Novel Square
24
“No one will release those pictures and I’ll make sure of it” he replies fiercely while stroking my cheek. I nod and lean against his hand enjoying the contact. He pulls me into his side and I rest my head against his shoulders slowly beginning to doze off as he plays with my hair. The last thing I remember is being cuddled up to Ivan in the limo before I welcome the sleep.
I wake up a few hours later and look around at my surroundings. By the familiar room and the scent of expensive cologne, I assumed I was in Ivan’s room. Sitting up, I scratch my head before pulling the blanket off me. I walk into his connected bathroom to freshen up a bit. I turn on the sink and wash the remainder of today’s make up off my face. Patting my face dry, I walk back into his room and towards his closet wanting to get out of my dress.
I look through his drawers and pick out a pale blue button up to put on over my undergarments. I wiggle out of my dress and carefully fold it before setting it on one of the drawers. The shirt rested at about mid thigh and I decide against attempting to fit into one of his sweats. I pull my hair out of the now messy bun and quickly brush my fingers through my hair to tame it. I open the door and step out before attempting to find Ivan. I wander aimlessly through the halls for awhile, admiring the paintings before I hear faint talking. Deciding to follow the voice, I find myself in front of the room where the sound was coming from. I knock a few times and wait for a come in before twisting the doorknob. I fling the door open and am met with Ivan neck deep in papers talking fiercely into a phone.
I step into the room quietly not wanting to disturb him and walk over to sit on the couch. I wait for him to finish but can’t help but catch fragments of their conversation.
“Why must you come on such short notice” Ivan grumbled into the phone using his other hand to rub his temples. I could barely hear the other person’s voice so I stop listening in and I chose to busy myself with a magazine instead. The vogue magazine had a beautiful women on the cover sporting a dark smoky eye and flawless features making me envious. I flip through the magazine only half paying attention when I hear Ivan sigh deeply. Looking up, I watch as Ivan takes deep breaths and shut my magazine.
“Who was that” I say voicing my curiosity and breaking Ivan out of his trance.
“That was my dearest mother calling to inform me that she will be flying in tomorrow morning to pay me a visit” He says frustrated not looking in my direction.
“Do you not like your mother” I ask confused on why it was such a big deal. I’d be ecstatic to have my mother still around and willing to be apart of my life.
“Of course I love her mia cara, it’s just that she can be a handful at times. Not to mention her obsession with wanting to set me up with women I have no concern in being with” he tells me finally looking up to meet my curious gaze.
“Well you should be thankful, I’d take having a nosy mother who’s concerned about my future over not having one at all any day” I reply my voice getting colder at the end. Ivan looks at me perplexed and studies me for a few minutes. I fidget under his gaze but keep eye contact until he finally says something.
“Mia cara, where’s your mother” he asks hesitantly as if him asking the question would result in my downfall.
“She’s in a better place I presume” I tell him pretending I didn’t care but my facade falls as soon as a single tear caresses my cheek. I quickly wipe it away before standing up and walking towards the door. Turning around I meet his gaze before answering the question he was dying to know.
“She committed suicide when I was 17 leaving me alone in this monstrous city with no blood relative within 100 miles leaving me to fend for myself until I became of age” I inform him before quickly walking out of the room and down the stairs into the living room. I collapse onto the couch face first and it was then the waterworks began. I sobbed into the couch quietly until I was gently lifted up and pulled into a hard chest. I sobbed into Ivan’s chest for what felt like hours finally allowing myself the chance to grieve. I cried for my mother, I cried for my father not caring enough to stick around, I cried about all of the hardships I’ve faced in the past 5 years. Ivan said nothing but rubbed patterns into my back and cooed into my ear until my hysteric sobbing became small sniffles.
I lift my head up off his chest and examine his shirt to see it wet with tears. I look into his eyes to see him staring at me in pain and I smiled at him to reassure him that I was fine.
“I’m sorry you’ve had to face such pain in the past and if I could, I’d go back in time to erase every single event that has caused you such grief” he tells me and the sincerity in his eyes almost making me burst into tears again.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
“I don’t think time travel has been invented yet” I joke trying to lighten the mood and succeed when he cracks a smile. He kisses me on the forehead before lifting me up into his arms and walking us into the kitchen. He sets me down on the counter before leaving to go change his shirt. I swing my legs as I think about my father and how much I wished he were in my life. Granted, he did leave me at a tender age but I couldn’t find it in me to hate him. I’m snapped out of my thoughts once Ivan comes back in with a new shirt on and some sweats.
“Do you want me to cook us something or do you want to order take out instead” he asks me softly not wanting to add to my apparent pain.
“Take out is fine” I whisper in response and he nods before going off to order the food. I hop off the counter and walk down the hall to busy my mind. At the end of the hall, I stumble across a vacant room with a piano sitting in the center of it. Not being able to resist, I rush over to it and walk around the piano for a few minutes just examining it. I slowly glide my fingers across the keys and let the familiar surface calm me. I take a seat and close my eyes to reminisce my piano playing days.
I finally strike up the courage and settle on playing a tune my mother used to sing to me at night. The room was filled with the melodic sound of the piano and I close my eyes to indulge myself into the music. As I continued to play, I slowly begin to sing the lyrics in Spanish letting the words fall of the tip of my tongue in waves. My fingers play the last note before the room is back to silence and filled with the emptiness I felt when I first walked in. I slowly open my eyes and stand up ready to leave the room but I see Ivan standing in the threshold.
“Mia cara, you continue to surprise me, even when I least expect it” he tells me once we’re face to face and all I do is smile.
“No one knows I can play the piano, not even Sierra. I kept it as my little escape from reality and felt that if I told anyone about it, it’d suddenly lose it’s meaning” I respond with a small blush knowing my explanation probably sounded childish. I look down at my feet as I wait for a response from Ivan but I feel a light touch on my chin.
“I understand what you mean, whenever I felt as if the world was getting to be too much, I would pull out my sketch pad and draw until my fingers became numb. In a way, it was like my safe haven” he replies thoughtfully looking me straight in the eyes as he spoke. My expression probably mirrored my surprise because seconds later, Ivan was chuckling.
“I never pegged you to be the type to enjoy drawing” I tell him before asking “Do you think I could see some of your drawings?” He nods before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room and towards his office. Our interlaced fingers brought pleasurable tingles up my arm and I smiled goofily. Moments later we were in his office and he let go of my hand to retrieve the sketch pad. He walks back to me and hands me a book urging me to look through it. Grabbing it from him, I open up the book and begin flipping through the pages.