- 18 minutes ago
The Maid Who Ran from the Don AVS
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The ruthless mafia heir Alessandro had money, power, blood in his hands, but not one woman in his bed.
00:08The rumors said the future Dawn was either impotent or gay.
00:11The old matriarch worried about the Moretti bloodline, so she gave the order to me, the maid who sold herself
00:17because of the family debt.
00:18Strip down and climb into Alessandro's bed. Teach him desire. If you succeed, your family's debts will be cleared.
00:24If you fail...
00:26Her voice pressed down on me.
00:28Don't bother coming back alive.
00:31I'd heard that other failed models and celebrities disappeared without a trace after they failed.
00:36Let alone a girl like me, with nothing to my name.
00:39That night, I crept into his room in nothing but a thin lace lip kneeling at the foot of his
00:44bed, shaking.
00:46Alessandro was on the bed, idly toying with a gun.
00:49Bianca, what are you doing?
00:51He didn't expect it me.
00:53Your grandmother ordered it.
00:55I whispered.
00:56She said I'm to teach my master about... sex.
00:59He sat up against the headboard, dark silk pajamas loose at the collar.
01:03He tilted my chin up, his gaze lingering over my face.
01:07His voice was low and teasing.
01:09Teach me then.
01:10I swallowed and took out a sex manual his grandmother had prepared for me.
01:15Techniques, positions, all of it.
01:17I read the first page in a flat, steady voice, like a prayer.
01:21I tried my best to ignore the illustrations.
01:24Alessandro nodded slowly.
01:25Not one word wrong.
01:27Impressive.
01:29But what about the pictures?
01:30I looked up.
01:31What?
01:32He suddenly pulled me onto the bed and wrapped an arm around my waist.
01:36Then he pointed at the illustrations.
01:40If you don't explain the picture, how am I supposed to know what it means?
01:44My face burned hot.
01:45My ears going red instantly.
01:47His pajamas hung loose at the chest.
01:49His burning skin pressed against me.
01:51I looked down.
01:52The picture was...
01:54Explicit.
01:55I knew the rough idea.
01:56I had no idea two people could even bend that way.
02:00They're, um...
02:01They're together.
02:02Alessandro pressed my head toward him, his lips almost touching mine.
02:06He whispered...
02:07Couldn't follow.
02:08Be specific.
02:09The text on the page had been one thing.
02:11The heat of his breath against my face was another.
02:14My face went hot.
02:15I shoved the book at him and put some distance between us.
02:19I don't know how to describe it.
02:21Mr. Moretti can see for himself.
02:23He didn't take the book.
02:24His gaze stayed on me, soft and sly.
02:27You don't even know.
02:28How are you supposed to teach me?
02:30Go back and learn properly.
02:32Come back tomorrow.
02:34A quarter hour later, I was outside his door, sniffling.
02:38Day one.
02:39Failed.
02:41The next day, the matriarch found out I'd failed.
02:44She lost it.
02:46Stay here on your knees until you figure out how to seduce him.
02:50I was punished to kneel in the garden under the rain.
02:52The stone slabs scraped my knees and the heavy rain stoked me through.
02:56I'd been born to a poor family.
02:58My father had gambled away a fortune in debts, and my mother couldn't afford to raise both me and my
03:03younger brother.
03:04So when I was still a child, she sold me to the Moretti family.
03:08It was there I met Alessandro 16 back then.
03:11I'd never known a man could be like that.
03:13Handsome.
03:14Intelligent.
03:15Violent yet elegant.
03:16He'd pulled me out of the dirty and back-breaking kitchen and made me his only personal housemaid.
03:21Ten years had passed.
03:22I pressed his suits.
03:24I poured his wine.
03:26I organized his files for him while he was working.
03:29And somewhere in there, somewhere I shouldn't have, my heart had started leaning toward him.
03:34But I had never once thought the matriarch would order me to strip and crawl into his bed like a
03:38whore.
03:39I felt the tears coming.
03:41I was still a virgin.
03:42How was I supposed to teach anyone?
03:45Alessandro came through the front gate just then.
03:47He saw me kneeling in the rain, crying.
03:49What's going on?
03:50I almost passed out from the pain in my knees.
03:53He didn't ask twice.
03:55He swept me up into his arms and carried me into his room.
03:59He checked my knees.
04:01Your skin is raw.
04:03He found a small jar of ointment and started working it gently into the skin.
04:07The most powerful air in New York kneeling in front of me.
04:10His fingers were long and careful, drawing slow circles on my knee.
04:14You're always so reliable.
04:16My grandmother only punishes you when you've done something wrong.
04:19Was it last night?
04:21I was so tense, I twitched against the bruise and let out a hiss.
