▪ Anteprima ▪
“Has anyone ever told you that you have the most revealing and indecipherable eyes when expressing yourself?” Lazzaro asks randomly. Kathryn is momentarily thrown by the swift change but she quickly brushes it aside, snorting as she turns her head away.
“Why am I not surprised? And here I thought you probably had a tiny bit of humanity,” Kathryn murmurs before shrugging. “Good thing I snapped myself out of that little fantasy before I let it fester.”
“So what is it?” Kathryn clasps her hands in her lap, gazing expectantly at a silent Lazzaro, shrugging her shoulders dramatically. “What will be my debt to you for being so nice? Since you have plans to sell me, you probably might be curious to see if I’m a worthy asset on the black market; so...want to test my head game? Or perhaps my hand game? Oh, oh, or maybe you plan to dangle my friend’s life in front of me. Conversely, it could be my family’s life you plan to threaten. Or perhaps both? I’m genuinely curious.”
Silence reigns. Lazzaro’s expression changes not in the slightest.
“I have no plans to use your moment of vulnerability for any personal gain.” He expresses slowly, face blank.
“Then why did you do what you did? Why are you even here?” Kathryn asks forcefully, experiencing a rush of emotions inside she keeps in check. “You can’t possibly have any reason to help me as you did tonight.”
She stares hard at Lazzaro, her breathing deepening slightly, expecting the worst. Lazzaro makes the barest of movements, his finger coming down from his temple to tap on his lap.
“I helped you...because I saw that you have a pure heart,” he eventually tells her, startling her and making her eyes widen. “You could have easily escaped with Adrian, knowing full well if I was to react, it could spark conflict, and also planned some revenge plot against me. In fact, there are a million ways I can think of that you could have employed to get back at me for all that I have done to you. Yet...ecco qui, inquiring into my intentions of helping you.”
“Then why did you do all that you have done to me?” Kathryn asks, her tone a tad shaky with concealed tears.
Lazzaro watches her. “I take it you are a woman of religion, Miss Ikenna?”
Once again thrown off by the Don’s line of questioning, Kathryn answers. “I am.”
“Then you believe in the concept of angels and demons?”
“I do?”
Lazzaro once again quietly watches Kathryn, his tapping finger coming to an abrupt stop. The sound of the clock ticks through his silence, like a countdown to his answer.
“It’s quite obvious to distinguish who is who in this circumstance, isn’t it?” he eventually says, the tenor of his voice lowering a bit. “Ed è per questo che faccio quello che faccio.”
Kathryn’s lips part slightly, blinking back her tears as Lazzaro stands to his feet. He walks over to her door, speaking as he opens it and proceeds to leave the room. “Get dressed. Your food will arrive soon.”
Left in the echoing silence of his answer, Kathryn stares into the space he previously occupied, a single tear sliding down her cheek. So that’s it, then. She’s suffering through what she is because he compares himself to a demon.
And it is why I do what I do.
He’s treated as callously as he has because it’s ingrained in him. Kathryn can assume that’s a somewhat comforting thought. Her situation isn’t unique to just her. But it makes it ten times worse. He admits to being a man with a naturally cruel nature, meaning that he could be inclined to be virulent towards her all because he simply feels the urge. How fucking scary is that thought alone. She could be the perfect captive, quiet, submissive and he’ll still cause her harm. And given that Kathryn possesses none of the aforementioned characteristics, it could only spell one thing.
She’s in hell.
Snorting softly, Kathryn wipes away her tear, dropping her arm limply as she slowly runs her gaze around the room. Christ, she knew it. If only she hadn’t fainted, she wouldn’t have dug herself a much deeper hole.
Because I have a pure heart, Kathryn repeats, before scoffing scornfully. What bullshit. There is no fucking way a man like him has a heart enough to recognise such a thing. By his own admission, he’s a demon. And from her lessons from her parents...
...demons do not have hearts.
