My heart. It bled. It died.

.

ALINA

My day at the beach with Dante had surprisingly turned out to be refreshing to say the least.

Dante was so playful, I had never seen him being that carefree or playful in my few months of being with him.

He was usually putting up this cold wall of emptiness and wearing a baleful profile that just a glance at him was enough to get one to pee on themselves.

But the Dante I saw yesterday was the exact opposite of what I knew him to be.

He seemed so jovial, not having a single care of anything in the world.

He even got us toy water guns and derived fun in splashing water on me and getting me all soaked and wrapped up in his playful gimmicks.

I didn't realise when his playful attitude began rubbing off on me and I joined him as we splashed each other water on the beach.

He wasn't the cold, heartless, rude and over bearing Dante. He was just a normal average young man who was enjoying his time outdoors with his wife.

I never actually imagined a day like this would ever come whereby I would love Dante's company. The only time it happened was when I was drunk and I was clearly not in my right senses then but now I am fully sober but yet Dante managed to get me to actaully feel peaceful the way he said it.

He must have forgotten that I was the daughter of his sworn enemy. He didn't see me as Alina Fedorov yesterday, to him I was just Alina Morelli.

The thought almost got me smiling to myself as I sat in the living room until I realised who the fuck was making me smile.

It was Dante.

As quickly as the smile broke out, it vanished, leaving no trace of its appearance behind. How can I actually be thinking of that man and be smiling?

Did I forget who he was so soon?

He killed Theodore and he is nothing but a cold hearted beast.

I should detest him not find solace in his company.

The only reason he took me out was as a result of my burns. Nothing else and nothing more.

He himself said it by his own mouth. He made it clear on why he brought me out which only depicted how selfish he was. He wasn't thinking of my well-being, he just didn't want to hire any more person in the house.

I'm guessing it took a great deal of thoughts on his side before he decided on hiring Mariposa and Naomi.

Dante was just so self centred and egotistical. That sought of man has no place in my mind and my heart.

"Alina" a distinct tone that I knew so well called me, dragging me out of my thoughts.

I whipped my face to see Dante alighting from the stairs.

Gulping down my sudden uneasiness by his presence, I replied him, "Yes? May I help you?"

"What's for dinner? I'm starving" Dante asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders at him before focusing my eyes back on the screen of the huge television, "I don't know. You should ask Mariposa and Naomi. They are in the kitchen" I replied.

Dante folded his hands at me causing me to stare back at him.

"What?" I asked, annoyance playing in my tone.

"So you have no idea what they are cooking?" Dante rhetorically asked with a brow raised up.

I stood with a huff. "You told me to stop going into the kitchen Dante. What's your problem. Why do you want me to obey you yet you find fault when I do so?"

"I am not finding fault. I just expected you to atleast know. You are my wife aren't you" Dante replied taking slow strides towards me.

"Oh so now I'm your wife" I chuckled out.

Dante rolled his eyes at me.

"Is something cooking?" He pointed towards the kitchen.

"Yes. Your maids are preparing dinner" I gave him a suitable reply before sitting back on the sofa.

Dante came to sit by my side which suddenly got all the hairs in my body standing. I attempted to adjust myself when he gripped on to my thighs, forcing me to sit back.

"Let me see your hands" he commanded.

Damn. Even when he seemed caring, he still spoke with so much authority.

Like an obedient dog, I carefully outstretched my hands for Dante. He held them both and accessed them, his emerald orbs carefully scrutinizing them and not filtering away for a nano second.

"Hmm" he hummed looking impressed.

"This is healing fast. Thankfully the burns weren't too serious. In no time the scalds would be all gone" Dante added.

I nodded. "It seems so"

Dante let go of my hands and faced me intently, his orbs squaring my expression.

"Why do you keep on staring at me Dante?" I inquired. It was getting to piss me off.

"What should we do until dinner is ready?" Dante asked for my opinion which got me taken aback.

We?

What did he mean by we? Did he want to hang with me again?

"Do you want us to hang out?" I asked confused.

"If you put it that way. I feel bored and I don't want to attend to my work duties yet. So I need something fun and interesting to keep me busy" Dante explained.

The way he said the 'fun' got me feeling a tad awkward.

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"Would you like to know my own definition of fun?" Dante mischievously asked.