04:24But underneath, my heart was leaping because of his concern.
04:28Alessandro caught my finger and suddenly kissed my cheek.
04:30His voice didn't give anything away.
04:33Tell my grandmother I learned slowly.
04:36Come back tonight.
04:37Keep teaching.
04:39That night, Alessandro was already in bed holding the book when I came in.
04:43Somehow, his pajamas was even more open than yesterday.
04:46I could see every line of his abs.
04:47He saw me and patted the bed next to him.
04:49Shoes off.
04:50Up here.
04:51I climbed up beside him, leaned against the pillows.
04:54Then, I realized what he was reading.
04:56The sex manual.
04:57My heart started slamming.
04:58He didn't seem to notice and laid the book open between us.
05:01His arm wrapped around my waist just like in the picture.
05:04Is this how the people in the pictures do it?
05:06I nodded, blushing.
05:07He flipped to the next page as if he were really a student.
05:10Time passed.
05:11He handled me like a toy, following every position from the manual.
05:14The only sound in the room was the rustle of paper in Alessandro's breathing, which was
05:17getting uneven.
05:18Bianca.
05:21Yes?
05:23I'm uncomfortable.
05:26What's wrong, my master?
05:28Alessandro suddenly snapped the book shut, threw it aside, and pulled me against him.
05:31I wanted to see you blush.
05:33He said into my hair.
05:36Now I can't take it anymore.
05:39I'd known I was pretty since I was small.
05:41The other servants used to tease me about it.
05:44They said with my face and my figure, I didn't have to do a thing to make a man want
05:48me.
05:49Alessandro caught my earlobe between his teeth.
05:52His breath was hot against my ear.
05:53I went stiff.
05:54I didn't know what to do with my hands.
05:56Take it easy.
05:58Alessandro kissed his way down my neck.
06:00His fingers slipped one of my straps down and his kiss landed lower.
06:03His other hand slid under my dress and I shuddered.
06:06Then he stripped off his shirt, revealing a perfectly sculpted body.
06:09His eyes locked on me.
06:11Your virginity is mine.
06:12And now, I'll take it.
06:16His perfect body moved against mine in steady waves.
06:20It hurt.
06:20I started to cry.
06:22He laughed soft.
06:24Don't even know how to do it.
06:26But you were going to teach me?
06:29Aren't you the one who doesn't know?
06:31I whispered miserable.
06:32Sweetheart, there's no man alive who doesn't know.
06:35He kissed the corner of my mouth, gentle, turning to fierce.
06:38When it's the right woman, the body just figures it out.
06:42That night, he didn't let me go.
06:44Now I knew just how ridiculous those rumors were that he was impotent or that he was gay.
06:49Once a man's tasted blood, he wants more.
06:52For the next two weeks, Alessandro wanted me in his bed every night.
06:55He was fierce and dark behind closed doors.
06:57He had mastered every trick in that manual, except self-restraint.
07:00After being teased by a few servants about the mocks on my body, I tried a careful approach.
07:05I heard that even good things shouldn't be overdone.
07:08That too much of it isn't good for the body.
07:10I stopped his kiss at my neck.
07:12Alessandro laughed.
07:13You know a lot for someone who knew nothing.
07:16But he let me sleep, that night at least.
07:18The matriarch heard it and nearly broke into tears of joy.
07:21Thank God.
07:23The Moreggi bloodline is saved.
07:26Then she turned to me.
07:28Bianca, you're a sharp girl, and you've got your head on straight.
07:32When the right wife comes into this family, I'll have Alessandro keep you on as his mistress.
07:38That was when I realized the matriarch was already arranging Alessandro's marriage.
07:42The candidate was Cassandra Santoro, daughter of the Santoro family.
07:47Of course, the most powerful mafia heir deserved a wife from a respected mafia bloodline.
07:52Not someone like me.
07:53A small-town girl.
07:54A maid.
07:55Being kept on by a man like him was a kind of miracle, and I was already half in love
07:59with him.
07:59And he told me he liked me.
08:01I never imagined there could be more.
08:03My face burned.
08:04I knelt and thanked the matriarch.
08:06Good girl.
08:06Take this as your reward.
08:08She handed me my family debt bondage.
08:10It meant I was free of my servant bond or the debt.
08:12I almost wept with joy, but Alessandro was the only one who wasn't happy.
08:16That night in his bed, he gripped my jaw.
08:19Your man is taking a wife, and you're happy?
08:22My chest squeezed, but I made myself smile.
08:25You and the Moretti girl are a perfect match.
08:28Why wouldn't I be happy for you?
08:29His face darkened.
08:30Each word came clipped.
08:32She's the wife.
08:33You're the mistress.
08:34The other woman.
