Chapter 18: Chapter 18

"Oh my God," I whimpered and looked up at Dario in a panic, whose gaze was on the door at the moment before he looked at me calmly again.

"Take it easy, Ludovica. I'll take care of it. Just go into the bathroom and wash your hair. Then you come out," he instructed me, tucking his tie into his pocket while I disappeared into the bathroom, my heart racing.

I closed the door quietly behind me, straightened my clothes with trembling hands and immediately turned on the water in the shower so that I could immediately put my head under the cool water.

My pulse was racing while the feeling of not being able to breathe was like having a panic attack. I imagined how Gino would just shoot me and even worse in agony, so that at some point my thoughts just overran and I spread the shampoo in my hair completely overwhelmed.

On the other hand, the fact that I trusted Dario comforted me. He was someone who could really control everything. Someone who always kept calm, so I also tried to calm down and turned off the water after a while, then grabbed a towel and carefully wrapped it around my wet hair.

I took a deep breath while looking at the mirror and then stood close to the door to listen first, but I didn't really hear anything, so I bravely grabbed the handle and slowly pushed it down while I waited for tensely stopped breathing for a moment.

"Oh hello," I said quietly when I saw Dario and Gino standing face to face, the latter eyeing my getup with irritation. "I hope it was okay that I took your clothes. Mine are all still in the wash," I explained tensely, trying to look calm and relaxed.

"Of course," Gino said, looking back and forth between me and Dario with a thoughtful expression, which made me increasingly nervous again. I definitely didn't want him to get suspicious, so without thinking about it, I walked up to him and kissed his cheek, then gave him a sugary smile before turning to Dario and giving him a questioning look.

"Did I bother you with something?" I said, not knowing what Dario was doing here and immediately felt Gino's arm around my back.

"No, my brother just wanted to clarify something business", Gino said and when my eyes then met Darios, he smiled reassuringly and nodded in agreement.

"Yes and now that everything is settled, I will leave you two alone now."

I followed him with my eyes to the door and after he closed it from the outside behind him, I was finally sure that Gino hadn't noticed anything. He was an impulsive person. Not one to keep their anger to themselves for long, so I didn't think twice until I suddenly realized I was really alone with him now and he still had his hand on my waist.

"What was the kiss for?" he asked and with a fake smile I turned to him to skilfully remove his hand from my waist.

"For everything today," I lied, feeling kind of bad for him as I looked deep into the dark brown of his irises, who were eyeing me curiously while I'd just slept with someone else.

Crap! Why did I suddenly feel bad?!

"Ludo," Gino said softly, gently stroking my cheek. "One thing you should know about me. I don't do anything for free. Nothing in life is given for free. You may be my fiancee, but if I do something good for you, I ask for something in return."

His hand traveled down my neck and further down to the top button of my shirt before he grabbed my waist with the other and pulled me closer to him.

"So don't tell me how grateful you are, show me."

Before I could think of a way to get out of this situation, the memory of last night flooded my mind. The humiliation, the degradation, and the bitter fact that my life really depended on this man in front of me. He could decide whether I would become a woman or a whore. Whether I was going to live or die, I just let his lips press against mine, closing my eyes.

"Exactly like that," he breathed against my lips and suddenly pushed his tongue into my mouth, which I reluctantly allowed entrance.

He gripped me tighter, gently massaging my tongue with his and pressing his pelvis against me almost insistently, so I could feel his excitement pressing against my abdomen.

"Damn, you taste good," he whispered, kissing down my cheek to suck my skin lightly when I reached my neck, making me shiver slightly. "I really want to feel you, baby."

Startled by his words, I widened my eyes again and pushed him away slightly against his chest, causing him to glare at me immediately.

"Ludo, what is this shitty back and forth about?!" he asked in a menacing voice and I immediately put my hands on his cheeks to keep him from freaking out again.

"Gino," I began calmly, but inside I was trembling incessantly because I had no idea how he was going to react. "It would be our first time. I'd like it to be romantic, please."

Hope he would buy that from me!

His eyes fixed me for a while before he gave me a quick kiss on my cheek and turned to the closet next to us.

"Whatever you want," I heard him say, and after he'd picked out a clean black shirt, he turned back to me. "I'll take a quick shower, then we'll eat something and drive to the club. You go down to the basement. There's the laundry room. Maybe your clothes are already dry."

I nodded and immediately ran to the door to hurry open it and bolt outside into the hallway, where I almost jogged down the stairs and looked for the basement door.

But I didn't have to search long.

I went through a small white door, behind which a narrow iron staircase led down into a kind of vault and although laundry would be washed down here somewhere, it smelled so bad that I had to put my hand in front of my nose.

