Anastasia by A. Marie

Anastasia

The sunlight seeped into the room, waking me up from the deep slumber I was in. I quickly got up and shut the curtains before crawling back into bed, grumbling as I did. I wanted to be swallowed up in a pit of darkness while allowing my depressing thoughts to roam free.

It didn’t seem to last long as the door opened up and a woman walked in. It was the same blonde-haired woman I had seen that one night when Mr. Romano had requested me to join him for a meeting. She smiled kindly at me before beckoning me to follow her.

“Can’t I just stay in here?” I groaned.

Her features fell slightly, along with her shoulders. I noticed the way her smile was still there, but there was desperation in her eyes.

“Mr. Romano ordered me to get you something to eat. Please, come with me,” she requested.

“I’m not hungry,” I grumbled childishly before throwing off the blanket. I then bent down and picked up my shoes,sliding them onto my feet. “I’ll just leave.”

“You can leave, but maybe after breakfast. Mr. Romano was very adamant about you coming to eat,” she claimed calmly, but I caught the plea in her voice.

Letting out a sigh, I nodded my head and stood up.

We walked down the long, wide hallway up until we made it to the big kitchen. I noticed how she was already preparing something to eat on the steel stove.

“Mr. Romano mentioned you were Australian, so I wanted to make you something that could help remind you of home,” she explained before sitting a plate right in front of me. The plate was filled with perfectly seasoned eggs, bacon, buttered brown toast, and a side of fruit.

“Thank you, but in Australia, all I’ve ever eaten was cereal, bread, and milk.” I chuckled quietly. Based on the look she gave me, I could tell that it wasn’t exactly the most graceful thing to say.

“Oh, no, the food looks amazing,” I added, grinning.

She sent me a kind smile before beginning to clean up her mess. I almost moaned out loud from how good the food tasted. She was an amazing cook.

“It’s rude of me not to know the name of the person who went out of their way to cook such a great meal for me.” I smiled. I was beginning to sound like my little sister. It was quite ironic how much she seemed to rub off on me even though she was gone. The thought quickly made my smile peel off my face.

“My name is Sarah. I’m the official cook of the residence. Anytime you need me to make anything, I’ll always be right here,” she informed me.

My eyebrows pulled together as I took another bite of the delicious food. “So, you’re telling me that you’ll always be right here? Do you ever go to the restroom or to sleep?”

She laughed a little before shaking her head back and forth. “I do sleep. I’m on duty seven hours a day. Mr. Rossi or Mr. Romano are rarely here, so I often have very long breaks,” she explained.

“What are the brothers like?” I questioned.

She opened her mouth to speak, but then her eyes trained in on something behind me. I quickly turned around and caught the sight of a particular tattooed man. When I saw an angel on the man’s neck, I knew exactly who it was, Mr. Rossi. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at me.

“Valentino, since when do we allow your whores in the house?” Mr. Rossi growled in Italian before turning around and facing Mr. Romano, who had just entered the room. Valentino’s gaze traveled over to me before turning cold to look at his brother.

“Mind your business.” Valentino chuckled darkly. My brows furrowed as I tried to figure out what they were talking about.

I could see the glint of mischief in Valentino’s eyes as he looked over at his brother. Mr. Rossi spared me one last glance before going up the stairs, leaving me with only Sarah and Mr. Romano.

Deciding to let go of my confusion, I got up and walked over to Mr. Romano. Embarrassment was picking at my actions as I thought about what I did last night.

“Thank you for everything,” I muttered, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

After a long while of Valentino saying absolutely nothing, I cleared my throat. “I’m going to go back to the room and freshen up, if that’s okay,” I muttered.

He didn’t say anything, he just turned on his heel and walked away. Letting out a sigh, I ran my hand through my hair and headed back to the room.

When I walked into the guest bedroom that I occupied last night, I roamed around and opened one of the doors only to find an elegant bathroom. I stepped in and noticed the clothing on top of the counter, along with a new toothbrush and toothpaste.

Turning on the shower, I disrobed and stepped right in.

* * *

After my shower,I wrapped myself in a towel. Walking over to my reflection, I used my hand to push away some of the water droplets from the mirror. I tried to smile. It shouldn’t hurt to smile, but it did.

“Nana, you know what makes me happy?” Alex asked with a smile playing on her lips. She was lying down on her bed while I was across the room on mine. I turned over to look at her and saw that she was already gawking at me.

“What?” I asked. Her gaze strayed over to look out the window, where the moon was brightening up the room, even with the dark sky trying so hard to keep the light away.

“Knowing that I have power…even if it’s just the power I have over myself. That’s powerful,” she said, bewildered.

I thought about her words, allowing a smile to come to my face. She’s right, controlling our body, emotions, actions is very powerful.

“You know what makes me happy?” I questioned. Her eyebrows rose as if she were asking me ‘what?’ without saying the actual words. “When you shut up and go to sleep.”

She let out a loud gasp before throwing her pillow at me, laughter spilling from her lips.

I smiled at myself in the mirror again, only this time, it was genuine. It was one of my favorite memories, and it played out in my mind like it was actually happening. If I had known what Alexandria’s outcome was going to be, I would have said something different. I would have crawled into bed with her and held her close to me. There was so much I wish I could change, but I knew that I would never get that time back.