08:35From now on, I'll be staying with her in this bed every night, using all the ways you once taught
08:39me to treat her well.
08:40If you cross her, she has the right to scold you, scream at you, do reasonable things she likes.
08:45It hit me then.
08:45He was warning me.
08:46He was afraid I'd get too comfortable, that I'd cross his new wife and bring down trouble.
08:51He was reminding me of my place.
08:53Yes, Mr. Moretti.
08:54I know what I am.
08:56I'll stay in line.
08:57Somehow he got even more angry.
09:01And if she's cruel, if she goes out of her way to hurt you, do you really understand?
09:09The men around the table howled.
09:11Glasses clinked.
09:12The whole booth erupted.
09:13The coat crushed in my fist.
09:14So the love he whispered in my ear was just some trick.
09:17A move on a board.
09:18I couldn't bring myself to pull back the curtain.
09:20I turned and stumbled out, the coat slipping from my fingers somewhere along the way.
09:25Alessandro's car was waiting at the front of the club.
09:27The driver was there.
09:28I should have walked back to the car.
09:30Instead, my stomach turned.
09:31I turned into a narrow side hall.
09:33I bent over and retched.
09:35Nothing came up.
09:36I'd counted the days and I was already two weeks late.
09:38This was a sign of pregnancy.
09:40The worst possible time.
09:41I looked around.
09:42I was in the back street behind the club.
09:44Nobody could see me.
09:45My debt bondage were folded in my bag.
09:48No debt.
09:48No service.
09:49I was a free woman.
09:50I'd never been brave.
09:52I was the most careful person I knew.
09:54But somehow, in that minute, I decided,
09:56I'll leave.
09:57I wouldn't be going back to the Moretti estate.
09:59I ran out into the rain around the alley and flagged down a cab.
10:03Take me away from this part of the city.
10:05As far as you can.
10:10Alessandro finished his last drink and stood to leave.
10:12That's when his eyes landed on the coat I'd brought.
10:15The brooch on it was a gift I'd saved up for months to give him.
10:18He snatched it up from the floor, eyes flaring with panic.
10:21Who's been here?
10:24The cab rolled through the storm,
10:26and my time at the Moretti estate played back in my head.
10:29Scene by scene.
10:30The first day I'd come to work the estate,
10:32one of the family's men had cornered me,
10:34simply because of my face.
10:36Just as that filthy hand was about to tear my clothes off,
10:39an arm hauled him off and sent him sprawling.
10:42That was the first time I saw him.
10:43Tall, sharp, like a blade drawn from its sheath.
10:46He'd looked up and his eyes had gone stunned just for a second.
10:49What's your name?
10:50I lowered my eyes.
10:51Young.
10:53It suits you.
10:54He'd said.
10:55You're fair as fresh snow.
10:56Of the dozen girls who'd come to work the estate that season,
10:59I was the only one Alessandro had chosen to be his personal maid.
11:03I'd been over the moon.
11:04I worked twice as hard as the others.
11:06When I cleaned the front rooms,
11:07I caught myself watching for his figure across the grounds.
11:10By the time I noticed what I'd done,
11:12the feeling had its roots in too deep to pull.
11:14I'd loved him so carefully.
11:16So afraid someone would catch on,
11:18that they'd laugh at the kitchen girl
11:19who thought she had a chance with the air.
11:21Being his maid had been enough.
11:22I never thought of more.
11:24But I couldn't be one bottle in his collection.
11:26I couldn't stand him watching me bleed for him and finding it amusing.
11:30And the very least,
11:31I didn't want my child to suffer for it later.
11:33I didn't want her called a bastard.
11:35I looked back at all his odd behavior the last few weeks.
11:38His harsh words.
11:39The way he'd stopped calling me to his bed.
11:41He'd been pushing me away on purpose,
11:43hoping I'd get the hint and back off.
11:45And here I was,
11:46an idiot,
11:47daydreaming about our future.
11:48Is that it?
11:49The driver took the next turn.
11:52The cab rolled on into the rain.
11:55I'd been in this little out-of-the-way town nearly a year.
11:58I'd had my daughter.
11:59I'd named her Penny.
12:00Even out here,
12:01gossip from the Moretti family filtered through eventually.
12:04People said the Santoro girl had been married in spectacular fashion.
12:07The display had gone on for blocks.
12:09Cars, jewels,
12:10the whole show.
12:11Alessandro had won her.
12:13He'd be high on himself now.
12:14He wasn't my match.
12:15He'd never been my match.
12:17Cutting him out of my life had been the right thing.
12:19I'd opened a small restaurant on the main road,
12:21using the money I got from pawning a diamond necklace he'd given me.
