When I opened my tired eyes, my head immediately began to throb so badly that I groaned in pain and quickly pulled the covers back over my face. Only when I smelled the bedclothes, which was completely foreign to me, did I realize that I wasn't at home at all.
I didn't even know where I was now, but at least the bed was a lot more comfortable than my own, which was no real consolation.
Curious, I removed a piece of the blanket from my face again to look around uncertainly in the large room, which reminded me slightly of a posh hotel. There were large windows, but they were covered by red curtains. They looked really modern, matched the tall, dark wardrobe, and when my eyes fell to the white door across from me, it suddenly opened and, out of instinct, I quickly pretended I was still asleep.
With great effort I tried to keep my breathing as calm as possible, but my wildly beating heart made it really difficult for me to stay calm while I heard footsteps coming towards me and a cold shiver ran down my spine.
The person probably stayed right in front of me on the bed and I could literally feel them eyeing me, which made me more than just uncomfortable.
"How old is she?", he suddenly spoke and I immediately realized that it wasn't Nunzio, whose familiar voice could be heard from the direction of the door.
"I guess around 20," Nunzio said, and I wanted to open my eyes just to see what was going on around me, but I suppressed my curiosity, which was still throwing me off the hook, and continued to put myself on sleep mode.
"And?" said the unknown voice in front of me again.
"What and?" Nunzio replied and when I suddenly heard his footsteps, which were now getting closer, I really felt like a piece of meat that had just been thrown at wolves' feet without warning.
"Yeah, what should we do with her?!"
"Vincenzo said she should work at the club until her uncle's debts are cleared."
I listened to them tensely, just hoping it was a normal club where I was supposed to be a waiter, but it sure as hell wasn't the case. The Mancini family was better known for their brothels and strip clubs, and just the disgusting thought made my stomach clench uncomfortably.
My hatred of Fillipo made me clench my fists reluctantly and I was really glad they were under the covers.
"Fine, then let her sleep in and let me know when she's awake."
"Si," I heard Nunzio say, then both walked away again with heavy steps and when the door finally closed softly, I immediately opened my mouth to take a deep breath while opening my eyes in panic.
All of this couldn't be true!
I tried somehow to get a clear thought, but my mind seemed swept empty. Only the thought of just jumping out of one of the windows and running away solidified and then made me get up from the wide dark bed.
At least I still had my clothes on. The idea of someone changing my clothes would have been just terrifying.
I padded resolutely across a white carpet and then stood close to one of the two windows to carefully push the curtain aside, which took my breath away at the sight of what was happening outside.
A huge driveway surrounded by a high wall, which made me realize bitterly that no one was getting in and out of here as easily as I would have liked.
The gate was guarded by two guards and I also saw several dogs roaming the grounds in front of me.
At least the Macinis were thorough when it came to their safety, to the detriment of me and my plan to escape...
I pushed the curtain back in frustration and was just about to think about other ways of getting out of here, but the door opened again and I stopped dead in my tracks, holding my breath.
"Ludovica?" Nunzio addressed me and now, here in the light daylight that filtered through the open gaps in the curtains, his entire appearance really caught my eye.
He was tall, quite tall, and his brown eyes still seemed just as cold as they were trapped under the mask. He would have styled his short brown hair slightly to the side in front and the white shirt was tight on his chest, but it looked really casual on him.
My uncertain gaze fell from his chest back to his face, but I couldn't get a sound out until he suddenly smiled and took a step closer to me.
"Listen to me," I blurted out out of necessity and I put my trembling hands up to somehow placate him not to come near me. "I really have no idea how you guys usually collect your debts, but I want to go home immediately. I have absolutely nothing to do with this and it-"
"Shhhh," he simply cut me off, and as he stood right in front of me and looked deep into my eyes, my courage seemed gone. "I'd like to say I'm sorry about the kidnapping and you're right, but I'm not. Your uncle doesn't have any money, so you have to collect it. End of story."
Asshole!
I took a step backwards, snorting angrily and crossing my arms, making him look at me expectantly. He was probably waiting to see if I would respond to his words, but I gritted my teeth and said nothing.
"I'll introduce you to some of my cousins in a moment. They own nightclubs and then decide which one suits them best."
Does he still have them all?
I nodded, but inwardly, of course, I still planned to flee. Maybe I should really go to one of the clubs, because they certainly wouldn't be surrounded by high walls. Escape would be easier...
"Good, put that on then."
He snapped me out of my thoughts and I watched him confused as he ran to the tall cupboard and pulled something out.
It was a dress, no, wait a minute. It was more like a touch of nothing!
"I'm not wearing that," I said confidently, pointing to the black fabric in his hand, but he didn't seem to care at all if I refused or not.
"Oh yes, you will wear it. You may protest and it will take longer than I can bear, but in the end you will wear it and go downstairs with me."
Angry at his statement, I took a step towards him, snatched it from his hand, looking into his eyes, and took a closer look at it in my hands.
With luck it would just cover my butt....
"So?" he said and ran to the door to lean against it.
"It's okay!", I gave him back a bit too snotty and put the dress on the bed. "I'll put it on and then come out."
When I looked over at him, an amused smile suddenly formed on his lips and before I understood why, he was already explaining it to me.
"I'm staying, so undress and don't push my patience."