As soon as I reached the bottom, I switched on the light and found myself in a large room made up of cold concrete walls.

"Probably the wrong door," I said to myself and was about to turn back to the stairs when I heard something like a gasp that immediately sent a shiver down my spine. I looked at another door down here, walked very slowly towards it and unconsciously held my breath until I suddenly heard someone behind me and started to freeze in shock while my heart was racing.

"What are you doing here?" Dario asked me in a dark voice and I looked at him in panic.

"I'm just looking for the laundry room," I stuttered, slightly overwhelmed, and looked again at the door, on whose handle I noticed a red liquid at that moment. "Ohhh my God," I breathed and wanted to run past Dario, but he held my arm back and looked at me intently.

"Calm down. I'll show you the laundry room."

He told me to run ahead and I almost sprinted up the stairs only to catch my breath in the large entrance area. I leaned forward, took several deep breaths and was just imagining the worst possible scenarios. Imagined that someone would be tormented down there. That there was someone who needed my help and casually watched as Dario locked the white door.

"Actually, the door is always locked. Nunzio must have forgotten it," he said calmly and then looked at me sternly. "You'll never use that door again. Do you get that?"

"Yes," I answered immediately and stood up again. "I certainly didn't intend to go down there again."

My eyes fell on his hands, but he gave me no sign that I had done anything wrong.

"Come with me," he said, and I silently followed him into the open living room, where Nicolo was standing with Enzo. They seemed to be arguing about something about school, but I continued to follow Dario to an archway at the end of the living room, where stairs also led down.

When he got downstairs he switched on the light and I immediately saw several washing machines and dryers and also that two of my clothes were already hanging neatly on a rail.

Just when I was just about to grab the dark one and run, Dario handed me a small packet that only contained a single pill.

I looked up at him questioningly until he took a step back and pointed to the pill.

"You take that now. I still have to get the normal pill."

I looked at the small packet, squeezed out the pill and swallowed it in front of him before handing the empty packet back to him.

"If you feel bad later, or if you're just slightly dizzy, let me know immediately," he said and looked at me waiting for my confirmation, but I shook my head.

"I won't be there later," I admitted, taking the dark red dress from the rack.

"Where are you, then?"

"Working with Gino."

"What?!", he suddenly said completely upset and it was the first time that he didn't seem calm and controlled to me. I looked up at him questioningly, but he seemed to be at odds with himself and ran up the stairs at a fast pace without even looking at me again.

But I was trying not to think about Dario or Gino right now. Much more the topic nagged at me, what was going on down there behind the closed door.

When I got back to my room with the dark red dress, so many thoughts went through my head at the same time that it was already pounding and I felt slightly nauseous from the whole chaos. Maybe it was because of that little pill, I had no idea.

I could still hear the shower water running in the bathroom, so I laid the dress on the bed and took off Gino's shirt and pants, then put on the dress, which luckily fit me like a glove.

It had long, tight sleeves and was fitted around the bust while widening at the waist and reaching to my knees. The neckline wasn't low and the back was closed all the way up, which made me feel really comfortable in it.

I grabbed one of the shoeboxes next to the closet and took out black ballerinas, which I immediately slipped into and then curiously looked at myself in the mirror. It kind of impressed me to wear something so expensive on my body and even though I still had the situation of the basement vault in mind, a tiny smile crossed my lips as I pushed my hair up with my hands and twirled in the mirror looked at.

The dress was certainly worth more than anything I had ever owned before.

I was about to straighten my hair again when the bathroom door opened next to me and my gaze wandered to Gino, who was standing in the door frame with only a towel around his hips and eyeing me with amusement.

"A really beautiful dress," he said softly, slowly walking towards me to stand right next to me, while he too turned to the closet and looked at me in the mirror. "Do you like to wear jewelry?"

I glanced over at him, then back at him in the mirror.

"Where I'm from, wearing jewelry means you're about to be mugged," I explained, remembering a necklace my mother had just ripped from my neck and stolen by some idiot.

"But you're not there anymore," Gino replied and opened the closet to take out a pair of black boxer shorts first. He dropped the towel around his waist and I quickly looked down at my feet, blushing to avoid staring at his cock.

It wasn't until he was wearing his shorts and grabbing a pair of light-colored jeans that I turned my gaze back to him and examined his body more closely. He wasn't as fit as Dario and also had far fewer tattoos, but he was still incredibly handsome, which didn't make his impulsive nature any more flattering.

"I'll get you an engagement ring tomorrow," he let me know, pulling on his pants and belt while I nodded and stared at the many shirts in the closet. "Any wishes? You seem to like romance. Maybe an engraving?"