12:24When Penny was three,
12:25she ran a fever in the middle of the night.
12:27I rushed her to the hospital through the pouring rain that night.
12:30The doctor looked at me with pity.
12:32Just you raising her?
12:33Where's her father?
12:34Dead.
12:35Caught an STD and died young.
12:37Penny was burning up,
12:38half awake.
12:38She mumbled at me from under the blanket.
12:40Mama,
12:41what did he catch?
12:42A sickness people get when they don't keep clean.
12:45I stroked her hair.
12:46Penny keeps clean.
12:47So Penny will get better fast.
12:50Aunt Marge was trying to set me up again.
12:52I'd turned her down a dozen times.
12:54She wouldn't quit.
12:55You've got a child.
12:56You can't go through this life alone.
13:02Penny and I are enough.
13:03We're our own family.
13:05That's different.
13:06Now,
13:07this Ethan,
13:08his father had once owned a large farm.
13:10He never amounted to much,
13:12but he owns a house.
13:13He lost his wife a few years back,
13:15looking for a kind,
13:16steady woman to settle down with.
13:18She stroked Penny's head.
13:19He says he doesn't care that you've got a child.
13:21He'll treat Penny like his own.
13:22So,
13:23if yes,
13:24I'll make it happen.
13:25Don't be shy.
13:26He'll come to your restaurant tomorrow for lunch.
13:28Brown jacket,
13:29far corner table.
13:31Just walk over
13:32and look at him.
13:33If you like him,
13:34I'll keep going.
13:35If not,
13:35no embarrassment.
13:37I never got a word in.
13:38The next afternoon,
13:39a brown jacket sat down at the corner table,
13:42just as promised.
13:43I'd tell him I wasn't interested.
13:45I walked over carrying the beef stew.
13:47Sir,
13:48try the beef stew.
13:49His hand shot out and locked around my wrist
13:52as I set the bowl down.
13:53The broth nearly splashed.
13:54I jerked my eyes up,
13:55ready to snap at him.
13:56I met a pair of stunned eyes,
13:58a familiar face.
14:00The kind of handsome I had spent four years
14:02trying to forget.
14:03Now his face was wrenched with shock and fury.
14:05How could it be?
14:06Mr. Moretti.
14:08I caught the word before it left my mouth.
14:11I turned my face away and forced my voice flat.
14:14Sorry.
14:15Wrong table.
14:16That order was for someone else.
14:18His hand wouldn't let go.
14:19His voice was shaking.
14:20Bianca,
14:22why are you here?
14:24Half the room was looking at us now.
14:26I had made up my mind four years ago
14:28that I would never let this man back into my life.
14:31Let go!
14:32I slapped him across the face,
14:34hard.
14:36You've got the wrong person.
14:38Get a grip, sir.
14:39I bolted for the back.
14:41Alessandro caught up in three strides
14:43and cornered me against the far wall of the back lot.
14:45He had me pinned,
14:46anger pouring off him.
14:47So you've got some nerve now,
14:49running from the estate
14:50and even slapping me.
14:51I held the line.
14:52I really don't know you.
14:54He laughed once,
14:56sharp and cold.
14:57His eyes dropped to my collar.
14:58Is that so?
14:59Let me settle this.
15:01His fingers yanked my collar down.
15:03There was a scar on my shoulder.
15:06Alessandro turned his head.
15:07He seized Ethan
15:08and hurled him against the wall
15:09like he was garbage.
15:12She's mine.
15:13Get out!
15:14Ethan scrambled away as best he could.
15:16The lot went quiet.
15:18Alessandro's face was iron.
15:19You were meeting that?
15:20Women grow up.
15:21Women marry.
15:22There's nothing wrong with it.
15:23What does he have?
15:24He's vulgar.
15:25He's twice your age.
15:26That was what you wanted?
15:28Who I marry is none of your business,
15:30Mr. Moretti.
15:31He bent down,
15:32hands on my shoulders,
15:33putting himself eye to eye with me.
15:35You took your debts bondage
15:36and you ran
15:38after everything I did for you.
15:41Do you have any heart at all?
15:42From his side of things, yes.
15:44He had been good to me.
15:45He had never cursed me,
15:46never humiliated me,
15:48never even raised his voice.
15:49He paid me well
15:50and slipped me extra on holidays.
15:52For hired help,
15:53a boss like that was a blessing.
15:54But the problem was,
15:55I loved him.
15:56I fell into silence.
15:57He thought he scared me
15:59and softened his voice.
16:00That day,
16:01they said you'd come to the club
16:02with a coat for me.
16:03I asked the valet and the driver.
16:05Neither of them saw you leave.
16:06I even thought it was my rival
16:07who had taken you.
