CHAPTER 72

Damien's POV

As I toss and turn in my sleep, I ultimately flutter open my eyes to the blackness around me.

I reach my hand toward the bedside and reason that the light must have been turned off by someone.

The bedside doesn't exist, and it clicks. I'm staying in the Academia Hotel in Italy, not at my house.

I sit up straight and quickly look around the bed for my phone. I can still remember walking downstairs to grab coffee for myself and breakfast for Lisa, but I have no idea whether she really ate it or not.

I expected her to come out so we could chat when I got back up, but she remained inside until I fell asleep. After taking a nice bath, I jumped into bed and started working on my laptop.

How many hours have I been asleep? I think to myself as I locate my phone and use the time-checking feature.

Since it's already after six, I've been out longer than five hours.

Wow!

Even at night, I can't recall how long I used to sleep like this. I suppose my recent lack of sleep and the fatigue from the travel are to blame.

I locate the light switch and turn it on before scanning the area for Lisa. How come she didn't wake me up?

I dropped her breakfast tray on the table, but as I looked down, I saw that it had vanished. I secretly grin.

Before I fell asleep, I turned to the room where she was staying and flung the door open to see that it was empty.

My brows are creased with perplexity. What did she do there? How could she go silently?

We may not have resolved our differences, but that is only because she hasn't given me an opportunity to explain why I am in the room. She isn't offering to listen to me.

Romeo isn't suitable for her. She can't date him, therefore I can't. I must prevent any harm to her.

I take my phone and quickly return to the bed to call her. The phone keeps ringing as she paces back and forth, but she isn't answering it.

It irritates me greatly. Why won't she answer the phone?

When another notion enters my head, I'm just ready to lay the phone on the bed and wait for her.

What if she had experienced something? She had to have been away for a while. She would have awakened me out of worry if she had been around the whole time.

Has she returned to the US? I turn to look, and there, next to the closet, is still her bag.

Do you know whether she went to meet Romeo? I guess that's all. Romeo phoned her this morning, and I have no doubt that he wants to meet with her to learn more about me. Is she all right? Has he injured her in any way?

I exhale, grasp my phone even more tightly, and rush out of the room, choosing to use the stairs rather than the elevator. I'll be condemned if my assumption turns out to be accurate.

She may be injured by Romeo. He seems to be capable of harming her. He doesn't have the appearance of a gentleman who would respect a woman's wishes and not impose himself on her.

Although he doesn't seem to be a gentleman at all, I won't let him harm her.

With a theatrical sigh, I lift my phone as I exit the lobby and look around, realizing that there are people everywhere and that I don't have a vehicle to start the search party or know where they are.

Alejandro answers when I call him on the fifth ring, so I start to circle the area while keeping an eye out for the lady with the long, straight black hair.

He says, "Hello, buddy," in a high-pitched voice this evening, so I assume he is in a good mood.

"Alex, is Lisa here with you?" I make a direct statement.

"Lisa? Obviously not. He reminds me, "I told you we took a break tonight and our trip would resume tomorrow. I am aware of it. When I told him before boarding a trip down here that Lisa would be free all day, he informed me over the phone.

Simply put, I'm at a loss about where I should look for her.

"What happened?" you ask.

I gasp out, "I woke up and I can't find her," as I halt at a crossroads and look back to see how close I am to the motel.

Which road should I take?

She is alright; you need not worry. She probably made the decision to go out alone tonight.

"Do you know anyone named Romeo?" He pauses for a long after I interrupt him.

"Romeo? Yes, it was the person we ran into.

"Are you aware of his residence?"

Do you believe they are a couple? He commands, and I snort. I don't want to mislead him in any way. Most likely about Lisa cheating on me.

"That man came yesterday to search for her. I'm simply concerned that he could have phoned her with malice in mind. Does he even resemble a gentleman, in your opinion?

Hey, dude, calm down. Lisa is coming back.

How certain are you?

"I'm certain Lisa is a good person. Perhaps she needed a breath of fresh air, and she will return. Simply return to the hotel and wait for her there. I'll call her right now.

I groan and crouch down, self-conscious. Why am I so concerned when I'm not even certain if they are dating? Maybe she walked outside to have some alone time.

Alejandro has a point. This is not the best approach to search for her. I ought to wait for her there.

He cuts the call off. I dread getting up and making my way back to the motel. I'm continuing sweeping the area with my eyes in an attempt to see her, but to no effect.

This time, I ride the elevator to the top level, exit, and go to the room on foot. I sigh in frustration as I recall that I didn't even lock the room when I hurried out earlier.

I move to the bed and shut the door behind me.

Wherever she went, Isabella had to return. Right now, I detest how I feel. She makes me feel sad and wretched, and I detest feeling that way.

I don't know where she is or what's going on with her, so how can I be okay?

I can't help but worry about this. Perhaps if I hadn't seen the so-called Romeo with my own two eyes, I wouldn't be thinking such a silly, awful thing about him kidnapping her, raping her, or killing her.

"F**k!" I leap to my feet once again, shaking angrily at my sense of helplessness.

My arm touches something chilly when I put my head down on the table where I left her food earlier today.

When I look up, I see a bottle of red wine with alcohol.

I take the glass cup next to it and open the wine bottle without looking at the label or caring how it got there.

I start by pouring a lot of wine into the glass cup, swallow it all, and then continue to pour until I have consumed half of it.

I mosey to the other room to take one of the dining chairs, looking for a place to sit instead of leaning over the table in this manner. I set it down near the table and get on it to keep sipping my wine.

By the time I finish this wine, I'm sure she'll be back. I'll use this to pass the time and block out the negative dreams I've been getting about her absence.

Alejandro promised that she would return. I really hope she will.

The time to go is most certainly not now since she didn't leave me while we were in New York. She is unfamiliar with everyone and everything in Italy.

All I want is for her to be secure. I am accountable for whatever happens to her since I am in charge of taking care of her.

The door creaks just as I'm about to pour the rest of the wine into my glass cup, and a black-haired lady with piercing blue eyes enters.

Lisa.

She has her hair pulled back into a ponytail and is carrying a little midi bag on her shoulders while wearing a striped ribbed midi dress.

She exudes grace, and I blink to confirm that she is there and that I am not dreaming.

She looks into my eyes and we exchange glances for a few seconds before she attempts to go without explaining to me why she left without telling me. I move quickly to get up from the chair and pull her back, her body slamming against mine as my hand snakes around her waist.