Chapter 15: Italy

Alexander's hand could hardly be seen under the dim candlelit room light. His head lay nestled in them as thoughts of Lorenzo's schemes attacked his mind. The cynical man wouldn't leave him or those close to him alone.

Lorenzo had always been an enemy. Ever since Alexander entered his line of work, the platinum-haired man kept a careful eye on him. Never leaving him alone for much of his first year, constantly glancing over his shoulder, and for a time, feigning friendship. At first, it seemed to be a light-hearted business rivalry when Alexander took notice, yet it grew to the point of insanity. The beginning telltale signs of sabotage were uncovered just after Alexander's first year at the AMI tower. His success was the talk of the city. Within months, he had been interviewed by various magazines, and talk shows, and had been invited to speak at two prestigious college campuses.

It wasn't long before Lorenzo lost his cool. Their passive-aggressive rivalry quickly grew to that of full anger geared toward the young CEO. Like a feral starving animal, Lorenzo watched Alexander's every move. Going as far as planting employees, leaving Alexander to scope them out and fire them one by one.

It wasn't a secret that Lorenzo's business had been struggling to stay afloat for the past two years. Many of his sponsors pulled out from their business contracts, some willing to buy themselves out, just to not have their names tainted. Yet many of them found their way over to the AMI corporation and that infuriated Lorenzo.

Yet this was different. Alexander knew that. His leg bounced as he thought back to the notification he received on his phone. Arielle had been in danger and she didn't think to call or text him. Guilt ate at him. A woman whom he had feelings for, one who didn't reciprocate said feelings, now stood in harm's way due to his known affection. Two home invasions, yet this time, Alexander wasn't close enough to rescue her.

The thought alone angered him, he could tackle Lorenzo without a second thought if only he could find him. The cruel man had gone into hiding, likely knowing how enraged he would make him. Swiftly he came to a stand and balled his fist. He couldn't let this continue. Alexander had to find Lorenzo. He had to put an end to all of this. The tall coat rack held his thin jacket and in its pocket, his keys. He could leave tonight.

"Alexander?" A woman's voice called out to him. The darkness briefly hid her until she opened the door a little further, uncovering her bright eyes that could be seen peeping into his room.

He paused for a moment, glancing between the door and the coat rack. He sighed in defeat and crouched back down to a sitting position. "Come in," he called. Nothing he did would change the danger he placed her in and a small part of him felt that she wouldn't care to see him anyway.

"Are you okay?" The woman asked as she slowly closed the door behind her. Alexander looked up at the brunette who entered. Her light brown eyes were filled with concern as she watched his anxious form. He shook his head. Nothing was okay, but it was also out of his control.

"No, everything's not okay Emilia, but that isn't something you have to worry about." He answered her with a brief polite smile and reached for the small glass beside his bed. He hadn't realized how dry his throat had felt since he had little communication with anyone, save for a single guard and officers back home.

She pushed forward a pout, but nodded and took a seat at his desk. He could see her from his peripheral, playing with the random knick-knacks that were strewn about and sorting them to her heart's desire. Emilia was a beautiful woman, she knew that. Alexander had spent many summers dreaming about her, being foolish in his youth. She grew to be the exact woman he expected of her. Only one year younger, she still had an emotional maturity that Alexander admired.

"Emilia?" He asked, breaking the slightly awkward silence.

"Hm?" She hummed in response as she glanced at him.

"Forgive me for being rude, but why are you still here? Hasn't my godmother gone to bed for the night?" He questioned while watching her. Her face grew to be beet red.

She nodded hastily. "Yes, they have gone to rest for the night. I just wanted to see how you were doing. You've seemed distracted since you arrived." she whispered staring down at her hands. Under her lashes, she looked up at him, wondering if his face would soften due to her reasoning, but disappointment flooded her when she saw that he hardly seemed to be paying attention.

Alexander's mind wandered back to yesterday's events, the only thing to pull him from it was the sound of a throat being cleared. "Hm?" He asked as he snapped back into reality. "Oh, I feel that the word distracted is much too small to describe how I feel."

Alexander's phone lit up once more. He jumped, grabbing it quickly, too quickly, causing the phone to temporarily slip from his grasp and hit the floor. Emilia could hear him mumbling angrily as he scooped it up from the ground. A twinge of irritation grew in her, but she stifled it and cleared her throat again.