When I looked in the mirror one last time, the smile was gone. There wasn’t even a frown. Only a lone tear could do its best to explain everything my heart was screaming.

After letting out a deep breath, I grabbed the pink tank top with white lace dancing around the seams. After the top, I slid on a pair of shorts over my panties. My breasts were practically bulging from my top and I could make out the buds of my nipples. I was annoyed, but I loved that it was the most comfortable thing I had ever worn.

After I finished freshening up, I exited the room, making sure to shut the door behind me.

Mr. Romano was sitting on the bed. He looked hungry for something, and I had a feeling I knew exactly what he was craving.

“Mr. Romano!” I greeted, startled.

He glanced over at me before his eyes darkened as they skimmed down my body. I noticed the way he made a circular motion with his finger, beckoning me to twirl for him. Rolling my eyes, I turned around before returning back to my previous stance.

He was wearing a smirk that only grew more taunting as he walked up to me. It was challenging not to grow weak under his intense gaze.

“Do you work today?” he asked.

No words would form, so I settled with a shake of my head. What I didn’t tell him was that Valerio had given me two weeks off. He didn’t want me anywhere near the club while being in such a vulnerable state. I was also positive that Janice told him about my drinking episode.

“Fun,” he drawled out.

His arm circled around my waist as he pulled me flush against him. His body was rock hard and every bit of it was full of muscles. My eyes went up to meet him, only to see lust in the deep pools of his eyes.

“How long do you want to stay?” he asked, his face leaning down into the crook of my neck, where he already began to leave open-mouthed kisses.

My eyes shut as I bit down on my lip.

How long did I want to say?

I remembered all my clothes were locked away in my car. Not only that, but I’d moved out of my mother’s apartment and was currently homeless. My plans were to ask Janice or Liliana for a place to stay for a while, but after last night, my shots at that were probably gone.

“However long you want me to,” I responded seductively.

“Something is off about you,” he said slowly. He was looking at me like I was a puzzle he needed to solve. The desire I had pooling between my legs slowly vanished as I wondered if he could see the sorrow brewing within me.

“What?” I asked stupidly.

He shook his head just before unwrapping his arms from around me. I thought he was about to exit the room, but he managed to take me by surprise when he settled on the bed.

My legs were rooted to the ground while I observed him taking off his suit jacket. I wasn’t sure if it happened slowly, or if it was just my mind playing tricks on me. His eyes never left mine as he placed his suit jacket on top of the nightstand. Leisurely, he brought his hands over to one of the cuffs of his shirt. He unbuttoned it before rolling each long sleeve just above his elbow.

“Don’t play dumb with me,” he dared.

“What makes you think something is off about me?” I asked.

He chuckled darkly. I focused very closely on his hand as he easily pulled a gun from his pants before setting it right on top of his suit jacket.

I should’ve been more frightened that he had a gun the entire time, but at that point, I didn’t care if he was going to shoot me or not. With the way my luck was, I wouldn’t even be surprised.

“Normally, you’d leave while the night was young. Even on your shifts, you would leave as soon as your time was up,” he pointed out. “Now, though, you stayed over last night and you still haven’t raced out of here.”

“You want honesty?” I questioned, waiting for the nod of suspicion he gave. “I haven’t left because I have nowhere else to go.”

“You don’t have anywhere else to go?” he repeated.

My eyes harshly snapped over to his so he could see my irritation. “I get it. It’s not your problem. I was going to ask to stay with a friend.”

His perfect brow arched as he sat himself down onto the bed. With his hand, he beckoned me to come closer. I did exactly what he wanted until I was standing right in front of him.

“What friend, Bambolina?” he asked.

“A friend,” I repeated.

His eyes darted down to what was right in front of his seated view—my waist. He brought his hand up to the hem of my shirt, where he fisted it before slamming me down onto his lap as hard as possible. It took me by complete surprise and left me breathing heavily.

“That was quite disrespectful,” he whispered, his mouth just inches away from my ear.

A chill ran down my spine as I felt his hand wander down to my bottom. He grabbed as much as would fit in his palm before his other hand grasped onto my neck.

“My kindness only lasts so long. I believe I asked you a question, and when I ask questions, I expect answers—real answers,” he demanded before harshly letting me go.

I delivered him my best glare and tried to get up from his lap, but he wouldn’t allow it.

“Janice,” I answered reluctantly.

He was lost in his thoughts before he finally allowed me to get up.

“The stripper?” he asked. I nodded my head in reply. “No. You’ll stay here in this room.”

“No. No, I can’t. At least not for free,” I muttered.

A small part of me wasn’t an idiot. I knew it was better to be at the huge mansion than in a shelter or out on the streets. I just hoped the decision wasn’t something that would come back to bite me later.

“Fine. Five hundred a month will be reduced from the money you earn at my club. Sound ‘not for free’ enough for you?” he asked, his eyebrow raising in question.

A small smile made its way onto my face as I nodded. “Thank you. I can’t belie—”

“Don’t thank me quite yet.” He smirked.

Then, he grabbed his gun and placed it back into his pants before walking out of the room.

The moment he was gone, sadness hit me like a wrecking ball. His company always managed to make me forget what it was like to be lonely. What was most weird was the fact that I barely knew him at all.

Maybe I was just messed up.