Heart made of stone
Alana left Santiago's room after trying to talk to him. The nurse didn't come since it was the weekend; hence she decided to try starting a conversation with him. Unfortunately, Santiago treated her like air. Alana concluded, Santiago was able to talk, but something was stopping him. He was intelligent and could read people effortlessly. He was observant of things and the people around him. Something which most adults failed to do, a child did easily,
“Was he in an accident…or was he born that way?” Alana fired Mrs. Marks with countless questions. She was eager to know everything about Ricardo's son, what exactly made him unable to talk. Was he born mute or something else
“I'm afraid, it's something only Sir knows,” Mrs. Marks replied politely, Alana didn't mean to push things. But she wanted to help
“Alright, you can go,” she waved the lady off, Mrs. Marks nodded and left the room. Alana was sitting on the bed with her eyes fixed on the computer.
“This rascal is the president of such a large fashion company…he owns a school and other things… and he's so useless," Alana muttered in disbelief, she had some time to check on Rocco Salvatore. He claimed to be the president of some fashion company; hence she went to look him up online, and it was true
He was given a nickname called fashion god because of his merits. His achievements and reputation in the fashion industry.
“How did I not see this,” the company was well-known and had branches in some countries. It recently changed its name, no wonder, Alana couldn't recognize it. But now, she was certain. It was her dream place to work in
“Maybe I should ask Ricardo…if he allows, then I'll be happy to accept the offer," she whispered as her eyes shifted to the file beside her. She went through and Rocco made quite an offer, Alana was anxious. Just then, the bedroom door opened and Ricardo walked in. She stopped what she was doing and watched him. He looked rather tired, or was he worried? Despite his stern expression, Alana was good at reading people's moods
“Is everything okay,” she asked when he was about to walk to the sitting area. Ricardo stopped in his tracks and glanced at her
“Do you have party dresses or something?” the man asked, Alana was confused. Why was he asking? Hence, she shook her head hesitantly
“Here, get yourself some for tomorrow evening,” Ricardo tossed two cards on the bed and walked away. Alana was even more confused,
“I have money, there's no need,” she refused and shoved the two bank cards back to him and averted her eyes
“I'm doing this for me, I'm attending an important gathering and I would rather not stand next to a woman wearing rags,” Ricardo replied sternly, immediately Alana looked up at him in disbelief. He was being sarcastic again. Her mouth opened and closed instantly, the insults dancing at the top of her tongue would be enough to send the man into a coma
“Sure,” Alana replied and angrily grabbed the cards. She got out of bed and decided to put them in her purse. She didn't need his money, but she cared. If he wanted her to spend, then she would spend more and leave him bankrupt,
“How much should I spend from this?” Alana stopped in her tracks and asked. Ricardo threw her a side glance. He didn't look so happy
“Limitless,” the man answered nonchalantly rendering Alana helpless, he turned away and Alana frowned
“Show off,” she muttered and walked away heading to the walk-in closet. She entered the closet and slammed the door shut. Ricardo was about to head to the sitting area when something caught his eye. Shifting in his tracks. The wind blew and the file on the bed opened, some pages flipped due to the wind
When he walked closer to see and sat down. His eyes narrowed when they fell on the logo on the laptop screen and the first page of the file
“Rocco,” he muttered the name of the person who owned such a logo. What was his wife doing with such a thing, and why was she looking up Rocco's company? When he read through the file, Ricardo's blood boiled.
The closed-door creaked open when Ricardo regained his wits and rose from the bed. Alana walked out but stopped when she noticed something,
“Oh no,” she muttered and facepalmed herself and rushed back to the bed. She forgot to hide the file Rocco gave her from Ricardo. What if he saw it and made assumptions
“Why are you standing there…oh you want the bed,” Alana was nervous as she walked past him and slammed the laptop shut and grabbed it. She picked up the file and awkwardly ran from there. The entire time, Ricardo was standing in one place with clenched hands. Rage shone in his eyes like sharp blades which could pierce through anything. Shortly Alana returned and arranged the bed properly
“There it's clean,” she said breathlessly and straightened up. Ricardo was too angry to look at her, even hearing her voice was fueling his rage. “Is everything okay, why are you flushed…do you have a fever… I thought you went to see a doctor?” Alana was agitated, seeing how flushed he was. His eyes were a little puffy and red. Ricardo averted his eyes from her and turned to leave when Alana grabbed his hand
“Even if you don't like me, just tell me if you are unwell,” she was irritated with her behavior, all she wanted was to be on good terms with him. Even if their relationship was nothing. At least they could be friends.
“You are not my wife, nor the woman I love…you have no right to ask me,” Ricardo muttered through gritted teeth. There was anger in his tone, Alana failed to understand how he switched from being nice earlier to being a total mean jerk. He shrugged her hand away with so much strength that Alana was pushed away. She missed a step, lost balance and fell backwards. With nothing to grab for support. Alana hit her head on the side table making a thud sound and fell to the floor. Realizing what he just did, Ricardo rushed to help her up
“Ouch,” she mumbled while rubbing her palm on her forehead “Let go,” she whispered and shoved him away
“Let me see,” Ricardo insisted on seeing her forehead, but Alana shrugged him off
“I didn't mean that… I…it's just”
“Sir, when someone is being polite, you don't have to be mean…we are all human beings…even if you think you don't need anyone…” Alana said in a hushed tone, tears lingered in her eyes, but she quickly pushed the tears away and rose to her feet. She felt a sharp pain in her left leg and arm, but she ignored that feeling “there are things which require the touch of someone to feel better…you wouldn't understand that…because you don't have a heart,” she added, glancing up at him and staring straight into his dark eyes before storming away. Ricardo only heard the slamming of the bathroom door. When he realized, his hands were hanging in midair, swallowing the dry lump stuck in his throat. Ricardo couldn't move. Why did he react like that? He didn't mean to push her, but seeing her with something which belonged to Rocco clouded his mind with anger, his gaze darted around until they fell on the bathroom door.
His hand automatically moved to his chest and slid up to his heart area. She was right, he didn't have a heart. All women were the same. He'd rather have a heart made of stone than have a heart made of glass only for someone to break it. If only she understood how that felt.
