Sold to the Capo-Chapter 46: A PROPOSITION
ADRIANA’S POV
I was still staring at the mansion from where I stood in the garden and Keira sighed.
"I should get back to work. Have a nice day" She bowed and walked away, her hands in her pockets.
Grace.
I didn’t like the sound of it for some weird reason which is why I found myself walking towards the house again, my steps light and filled with purpose.
What was I even going to do inside? It didn’t make any sense. I should have turned around and just gone for my jog but here I was, wanting to know what this Grace was doing on the property.
As soon as I reached the door, the guards stepped aside, opening the door for me while I walked in, my eyes immediately searching around.
"..fine... no" A surprisingly sweet voice filled the air from the kitchen.
"You should just go relax" Vincenzo’s voice was filled with so much concern.
"It’s the least I can do .."
So much sweetness.
Without thinking, I dragged myself to the kitchen where I saw the newcomer already behind the counter, fixing an apron while Vincenzo leaned on the counter watching her.
She looked up immediately I entered and I gulped, finding myself staring into the most beautiful ocean-blue eyes that seemed to sparkle.
"Hello..." she tilted her head sizing me up no doubt about it.
"Tesoro..." Vincenzo finally acknowledged my presence with a head tilt.
"Uh... I just needed to grab a glass of water" I lied, inching to the counter to grab a mug which I filled with water, gulping it down slowly as I wasn’t in a hurry.
"I’m Grace..." The woman grabbed a pan and cracked some eggs into it.
"Cool" I gave Vincenzo a curious look but he ignored me, his eyes fixed on his hands instead.
"You must be Adriana. Vincenzo talks to me about you..." She smiled, looking up at me.
"Oh really?" I forced a smile which quickly morphed into a smirk when I heard Vincenzo curse under his breath.
"Hm..." She glanced at Vincenzo noticing his reaction to her words so she shut up.
"So... are you here to stay?" I asked her, setting the glass carefully on the table.
"Tesoro, can I talk to you" Vincenzo suddenly spoke up, his voice hard and his eyes dark. "Grace continue" Then he walked out of the kitchen with a flourish of his hands to indicate that I was supposed to follow him.
With a final glance at her, I followed him out to the living room, aware of the sound of clanging pans from the kitchen.
As soon as he was sure we were alone, he frowned at me. "Didn’t you say you were going out for a jog?" He asked with a raised brow.
"Didn’t you say there was no interfering in the other’s personal lives?", I retorted.
"What the...? How does even fit into the context?"He sounded irritated now.
"Who is she and what is she doing here?"
He let out a grin. "No interfering in the other’s personal lives" He used my words against me.
"Well, I live here with you so I need to know that at least" I crossed my arms, exasperated.
My phone buzzed and I sighed, staring down at the message that read. "Come over today. 10 am. I have something to say" That was all.
"Who’s that?" Vincenzo made to peer at my phone but I quickly switched off the lights.
Mr Frankfort. Funny. He claimed he didn’t know anything a few days back.
"Nothing much. Just need to go into town today again in a few hours I guess" I answered vaguely.
If he didn’t see it fit to tell me things, why should I? No interfering in the other’s personal lives. Two could play at that game.
"You can’t go out with Henry today though" He crossed his arms. "We’re having a meeting in a few hours too"
"Then I’ll go alone" I turned around to go when I felt him grab my arm, pulling me back effortlessly.
On instinct, I froze, my body tensing in his grip while I looked at him, my face becoming pale.
He noticed my blanched look and he quickly let go of my hand, clearing his throat and sticking his hands into his pockets. "Sorry about that" He whispered under his breath.
When I didn’t reply for a few seconds, he resumed what he was saying but this time he was calm. "You can’t go out alone. It’s dangerous. We had a deal and I can’t protect you if I’m not there"
"Then I’ll go with Justin" I finally said, my voice quiet also, my skin still tingling from where he had grabbed me.
"No, not Justin" He sighed and looked away.
