time, he demanded I touch him as if making me pay for the moments I avoided contact when I wrapped the foil around his cast, treating him like he carried a contagious disease. He requested the shower gel be massaged into his skin, to shampoo his hair, to rinse him, and then help him dry off. I could have sworn he pretended to be more helpless than he actually had been, and I was almost certain he was amused by my repeated show of awkwardness in his presence. In the final act of humiliation, he urged me to help him into a new pair of underwear. I did so without single protest, because I knew it was the last thing he could have possibly required me to do.
When I finished helping him, I was more than ready to disappear from his room; so I wished him good night and turned to leave, but—before I got a chance to make a step—he snatched my arm. I cringed from the movement. His eyes narrowed with expectant suspicion that made me exhale and instantly regain my composure.
“Where are you going?” He seemed genuinely confused.
“To my room,” I mumbled an explanation.
“Your room?” he asked in apparent disbelief. “Are you telling me we don't share a bedroom?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Well, that’s about to change,” he said simply. “I want my wife sleeping next to me.”
I was stunned. Speechless. I excessively swallowed as my gaze travelled around the unfamiliar space. He had never once allowed me in his room and now he insisted that I sleep here.
“I'd rather sleep in my own room,” I admitted.
“Why?” he stipulated in a strangely calm voice.
“I wouldn't be comfortable here.” I opted to tell the truth.
“Are you implying I’m making you uncomfortable?” A knowing look danced in his eyes. The experience in the bathroom exposed me enough to how I felt around him, but I couldn't bring myself to admit it.
“It's not that,” I explained in an awkward voice. “It's just that we have never shared a room before.”
“The question why, comes to mind,” he said with a sardonic bite.
I didn't know why, but the strong need to lie manifested. All of my instincts screamed at me not to talk about the hell of our marriage.
“It was your own wish,” I clarified, skewing the truth. “You were a workaholic who worked long hours and got up very early in the morning. You said you didn't want to disturb my sleep, so you suggested we share separate beds.”
“A workaholic?” he asked with clear suspicion. “So, you know what it is that I do?”
I sucked in a deep breath, and peered into his eyes. “I know.”
He sneered. “When did you find out? Before or after the wedding?”
I remembered the incident when he killed that giant man, and I couldn't hide my turmoil.
“Before…” I said in a constricted voice. “I found out before the wedding.”
“And you still went ahead and married me?” It was a rhetorical question, but I nodded all the same. Alessandro paused, his gaze distant for a moment, and then he smirked. “I'm a lucky guy, cara. You must be one in a million.”
“I was very young,” I offered a justification.
“And reckless?” he probed softly.
“I guess you might put it that way,” I retorted, fighting to keep my nerves at bay. “Can I go now?”
“I'm afraid not,” he declined. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. Starting tonight you will share my bed.” There was a familiar tone of entitlement in his voice. After a pregnant silence, his features relaxed into an unexpected, soothing smile. “It’s not my intention to inconvenience you, but I need someone by my side right now and I’d rather share any unpleasant experiences with my wife than with a stranger.”
I nodded, feeling absolutely desperate. My ears throbbed with the fast beat of my pounding heart. A cold sweat broke out along the nape of my neck.
“Olivia,” he breathed my name, then added the words I had never heard him say. “Please stay.”
That one word was my undoing, and I indulged his request, returning to my room to change into a short, black flannel pajama. The anxiety in my system threatened to blow my cover, and it was more difficult to remain calm in his presence. When I returned to his bedroom, he was already lying in bed, staring at me with that scrutinizing black gaze. A small smile tugged at his lips, and he patted the empty side of the bed, inviting me to join him. I