16:08But I tore this city apart
16:09looking for you.
16:10I couldn't find a trace.
16:12He cupped my face.
16:21He said it as if I'd mattered to him.
16:24I was confused.
16:25Maybe it was just that
16:26he'd never found another maid
16:27who served him as well as I had.
16:30Bianca,
16:32tell me the truth.
16:33The truth?
16:34How was I supposed to put it?
16:35If I said he'd broken my heart,
16:37I'd been the fool.
16:38If I said he was unfaithful,
16:39what right did the help have
16:40to throw that at him?
16:41So all I said was,
16:43A mistress is an object.
16:44No dignity,
16:45no feelings,
16:46loyal because she has to be.
16:48The man wants company.
16:49She strips and lies down.
16:51Nobody asks whether she wants it.
16:53I wiped my eyes
16:54and made myself smile.
16:57Mr. Moretti,
16:59Bianca didn't want to serve anymore.
17:01Will that do?
17:01I wouldn't make you the mistress.
17:03No.
17:03I cut him off.
17:04A restaurant.
17:05My own food.
17:07My own roof.
17:08It suits me fine.
17:10Alessandro stood there a long time.
17:12He gave a small, bitter laugh.
17:14I see.
17:16I underestimated your pride.
17:18Letting me touch you,
17:19letting me have you,
17:20that was a humiliation to you.
17:25After he was gone,
17:27I hung the closed sign
17:28on the front door early.
17:29By dusk,
17:30the rain had started.
17:31I went to pick up Penny.
17:33When the restaurant was busy,
17:35I left her at Aunt Marge's
17:36who watched her along
17:37with her grandson, Tommy.
17:38I was halfway to the door
17:39when it creaked open.
17:41Penny had walked herself home.
17:43Mama,
17:43I saw a man on the street.
17:45He didn't have an umbrella.
17:47He was just standing in the rain.
17:49He looked so sad.
17:50I gave him my candy.
17:51The one Tommy gave me.
17:53Her hair was misty wet.
17:55I unclipped it
17:56and dried it with a towel.
17:58You don't walk home alone
17:59in the rain.
18:00You wait for Mama.
18:02Did he take your candy?
18:03Yes.
18:04She blinked her big,
18:05serious eyes at me.
18:05He said he messed something up.
18:07I told him not to be scared.
18:09And if there's something
18:10he can fight for,
18:11he should fight for it
18:12with everything he has.
18:13I sighed,
18:15half laughing.
18:16She remembered everything
18:17I'd ever told her.
18:18My little brave girl.
18:20I tucked her in
18:21and coaxed her to sleep.
18:22Then someone was knocking
18:23at the door.
18:24The second I opened it,
18:26a wet shape pushed inside
18:27and pulled me into his arms.
18:30Her hair was loose,
18:31eyes blurry,
18:32feet bare on the floor.
18:33I bolted up
18:34and scooped her inside
18:35my voice shop.
18:36You should be sleeping.
18:37What are you doing out here?
18:39Mom,
18:40is this bad man hurting you?
18:42Alessandro stepped inside
18:44after us,
18:44dripping.
18:45He looked at the two of us
18:46and forgot how to move.
18:48She called you Mama.
18:50I didn't answer.
18:51He looked at Penny.
18:52What's your dad's name?
18:54Hmm.
18:54My dad caught something dirty.
18:56He died.
18:58Alessandro took one slow step
18:59toward us.
19:00Then another.
19:01His voice was unsteady.
19:03How old are you?
19:06A child can't keep a secret.
19:08Three.
19:10I scrambled for cover.
19:12Mr. Moretti,
19:13don't get the wrong idea.
19:14She's adopted.
19:16I found her in a dumpster
19:17three years ago.
19:18That's why I called her Penny.
19:20Found a penny in the gutter.
19:22Alessandro didn't move.
19:24Bianca,
19:25don't you think
19:26you're explaining too much?
19:27Penny was glaring at me.
19:29Mama,
19:29you said I came out
19:30of your belly
19:31and my name
19:32means a small thing
19:34that grows into
19:34a great thing.
19:36It doesn't mean
19:36you picked me
19:37out of the trash.
19:39Penny had Alessandro's eyes
19:41and his mouth.
19:42The shape of her face
19:44was mine.
19:45There was no walking
19:46this back.
19:47I clutched her tighter,
19:48terrified he'd take
19:49her the next breath.
19:50Alessandro knelt down
19:51in front of us.
19:52He started to reach
19:53for Penny's cheek
19:54and then remembered
19:55his hand was wet
19:56and stopped his fingers
19:57an inch away.
19:57I knew you
19:58the second I saw you.
20:00That's why I took the candy.
20:01Penny,
20:02I'm your father.
