle in his jaw. "You should not speak without facts."
Alessia smiled painfully. "You are here to rub his death in my face."
"I am here to offer my condolences." He simply said.
"Oh please!" Alessia snapped. "Condolences to a man you all tormented while he was alive?"
"I. Am. Here. To. Offer. My. Condolences." Giovanni stressed coldly.
Alessia was left dumbfounded. This man was colder than her father had described. Every move made by him scared her to the bones.
"Well, unfortunately, I do not accept your condolences, so get lost!" Alessia snapped.
"You will be getting lost if you do not watch your tongue." Giovanni warned.
This time, Alessia heard the promise in his voice. It was a threat. A threat she was certain he meant.
Giovanni took another step closer to her. There was still enough distance between them but Alessia felt like she was getting drunk in the scent of him.
Everything about his presence was dominating and impossibly present.
Giovanni stared at her with so much intensity and coldness that her knees got weak. "Just so you know, you not accepting my condolences is not unfortunate." Alessia watched as a dark smirk appeared on his lips. "It. Is. Fortunate."
She took an alarming step backwards. His words were like a secret message that promised her more pain.
"Alessia!" A voice called from behind her.
She turned around only to see her cousin brother, Matteo Vincenzo regarding her with a smile on his face.
"We need to talk, Tesoro."
- Writer