"Is that why?" She asked staring between him and his phone that served as a distraction since he had arrived.

"Is what why?" Alexander asked while rubbing his head, clearly not picking up Emilia's observation.

"Someone's won your attention and has turned you into this nerve wreck of a man. Who is she?" Her question was short and demanding. A tone that she had never taken with him at any point in their lives. Alexander raised his head, raising his brow as well. The frustrated woman before him seemed to shrink beneath his gaze.

"She is none of your business, dear Emilia." He responded slowly, a threatening layer to his voice. Alexander would never hurt Emilia, but he would gladly stop speaking with her during his trip if she only wished to bring more headaches to his life.

"Oh, she's that important to you then? Enough to shield from your first love?" Her once softened face, hardened as she took in his unaffected demeanor. The tan on her skin didn't hide the red hue that covered her face as she grew embarrassed. She remembered Alexander following her around like a lost pup when they were young. Granted, she was twelve and he was thirteen at the time, but whispers from their families promised a possible union. Her family was wealthy after all. Two wealthy young people created a powerful couple in her country and she knew it was the same in America.

"Emilia, it's late. You should go home." He replied calmly, his gaze falling back onto his phone. He felt much too tired to continue any further with their conversation.

Her jaw fell open as her eyes widened in surprise. "Alexander, I'm sorry, I was out of line for that. Please-"

"It's okay, just go home." He cut her off. Coming to a stand, he gestured his hand to the door and nodded with a slight smile. It was forced on his end. His patience had shortened through the entire Lorenzo ordeal and this was not something he could handle calmly if it continued. He didn't want to raise his voice and wake those close to him.

Emilia opened her mouth for a moment, prepared to protest or likely apologize once more, but Alexander tilted his head again and gestured toward the door once more. Emilia sighed and dropped her head.

He watched as she walked out, and finally releasing his sigh, he dropped his head. Pinching his nose bridge, he sat back down, annoyed by the stream of events. Yet what he couldn't shake off more than anything was the lack of a phone call. She didn't call not text him. He only knew what happened because one of his guards didn't completely leave his duty.

Anger began to boil in him as he recalled the details from his most loyal guard. Logan had been surprised by the ambush from Lorenzo's men, but according to his own words, some of the guards seemed expectant of it- going down too easily with their level of training. Logan had been the only one to limp away from the attack and witness the invasion, successfully warning Alexander and the police.

Alexander, being an overachiever, reached out to some of his retired and off-duty city officers to make their presence known too. Anything to ensure her safety. She didn't ask to be a part of this life and to be frank, Alexander foolishly forgot the cost of being in his life.

The flickering candle danced alone in the dim room. Alexander pushed himself further onto the bed, pulling the covers lazily to cover a portion of himself, never changing into comfortable clothing. His mind wandered to her more than he could count, but for one moment, it wandered to someone else. Someone he hadn't thought about much since his mother's death- God.

The sound of loud knocking echoed through the room. Alexander groaned while rolling over. His hand gave a poor attempt of shielding his eyes from the morning sun rays.

"Good morning, Alex, wake up. We must be going soon." The older woman sang into the room. Through squinted eyes, he saw his mother's closest friend enter with a kitchen mitten in hand. Her black and white hair was pulled into a neat bun atop her head and her dress was much nicer than what'd she wear out in the field when tending to her garden.

"Must go where?" He murmured. If he thought his throat was dry the night before, his throat this morning would laugh at the idea, if it could muster a laugh. His spine ached from his horrible sleeping position and likely from all the tossing and turning he had noticeably done, just by looking at the sheets that had found their way onto the floor.

He propped himself up and smiled at her although he felt much more distraught than he would on a normal day. Nothing was normal anymore. Nothing made sense.

He watched as she pushed in his desk chair and picked up the plate off of it from yesterday's lunch.

"Oh you don't have to do that, I've got it." He insisted as he pushed himself up further.

"No, no dear. Don't you worry, I've got it." She replied as she smiled over at him. Alexander returned a look of gratitude.