20:04Penny stuck her hand out,
20:05palm up.
20:07You hurt my mama.
20:09Give it back.
20:11I didn't hurt your mama.
20:13Alessandro's voice
20:14was so gentle.
20:15He looked at her
20:16like he couldn't believe
20:16she was real.
20:17I ate the candy.
20:19It was sweet.
20:21Thank you for the encouragement.
20:22Penny puffed up her cheek.
20:24Mama was right.
20:25There are a lot of liars
20:27out there.
20:28Alessandro's mouth opened
20:29but nothing came out.
20:31Penny squinted at my mouth.
20:32Mama,
20:33what happened to your lip?
20:36I burned it on some soup.
20:38You had soup?
20:40Uh,
20:41yes.
20:43Yes.
20:44Tasted good.
20:47I went hot with shame
20:48and rage
20:49and would have hit him
20:50if my daughter
20:50hadn't been watching.
20:51He then changed the subject
20:53in a perfectly cheerful voice.
20:54My clothes are wet.
20:56How do I shower here?
20:58Can't you see
20:59Mama's wet too?
21:00Mama goes first.
21:02Right.
21:03You're right.
21:05My mistake.
21:06A spoiled heir
21:07who'd been waited
21:08on his entire life.
21:09Less considerate
21:10than my three-year-old.
21:12Bianca,
21:13take a hot shower.
21:14I'll watch the child.
21:16Don't catch a chill.
21:18Penny gave me
21:18a sage look.
21:20Mama,
21:20I'll keep an eye on him
21:22so he doesn't try anything.
21:24I came out
21:24from the shower
21:25to find that
21:25the watchful Penny
21:26had fallen asleep.
21:28In the warm lamplight
21:29she lay curled
21:29with her little
21:30flowered blanket
21:31pulled to her chin,
21:32dark lashes
21:33resting on her cheeks.
21:34Alessandro was hanging
21:35over the side of the bed,
21:37eyes fixed on her
21:37like he couldn't look away.
21:39How is she this pretty?
21:41She looks like you
21:42and like me at once.
21:43I can't get over it.
21:45My restaurant
21:46doesn't keep guests overnight.
21:48You should go.
21:49He looked like
21:50a big wet dog.
21:51In this rain,
21:52where am I supposed to go?
21:55He had nowhere to go.
21:56That was actually true.
21:58So why had he shown up
21:59here completely alone?
22:00No entourage.
22:02Not one bodyguard.
22:04He plucked at his wet shirt,
22:05gave up,
22:06and went to take a shower.
22:08My hair was thick and long.
22:09I'd just gotten it half dry
22:11and was reaching for the lotion
22:12when I heard him come back.
22:14I turned and froze.
22:15Alessandro was standing
22:16in the middle of the room
22:17with absolutely nothing on.
22:19I whipped my head back around.
22:21What are you doing?
22:22He kept his voice down.
22:24Don't wake the kid.
22:26Don't read into it.
22:28I didn't mean anything.
22:29Do you have a change of clothes?
22:31I lived alone
22:32with a three-year-old girl.
22:33Where would I have men's clothes?
22:35And if I did,
22:37he'd have torn the house apart
22:38trying to figure out whose.
22:39He was right behind me now.
22:41I couldn't keep dodging.
22:43I turned and faced him.
22:44You have clothes.
22:46Wet.
22:47Uncomfortable.
22:48Broad shoulders.
22:49Narrow waist.
22:50Not an extra ounce on him.
22:52The kind of body
22:53that would have stopped my heart
22:54at 18 and was still stopping it now.
22:56I refused to look any lower.
22:59He leaned in.
23:00His voice had dropped.
23:02Where do we sleep tonight?
23:05There was no chasing him out,
23:07so I took the next best option.
23:08Penny and I sleep in the inner room.
23:10You sleep out here.
23:11Don't come in.
23:12All right.
23:12I'd half expected him
23:13to refuse the cottage outright.
23:15He didn't.
23:15He looked around at my small furniture,
23:18my plain shelves,
23:19and just said,
23:20Tight, but warm.
23:22The rain came down all night.
23:24I slept hard.
23:25When I got up to make Penny's breakfast,
23:27Penny was already up.
23:29Alessandro was not.
23:30She was on his bed.
23:31My dad already died.
23:33So how come you came back to life?
23:35You'd never seen me before.
23:38So how do you know I'm your daughter?
23:40Alessandro was lying flat under the blanket,
23:43laughing helplessly.
23:44I scooped Penny off his bed
23:45and gave him a look.
23:47Son's been up for hours.
23:49Why aren't you?
23:50He looked pained.
23:52My clothes are still wet.
23:54I couldn't leave him
23:55under the covers all day.
