Aria's POV Inside my room Stefano heads to the on- suite bathroom and sets me down there. I am shocked by my image in the mirror. I look like a swamp monster. My hair is caked with mud and leaves, my clothes are brown and torn. My body is littered with scrapes and bruises. I will never survive in the wild. Stefano, however, looks like he just walked off the runway. His clothes are in pristine condition, not one hair is out of place. He must really know what he is doing out there. Stefano opens the shower and starts running the water. I wait for him to leave, but instead he takes off his shirt and starts undressing. “What are you doing?” I ask “What does it look like princess?” he says with a smirk. “You cannot shower here. You need to leave! Besides, you do not even look like you need a shower” I say frustrated with the amused look on his face. Stefano undresses casually. He takes his pants off, drops them by my feet, and strolls leisurely to the shower. “Are you coming? You def
Aria's POV Stefano has been very excited to show me my father’s factory. The very first factory he opened when our family first arrived here from Italy. Stefano has his mind set on getting my memory back. He thinks coming here might trigger something from my past. As we approach the building, I am surprised to see how big it is. It is far from the little crummy factory I had pictured in my mind. Instead, a beautiful, state of the art, six storey building towers over me. Nothing about this looks familiar. “So, what do you think?” Stefano asks rubbing his hands together excitedly. I walk closer to the building still in complete awe. My family built this magnificent place from nothing. I can clearly see my father’s input in the design of the limestone façade of the building. His love for eighteenth century roman architecture is clearly evident in the large columns and arches that embellish the entrance. “This is amazing!” I say “I knew you would love this” he says as he leads me ins
Stefano's POV The past few days my father and I have tried everything to put Aria’s mind at ease, let her know that she can trust us. My father is yet to tell her what happened to her parents. Something is holding him back. I just wish I knew why he cannot talk about what happened the day Aria’s family was murdered. Perhaps he is hiding something that he does not want exposed. I walk towards the place where I asked Aria to meet me in the garden. I want to take her into the forest today. She needs to know how to keep her own out there. “Beautiful morning for a hike. Don’t you think” I say watching her jump up from the grass. She has grass all over her. Her hair and clothes are covered in it. Was she rolling in the grass? “Beautiful morning indeed” she says smiling brightly. She shakes the grass from her clothes and starts marching towards the thick bushes where the forest begins. She looks so much more at ease here among the trees and the grass. “Wait! Hold on. You missed a spot” I
Aria's POV When we get back to the house Don Giovanni is waiting outside on the terrace. I quickly let go of Stefano’s hand. He looks from Stefano to me, a wide grin spreads across his face. It is like he knows something. My hair is a mess from the time I spent under the waterfall with Stefano. I drag my fingers through the curls trying to make them look presentable. I can already feel the heat spreading to my cheeks. “Well, what do we have here?” Don Giovanni says as we approach. He puffs small little clouds of smoke from his cigar into the air. “I was just showing Aria around” Stefano says. “I am sure you were” Don Giovanni says with that grin making its way back to his face again. “Oh, daddy leave them!” Lilliana calls out from behind the Don. “There is a carnival in town. Would you two like to join me? I plan to go there tonight” Stefano turns to me, his one brow raised in question. “Yes, I would love to go” I say, excited to get to see anything other than this house. “It i
Aria's POV I blink my eyes fast trying to clear the mist. Are my eyes deceiving me or is it truly him? From the shadows Johnny comes striding towards me. “Johnny” I say in a weak voice. “Aria are you okay? I have come for you” Johnny says, picking up his pace towards me. Before Johnny can reach me, Stefano comes from out of the shadows, charging in like a raging bull, tackling Johnny right off his feet, popcorn flying everywhere. They form a cloud of dust and dirt as the two of them roll over one other on the ground, finally coming to a halt with Stefano above Johnny, pinning him to the ground. Thomas is still holding onto me, keeping my hands in a tight grasp. Stefano tightens his grip around Johnny’s neck, making his face turn a ghastly shade of purple. I want to say something to make Stefano stop, but I am still unable to move, my mind knows the words, but my mouth is completely numb. From the shadows men in black are rushing in from every direction, forming a circle around us.
Aria's POV Stefano has his arm draped around me tightly. I lift it up slowly making sure not to disturb his sleep. He has not let me out of his sight since we came back from the carnival, he is smothering me with his concern. I grab my nightgown and head for the door, calculating my steps carefully. These floors are centuries old. One wrong move and the creaking floors will give me away. I must find Johnny. I need to know what is going on. Once I successfully make it out of the room without waking Stefano, I look down the hallway. Where would they keep Johnny? Knowing Stefano, he is in the furthest part of the house as far away from me as possible. That would put him in the west wing. I turn to the left. I have been wandering these halls so often now, I can do it with my eyes closed. I know I have found Johnny’s room when I see the guards placed outside one of the many rooms. There is no way they are going to let me see him, I will need a plan to get in there. I trace my steps back,
Aria's POV I did not get much sleep last night with the conversations I had with Johnny and Don Giovanni on replay in my mind. I truly do not know who to trust anymore. Just all this thinking has me exhausted. It does not help much that Stefano decided to drag me out of bed before the sun even made its appearance on the horizon. “Where are we going?” I ask “You will see. Now hurry up and dress nice” he says looking at his watch. I jump back in bed and pull the covers over my head. What is the rush? “Oh, no! Get up. We must leave within the hour” he says, pulling the covers back, leaving my hair a static mess. “Where are we going? Stefano you are killing me. It is too early!” I say dragging my hands over my face. “It is a surprise. Now, stop being so dramatic and get up!” he says, pulling me to my feet. “I hate surprises” I say dragging myself to the other side of the room. I could not care less what I look like, I grab the first thing my hand lands on in the wardrobe, which ha
Aria's POV The helicopter whizzes through the air, taking us to yet another secret destination. The sun is low on the horizon, streaking the clouds with golden orange patches. “Where are we going now?” I ask Stefano. “Look” he says pointing towards a small island, just off the coast. “Don’t tell me you own an island” I say. “Okay, I won’t tell you that I own the island down there” Stefano says with a wicked grin. I roll my eyes. This man impossible. There is only one house on the entire island. We land on the helicopter pad next to the mansion. It is situated right on the beach, looking towards the thousands of sparkling lights of the mainland. Once the helicopter is gone, we are greeted by the serene sound of the waves slowly lapping against the shore. The entire pathway is lit up with dozens of lanterns and candles, showing us the way. The house has a beautiful modern design. Everything is made with glass and wood, keeping to the beach theme, and blending spectacularly with th