I woke up, stretching my arms to the other side of the bed, to find it empty. It seems Sin had woken up before me, and I was a little disappointed. Standing up from the bed because of how sore I was, I walked towards the bathroom to freshen up for the day. I got out of the bathroom and put on a light summer dress; once I was done, I put on light makeup.
"Amore," I heard his deep voice, and a smile spread across my face. I walked out of the room to meet him in the hallway.
"Hi, good morning," I say, smiling at him.
"Good morning. You look beautiful today, baby girl," he says, and I blush.
"Thanks, Nikolai."
He smiles and says, "Come, let's go down for breakfast." He places his hand at my back as we walk down the stairs.
"Good morning,” I say to everyone in the dining room, and I hear a lot of responses.
"What are your plans for today, amore?" Sin asks me lovingly.
"I have no idea." I shrug. "I’m pretty tired, and I know how busy you are"
" You could always go out if you want to, Mateo is going to be there to guard you."
" Sure but I think I'm going to stay home instead."
After breakfast, Sin, Luca, and some of the men had to leave. They had something to take care of. Samantha wasn't with them; she had to meet up with a friend, but Mateo was here at home; after all, he was assigned by Sin as my personal bodyguard. I had asked Zoey if she knew what happened to Jason; it has been a while since I last saw him, and she told me he was handling something in South Africa and would be back probably next month.
I went into the library in search of a book to read, and after selecting a romance fantasy novel, I took a seat at the far end of the library, close to the window with the marvellous view of the garden. I started reading, getting lost in the world of fantasy, until I was disturbed by a knock on the door and Zoey coming in.
She looked around the library as if she were searching for something before she settled on me, and she walked towards me with a smile on her face. I smiled back at her with my eyebrows raised, wondering why she was here.
"Hey Mani. " She greeted me.
"Hi, Zoey," I replied.
"It's been a while," she says again, taking a seat opposite me with her legs crossed.
"Yeah, it has."
"I was planning on going out for groceries and other things; do you want to tag along?" she asked, staring directly at my eyes.
"I think I will pass; I'm just going to stay here and read." I told her I wasn't really in the mood to go anywhere right now.
"Please, we will be back before you know it," she says again, not willing to take "no" for an answer.
"I'm just not in the mood to go out; maybe next time," I replied sternly, and I felt bad for talking to her like that.
"You always spend time with Samantha, and we never get to spend time together. I guess you don't need me anymore," her eyes watered, making me feel even worse.
"It's not like that, Zoey; you are my friend too." It's true that Samantha and I spend time together, but that's because you aren't always around, and when I ask you why, you say that it's because you're busy. You won't tell me. So I thought maybe you needed time to yourself."
"I'm sorry, it's just that I am not ready yet, but like I said, I promised to tell you when I feel like I can handle it." She says, wiping the tears off her eyes.
"okay.”
"So would you go with me?" She sends me a sheepish smile. I sighed
"Sure, no problem; let me just change. I will meet you downstairs." I told her, and she responded with a quick okay before going out of the library. I stood up from my seat, placing the book back where I found it, and I will come back tomorrow to continue with it.
I walked to the door and out of it, going to my room to change out of the gown into blue jeans and a shirt. I packed my hair up into a ponytail, leaving a strain on each side of my face. I walked downstairs to the entrance of the house, where Zoey was waiting.
"Come, let's go; we are taking my car." I stopped in my tracks, facing her with my brows raised.
"Sin won't like it; where is Mateo?" I asked, looking around the premises to see if I could spot him.
"Oh, he went to get something inside. Why don't we go ahead and he would meet us there?
Was she even hearing herself? If Sin ever finds out I left the house unprotected, he would flip, and the last thing I want is for him to be mad at me.
I shook my head, disagreeing with her. "No, let's just wait."
"Come on, Mani, it's going to get dark. We need to go so that we can get back early."
"No, Zoey, let's wait till Mateo comes out, or I'm not going with you." I told her sternly, this time not regretting it.
I heard the door open, and Mateo stepped outside. "We are taking one of Sin's cars." I said to Zoey, leaving no room for arguments. She huffed but walked forward behind us as we walked to the car.
I got in with Zoey beside me and Mateo at the front with
one of the Sin Men. It was just like the day Samantha and I went shopping for dresses—there was one car in front of us and another at the back.