23:56I went downtown
23:57and bought him clothes.
23:59Four years on,
24:00I still knew his measurements
24:01without thinking.
24:02I felt ashamed of myself.
24:04I came back from the store
24:05and tossed the bundle at him.
24:07Get dressed.
24:08He sat up,
24:09pulling on the shirt
24:10and watched me.
24:12Bianca,
24:13you've changed.
24:15It hit me then.
24:16He wasn't angry.
24:17He was smiling.
24:19Bossy.
24:20I like it.
24:22He liked it.
24:24The ice over my heart cracked,
24:25but I knew a man's affection
24:27for a stray cat.
24:28He didn't mean anything by it.
24:29Alessandro insisted on coming with me
24:31to the restaurant
24:32to help.
24:33In one morning,
24:34he broke three bowls,
24:35burned a hole in the bottom
24:36of the stock pot
24:37and nearly set fire
24:38to the kitchen.
24:39I spent the rush apologizing
24:41to my regulars
24:42and giving away meals.
24:43I lost money.
24:44The pampered young heir
24:45was streaked with soot
24:46ducking my eye,
24:47looking guilty
24:48for the first time
24:49in his life.
24:50Stop.
24:51Just go watch the child.
24:52He nodded vigorously
24:53and informed me
24:54that he was extremely good
24:55with children.
24:56Toward dusk,
24:57Penny tugged on my sleeve.
24:58Mama,
24:59some people came
25:01to talk to the bad man.
25:02They're whispering.
25:04I crept around
25:05the side of the restaurant,
25:06light on my feet,
25:07behind the kitchen,
25:08two of Alessandro's men.
25:09I caught fragments.
25:11While Bianca isn't looking,
25:12take the child.
25:13A mother's instinct
25:14went cold in my chest.
25:16Penny was his daughter.
25:17He clearly adored her.
25:19He was going to take her
25:20from me.
25:21We worked together
25:22like a tiny conspiracy.
25:24Penny's job
25:25was to throw out his clothes.
25:26With no clothes,
25:27he couldn't chase us
25:28right away.
25:28My job was to gather
25:29the valuables.
25:30Finally,
25:31we locked the door.
25:32Gone.
25:32He had found me
25:33in the most out-of-the-way town
25:35in the state.
25:35Wherever I went next
25:36had to be smarter,
25:38it came to me.
25:38The most dangerous place
25:40is the safest place.
25:41His own city.
25:42He would never imagine
25:43I'd run straight
25:44to the heart
25:44of Moretti territory.
25:45I had practice now.
25:47The road went smoothly.
25:48We caught a ride
25:49with a small moving convoy
25:50heading north.
25:51The lead driver
25:52was a kind,
25:53big-shouldered man
25:53who took a few bills
25:54and let us ride
25:55in the back
25:56of an empty truck.
25:57The truck was clean.
25:58We took the main highway.
26:00Barely a bump.
26:01A young woman named Tessa
26:02looked after me.
26:03Every stop she brought
26:04a tray of rich,
26:05hearty food to the truck.
26:06I tried to refuse.
26:08She waved me off.
26:09Eat up, ma'am.
26:10The company has cash to spare.
26:12By the time we made the city,
26:14the heat had thickened.
26:15Midsummer.
26:16The driver recommended
26:17a clean,
26:18modestly priced hotel.
26:19I took the cheapest room
26:20on offer.
26:21I'd just dropped my bag
26:22when the clerk came up.
26:24Apologies, ma'am.
26:25This room's already been booked.
26:26Let me move you.
26:27He moved me
26:28to the best suite in the house.
26:29If the clerk had so much
26:30as asked for an extra dollar,
26:32I might not have caught on.
26:34There's no free lunch.
26:35A single mother and a child
26:36in an unfamiliar city
26:37were the easiest targets
26:38in the world.
26:39Every alarm in me
26:40started ringing.
26:41I grabbed Penny.
26:41Penny, we're leaving.
26:44The door wouldn't open.
26:45They had locked us in.
26:46From behind the partition
26:47at the back of the suite,
26:48a slow figure stepped out.
26:50Alessandro Moretti
26:51in a fresh tailored suit,
26:52hair pushed back,
26:53standing like a blade.
26:55His grip was crushing my shoulder.
26:57I twisted in pain.
27:00You're hurting me.
27:01It didn't register on him.
27:02His eyes were rimmed in red,
27:04wet,
27:05like a creature betrayed.
27:06Threw away my clothes,
27:08locked me in that cottage.
27:10His voice cracked.
27:11Should I do the same to you?
27:13Would you like that better?
27:14I pictured the inversion.
27:16Cold dread went through me.