Justin was literally the guard he had assigned to me a while ago and now he suddenly didn’t want the person with me? I had a feeling this had to do with the whole snitch stuff he had going on.
"Well, whatever it’s gonna be. Think about it fast. I have an hour to get to where I’m going" I huffed at him, my tone annoyed.
He bit down on his bottom lip, staring me down as he did so then he nodded. "Henry will escort you"
A smile spread across my lips immediately. Henry. He was a really fun person and I enjoyed his presence immensely, it made me feel safe... happy... seen.
"Vincenzo?" The sweet honeyed voice from the kitchen sounded followed by a groan.
Vincenzo visibly cringed at the sound of his name and he gave me an apologetic look. "I have to go check on..." He trailed off, watching me for a reaction.
"Sure, go ahead" I struggled to smile through gritted teeth.
He was being utterly nice to her and I wondered if he had something going on with her. She was stunning, no doubt about it.
His words from the other night at the strip club came to mind. "I prefer Blondes" he had said that day.
Grace was blonde.
It made so much sense.
I scoffed. Would I be sharing living space with both of them now?
Why even get bothered anyways, he could go fuck anyone for all I care but wait that wasn’t part of our contract, was it?
It was technically not a part of our contract. He had said there should be no other women. Had he though? Or was my mind playing tricks on me?
I thought about this as I walked back up the stairs to change into comfortable sweatpants and a white woolen sweater as it was still snowing out there.
The sound of the laughter and talk from the kitchen really grated on my nerves and I was this close to just storming back there and giving the two of them a piece of my mind.
As I neared the bottom of the stairs, someone walked into the house and locked gazes with me, making me halt my stride.
"Salvatore..." The memory of the day he had brought me to the ground so effortlessly was engraved in my mind.
He grinned, his hair falling in waves over his eyes as he stared at me, hands in his pockets. "You heading out?" He nodded to me.
I nodded. There was something about the man. He was just like Vincenzo in many ways, they could pass as best friends but they were just cousins and this one had his own business to run in another country according to what Val had told me.
"Yeah, why?" I continued my descent down the stairs, aware of how he didn’t move from the spot, he just kept following me with his eyes.
"Quick one..." his tone turned serious like he was about to let me in on a secret.
"What?" I gripped the banister, a bit nervous that we were the only ones there.
"White isn’t your color" He took a glance at the sweater, let out a huff, and walked off into the kitchen, the laughter from there dying down immediately.
I gritted my teeth, watching him walk away. Fuck them all in this place.
Cursing under my breath, I walked out of the house to see Henry already at the car, waiting for me.
"Hey..." He opened the car door for me respectfully unlike some certain people who I shall not name and he got into the car, sliding into the driver’s seat.
"Thanks. The bookstore" I muttered, my voice distant as I pulled the seatbelt.
He was staring at me, a lot more than necessary but when I looked at him, he just let out a ....shy smile? And switched on the ignition, pulling out of the mansion.
That was weird.
I didn’t think much of it, staring down at my phone as we drove to the bookstore.
He kept sending glances at me, his hands tightening around the steering wheel occasionally and I couldn’t bear it anymore.
"Are you okay?" I asked, turning to him.
He didn’t look at me but once more, his hands tightened again.
"I’m fine" He answered but his tone was curtㅡclipped evenㅡ something was definitely wrong.
"Okay..." I muttered instead not wanting to push.
There was a tense silence for about 10 seconds, his expression turned into one of deep thought like he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure.
Suddenly, he pulled the car to a stop at the side of the road, the sudden action making me jerk forward in my street.
"What the fuck, Henry?" I groaned.
"I need to ask you something" He turned to me, his eyes sparkling with uncertainty but his tone was serious.
"What?" I couldn’t help my voice that came out strangled when he suddenly leaned forward in his seat towards me, his arm resting on the dashboard.
"Do you want to leave?" He asked.
"What?" I muttered confused.
He took a deep breath like he would regret what he was about to say and somehow I knew we both would.
"The mansionㅡDon Enzoㅡ Do you want to escape?" He repeated.