Gabrielle Bellagamba. A woman who had been such a close friend to his mother that they were practically sisters. They resembled each other in stature and in hearts. Their relationship could have fallen from a storybook for children on the power of friendship. They began as curious pen pals, but over the months and years, that quickly grew into a lifelong bond, and in this case, stretching across generations. Gabriella showed Alexander the same love she had shown his mother.

"Would you be willing to come with us to church?" She asked after tidying up the other things that appeared out of place within his room. Her eyes were large and filled with joy. Such happy golden eyes that Alexander couldn't will himself to say no to her. After a moment of suspense, he nodded.

"Sure, why not?" He answered with a small smile that met his eyes, feeling mildly energized with the change of pace. He laid back against the headboard, waiting for his body to wake up further as she smiled in approval and then scurried out of his room.

"We must leave in an hour if we hope to make it on time!" She called cheerfully as she exited the room and Alexander chuckled at her excitement. It would be nice to get his mind off of everything for a moment and to just be with those whom he cared about and those who cared about him.

Arielle stood in her bedroom mirror along with Julia. She pulled Julia's hair back into a neat high ponytail before twisting the hair to create a knot-styled bun. The two girls were getting ready for church earlier than usual this Sunday morning. Arielle was relieved when Lorenzo's people hadn't returned her home that night. The cops who stood guard remained at their post and she could see the ease that it brought to Julia's mind.

"Ready?" She asked while taking in a deep breath.

Julia nodded. As the adrenaline from the invasion wore off, the pain from the breakup returned. Arielle sat with Julia late into the night, talking and comforting her as she cried. She never imagined a life where the pair would be apart, yet there they stood, facing the reality of their lives.

"As I'll ever be," Julia answered with a weak smile.

"Then let's go," Arielle replied with a large smile of her own.

"Hey," Julia called over to Arielle. Ari paused and looked back at her sullen friend. "Are you feeling okay? You've lost a lot of weight." She continued while gesturing her hand toward Arielle's slim form. Arielle's eyes widened as she glanced down at herself. She had gotten much slimmer over the course of days.

"Oh yes, I'm okay. Really." She answered kindly, smoothing down the fabric of her dress as she spoke.

Julia took a moment and then nodded. "Okay, as long as you are."

Arielle nodded and smiled, reaching for her hand and pulling her along. The two ladies exited the room to find Arielle's mother quickly placing plates down on the island. A large breakfast stood on the stove and Arielle glanced over at Julia's wide eyes. A stomach growl caught her attention and Arielle laughed while urging her friend to continue following her.

"That's for us?" Jules asked gobsmacked at the feast before her.

"Yes," Arielle's mother smiled sheepishly. "After what happened the night before last along with the sniffles I heard, I thought it'd make our morning a bit more relaxing and we could eat a nice breakfast together."

Julia's mouth opened and closed, not knowing how to say thank you.

Arielle spoke up for them both. "Thank you, mom. This is really amazing." She commended as she motioned toward the dishes of food.

"Of course, honey. Here. Come sit you two. I'll go grab my bag, but please, begin eating." Angelina prompted and practically danced out of the room. A lot had happened, but Angelina's joy and peace had only seemed to grow and Arielle could tell that her source of joy and peace came from the same place.

As her fast had gone on, she felt a burden lift off of her shoulders and early this morning before a soul had woken in her home, Arielle had received an answer from the Lord. She wanted to continue to seek Him for confirmation, but the length of her food fast had commenced, reaching the seven days intended. She planned to keep all communication with Alexander to a non-existent level until she was absolutely certain that it was true.

"Does your mom make breakfast like this every morning?" Julia asked in wonder as she pulled a seat for herself. Arielle laughed and shook her head.

"Not always, but for special occasions she does. She does make a good breakfast every morning though." Arielle remarked. Her eyes shined as she looked over all of the food. It would be too much for her to eat since her fast ended early this morning, but it would be worth having a bite or two to prepare her stomach for more food later.

"Well here, let's pray and then dig in," Arielle suggested with a large smile. Julia's heart, for a moment, seemed to mend as she basked in the small moments of happiness such as this one.

"Let's." The girls prayed and began to eat. Julia stuffed her face more than usual, causing Arielle to stifle a laugh. With a narrowed gaze, Julia glanced over at her friend before they both burst out in fits of laughter. Arielle shook her head and felt at peace with joy bubbling in her heart. She had a feeling that today would be an exceptionally good day for them both.