27:17That's why the road
27:18was so smooth.
27:18You had the convoy
27:19from the start.
27:20I walked straight into it.
27:21I felt my nose
27:22start to burn.
27:23You can have a wife
27:24and a dozen children.
27:25I only have Penny.
27:26You take her from me
27:27and I have nothing left.
27:28His face caved.
27:29Aren't I family to you too?
27:31Or do I not even have
27:33a place in your heart?
27:34I stared at him,
27:35lost.
27:36Was that what he was
27:37actually asking?
27:38Let me ask it differently.
27:40He pulled himself together,
27:41held my eyes.
27:44Bianca,
27:45do you love me?
27:48Yes.
27:48It was out before I knew
27:50I was going to say it.
27:54I regretted it instantly.
27:56I had spent four years
27:57building a wall
27:58around that one word
27:59and one question from him
28:00and I'd handed it over.
28:01Floozy.
28:02I scolded myself.
28:04Cheap.
28:04A man who could betray me once
28:06could betray me a thousand times.
28:07I had to remember.
28:09Alessandro's face had lit up.
28:11I cut him off
28:11with the next sentence.
28:12I scolled.
28:13But I don't only love you.
28:15There's a whole world
28:15of men out there.
28:18Like wine.
28:20You have to taste
28:21every variety before you die
28:22or what's the point?
28:23You have to coax them,
28:25stroke them,
28:26see them melt
28:26when you string them along,
28:27watch them go from joy
28:28to despair on a single word.
28:29It's quite a lot of fun.
28:30I had never in my life
28:32seen Alessandro Moretti
28:33look like that.
28:34His eyes went bloodshot,
28:35his fury so hot
28:36I thought he might catch fire.
28:39What did you say?
28:41I smiled and didn't answer.
28:43You wouldn't dare.
28:44He went berserk.
28:45I watched him from the couch,
28:47calm.
28:47He swept his arm
28:48across the side table
28:49and sent the glasses crashing.
28:51The one thing he didn't do
28:52was raise a hand to me.
28:54When he had spent
28:54the worst of it,
28:55he stood there breathing hard,
28:57pointed at me,
28:58then at the door.
28:59Get out!
29:00Alright.
29:01I stood up smoothly,
29:02thinking,
29:03good.
29:04Finally over.
29:05The door was right there,
29:06the whole world
29:07on the other side.
29:08My chest hurt anyway.
29:10Wait.
29:12That line.
29:13Why does it sound familiar?
29:16I stopped.
29:17I didn't turn around.
29:19Mr. Moretti,
29:20you remember now.
29:21You're already married.
29:23Taking Penny and me home
29:24would just poison your wife.
29:26Go be good to her.
29:27Don't be the philender you were.
29:29Alessandro caught up to me.
29:31His voice was thin with panic.
29:32That day,
29:33the club,
29:34you came to bring me the coat.
29:36You heard me,
29:37didn't you?
29:37I heard everything.
29:40In my head,
29:41you were the perfect man.
29:42Sharp and untouchable.
29:44The reason you couldn't bear
29:45to let me go
29:46wasn't love.
29:47It was that I'd begged for crumbs.
29:49I worked to please you.
29:50I was useful.
29:51I was happy to serve as your maid.
29:54I wouldn't serve as your plaything.
29:56That's not what it was!
29:59Four years ago,
30:01the woman I wanted to marry
30:02was you.
30:05Alessandro took my hand carefully,
30:06like he was afraid
30:07I'd pull it back.
30:09His palm was hot.
30:10Not a mistress.
30:11My one and my wife.
30:14Will you?
30:17If I'd ever done something
30:18to hurt you,
30:19you could have told me
30:20and I could have explained.
30:21The help doesn't question the boss.
30:23A servant's rule was that
30:24the master was always right.
30:26Anything wrong was always on us.
30:28But I wasn't the help anymore,
30:29so I would say it.
30:31If you wanted to marry me,
30:32why didn't you ever once
30:33give me a sign?
30:35If I'd known I mattered to you,
30:37I wouldn't have been
30:37so easy to wound.
30:39I wanted it done.
30:40Then I wanted to surprise you.
30:44And I was scared it wouldn't work.
30:46I didn't want to raise your hopes
30:47and then watch them fall.
30:49You have a mouth.
30:50You could have used it.
30:52I thought maybe we were even now.
30:54He wasn't done.
30:55Second question.
30:56Why did you run a second time?
30:58There was no point hiding now.
30:59I told him.
31:00The line I'd overheard.
31:03Take the child while Bianca isn't looking.
31:06The actual sentence had been,
31:08Take the child while Bianca isn't looking
31:10and force her back to the city.
31:11That plan is no good.
31:13Don't try it.
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