"Uhm sure ok"

Dante leaned in closer towards me, his hands gripping my chin roughly. "I'll tie you up in my room and we will play a little game. And if you make a sound in the course of the game, I'll punish you"

I choked on the air on hearing that and quickly pulled my face away.

"Honestly Dante my definition of fun is not the same as yours"

My face turned beetroot red at his sly remarks.

Dante laughed richly at my reaction and clasped his hands together. "Ok fine. What boring thing should we do instead?"

"We can play a board game you know. Like chess or scrabble. Monopoly. Any board game" I listed.

Dante stroked his chin for a while. "Scrabble sounds exquisite. I'll go get it"

I watched him walk away, my body having mixed emotions on Dante's sudden character towards me.

Was this really Dante? He actually wanted to spend time with me.

But why?

Was he beginning to....like me?

No. No. No. I shook my head in a bid to get rid of the thoughts.

Not possible.

I have to try and stop thinking of anything sexual and romantic between I and Dante before it actually turns to a reality.

* * * * * * *

"Ha I won again!" I exclaimed on seeing my score. I had formed the word 'MEDIOCRE' and it skyrocketed my score above Dante's.

Dante rolled his eyes which was something I realised he did frequently. "You cheated. You used the cheat cards for must of your words. Infact no more cheat cards"

I giggled at Dante's excuse. "I didn't use it for everything. We both equally used it twice. Dante just accept that I won" I laughed.

Dante shook his head at me. "No. Infact let us start all over again"

My jaws dropped at his statement. "No. We aren't. We will finish this. Watch me sweep the street of New York with your tears" I protested.

Dante smirked at me. He was about speaking when his phone rang. Standing up, he answered the caller.

I focused on arranging my letters when the maids walked in, carrying various trays containing our food and setting them on the dinning table.

"Hold on for a sec" Dante told whoever he was on the line with.

"Dinner is ready Mr and Mrs Morelli" Mariposa announced.

"Sure. Naomi go into my room. You will see a file on my bed. Get it" Dante ordered as he left the living room for the dinning area.

I stood up with a beam on my face, packing the scrabble letters and it's board.

I packed it all up and headed upstairs, trailing behind Naomi.

I and Dante's relationship seemed to blossom each passing moment. Maybe some other time we would get to play scrabble once again.

He was a fair player. I liked that sort of sportsmanship.

I watched Naomi open Dante's room and my eyes at once took a swift glance of every thing there.

I wanted to keep on walking but curiosity got the better of me and I followed her inside.

This was the first time I was actually inside Dante's room. This same room we were meant to share together.

The room was dim but the sunset lamp provided a measurable amount of light to it, feeling the room with its soft rays.

It was just like I imagined it. Black marble decorating the walls of his room, an ostentatious kingsized bed placed in the middle, black coloured duvets and black sheets decorating it.

There were two grey doors by the right, probably leading to his closet and bathroom.

I noticed various tall book shelves aligned perfectly but the darkness forbade me from seeing more.

By the far end of the room stood three long windows drapped in gold coloured curtains. The eager wind blew the curtains vigorously as they danced to its rhythm providing little view of the luminous moon whose rays shone through the foggy clouds.

There was a little table at the centre and various plant pots were spotted around each corner of his room, feeling the room with their beautiful flowery scent.

The room was extremely chilly.

"Ma'am should I lock the door?" Naomi's voice jolted me out of whatever hypnotism I was experiencing.

I shook my head at her. "No. You can go. I'll take the file to Dante" I told her.

She bowed her head gracefully and left. I let my eyes explore once more for a while before it landed on a certain framed picture which was hanged on the wall.

Curious of who it was or who they were, I walked towards it and tiptoed to reach for it.

Grabbing hold of it, I saw clearly that it was a smiling picture of a middle aged man and woman. They were Dante's parent.

Dante was his mother's replica. From the nose to the eyes to the lips, to her smile; every fucking thing. The only thing he took from his dad was his midnight black hair.

They looked so beautiful together. A single tear trailed down my cheeks as I remembered the Russian mafia were the ones responsible for their demise.

A stinging pain brewed in my chest the more I stared at the pictures, reminiscing what the two of them would have looked like if they were alive.

"Alina!" A deep gruff voice resonated in my ears causing me to jerk and accidentally let the frame fall to the ground, its glass shattering into smithereens.

Fearfully, I turned to see the furious profile of Dante glaring murderously at me.