"It should be round and fit," I retorted, watching him grin and shake his head, dimples forming in his cheeks.

"You really are easy to please, little ducky," he smirked, kissing my forehead before grabbing a dark red shirt to match me before turning and sitting on the edge of his bed.

I followed him with my eyes and then took a few steps towards him while he buttoned his shirt button by button.

"Why duck?" I asked straight out, remembering that Dario had been shocked. So there was definitely something behind it.

Gino's dark eyes met mine, but just as he was about to say something, his phone suddenly rang and he stood up, staring at the screen with a thoughtful expression.

"Ludo, wait downstairs. I'll be right there," he said, somehow distracted. I nodded and left the room, hearing him greet someone on his cell phone in the hallway, after which I closed the door and headed for the stairs.

With the beautiful dress on my body, I ran downstairs and straight into the living room, where the others were all sitting at the table. Enzo was reading the newspaper, Nicolo had his headphones on and Dario was chatting with Giovanna until his gaze fell on me and for a brief moment time stood still for me.

"Wow," I then heard Enzo's voice and turned my gaze from Dario's blue eyes to smile at Enzo. "Like a new person," he said and got up to come towards me with quick steps. He gave me a kiss on each cheek and then led me by my arm to the table, where I sat down opposite Dario and immediately got a venomous look from Giovanna, who quickly turned back to her mobile phone and kept in front of Dario held his nose, but hardly reacted to it.

"You should see wedding dresses soon, too," Enzo instructed me, and that's when I realized what Giovanna Dario was showing and an uncomfortable feeling spread in my stomach, so that I unconsciously held my breath.

I didn't even dare to look at Dario anymore, so I focused all my attention on Enzo, who gave me a satisfied smile as he opened his newspaper again.

"Si," I replied, thinking about what I was doing here anyway. I was basically playing with fire. Slept with my fiancé's brother and even now that I could feel his eyes burning into my skin, I got red cheeks and goosebumps on my arms that was almost driving me insane.

Dario attracted me magically and so much that I could hardly think of anything else but his touch. I didn't even care about the vaulted cellar as our eyes met briefly and I lost myself in the beautiful blue. If only I'd known what it was about him that fascinated me so much, I might have done something about it, but I didn't want to fight it. I wanted to belong to him, make him proud and be close to him, but that proved impossible. The whole thing would never be more than a secret affair anyway. He probably only let off steam on me in order to live happily ever after with Giovanna.

Or he wanted to get one over on Gino. After all, somehow I had already noticed that the two often argued and that Gino didn't think much of Giovanna either.

Oh shit. what am I doing here.

A few days ago I just had to deal with a drunk uncle and now I was sitting at a table with the most dangerous men in Palermo while cheating on my fiancé and probably men being tortured to death underneath me.

My gaze wandered from my hands back to Dario, who was now staring at his cell phone, just like Giovanna, and didn't pay any more attention to me.

"Ludovica?" Enzo addressed me again, handing me a cup of coffee, which I gratefully accepted. "Do you actually have a driver's license?"

"No," I shook my head and noticed his thoughtful nod before he gave Nicolo a light smack on the back of the head, who then took off his headphones annoyed.

"You can take Ludovica to your driving school tomorrow. Maybe you can do it together!"

"He's failed four times already," I suddenly heard Gino behind me, who sat down in the chair next to me and gave Nicolo a disparaging look. "Why don't we just let him give up? There are really nice bikes out there."

Gino laughed to himself and got a reprimanding look from Enzo while Nicolo gave him the middle finger.

"You failed twice too," Dario intervened and grinned stupidly at his brother, who just rolled his eyes and poured himself a coffee.

"Can't everyone be as perfect as you, you master student," Gino said, slightly irritated, but Enzo slapped the table next to me and stared back and forth between his sons while I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Is it too much to ask to sit together without your provocations?!", he got louder and immediately there was dead silence until he turned to me again. "Nicolo will take you with him and I hope you could help him learn a little.

I glanced at Nicolo, who eyed me curiously until I nodded and took a sip of my coffee.

"Of course I'm happy to help, if I'm any help at all," I said, smiling, watching Enzo, who then read his newspaper again and said nothing more.

"What would you like to eat?" Gino asked next to me. "We have pizza and I think there's salad in the fridge."

"Pizza," I smiled and automatically my gaze slid to Dario, who was rubbing his wrist almost imperceptibly, which made me immediately focus on Gino again. "Or rather a salad. It's supposed to be healthier," I mumbled awkwardly and after Gino got up, Dario gave me a satisfied smile and somehow I felt good about satisfying him.

Had I gone insane?