I will always have a plan in place to protect you.

                     ~writingRo~

Mia

He was gone by the time I woke up, his side of the bed already cold. I lingered under the covers for a few minutes thinking of him, hoping he was okay whenever he was and in whatever he was doing. Then I sat down before slipping out, leaning on the bedhead, running my hands through the curls of my hair before my eyes rested on a note pinned on the bedroom mirror.

My heart skipped a beat, jumping out so fast I almost fell. It was one sentence, but it brightened my day. He had a neat handwriting, I thought, as re-read it again and again until I got tired of staring at the words. It meant a lot to me that he had taken his time to write it, that he had thought of how I would feel when I woke up to find him already gone.

Leaning forward, I touched the mirror with my forehead and cried. I sobbed for him, for us, and in the unfortunate situation, we found ourselves. My eyesight was blurry because of tears; my heart was breaking into tiny pieces, a hollow feeling embraced me, leaving me feeling lonelier than I have ever been.

I did not venture out of the room until it was time to go to the party. I wore my beautiful long white dress with my hair up just as I had worn for Romano. I felt like an abandoned princess, which wasn't fair because I knew my prince was out there fighting my battles. But that didn't stop me from wishing he was with me instead of Bruno.

Taking one last look at the mirror, wiping off the small lipstick smudges from the corner of my mouth, I forced a smile, reminding myself not to let out how I felt.

Devonni and Matteo picked me up, both of them adorned in white. "You look dashing," I told them, slipping on the back seat of the black Porsche without asking about Bruno, I was sure he had his reasons why he didn't come with me.

Opening my clutch bag, I pulled out the directions and handed the paper to Matteo, who was on the passenger's seat, but he said they knew.

"How do you know?" I asked, surprised, as I stared at his impish look. I could see he was holding out from laughing. "Rom did when he gave us the tickets." He responded, finally losing the battle, and burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, Mia. But the wonder in your face is comical."

"How did he get the tickets?" I wasn't sure I liked the sympathetic look on Matteo's face or the awkward cough from Devonni. I felt so out of my depth like I was living in a world where I didn't understand the rules, or as if no one had cared enough to explain them to me. "He will always be a hundred steps ahead of you," Matteo said in a small empathetic voice. I didn't say anything to that. I just leaned on my seat, watching my reflection on the window. I would have liked to pull it down,  but that is one of the safety measures that I had to comply with, so I stared at my reflection, trying to have an inner conversation on how he could have acquired the tickets.

He didn't know about the party until I told him a few days ago. How did he get the tickets?

"How did he get them?" Both of them shrugged, trying hard to ignore me. Devonni picked up speed while Matteo pretended to speak on the phone. I let it go, but I knew I would revisit it with them some other time. After that, we drove in silence. I slipped off my heels placing my feet on the seat without caring how awkward it felt with the safety belt. I listened to them talk, some I understood, but at times it felt like they spoke in codes. Surprisingly, they were very attuned to each other. It was baffling considering how book smart Matteo was.

A few meters before Devonni could park the car; They informed me that under no circumstances should I be without either of them.

"What if I want to go to the bathroom?" Of course, I must be allowed a few minutes to perform my ablutions in private; that is what I thought. But Devonni dashed my hopes by saying one of them will make sure no one was inside the bathroom before I went in.

It was beginning to sink in how much entangled my life was with danger. "Please try to understand our job is to keep you safe." I nodded, hating it but accepting it anyway.

I stayed in the car until one of them opened it for me. That was the first rule they gave me. Exhaling loudly, I laid my hand on the stomach, trying to calm down the creeping nervousness, which was foreign because I worked the cameras for a living.

"Ready?" I wanted to laugh at how soothing Matteo's voice sounded. As if he was trying to ally my fears. Even though he was twenty years, there are times I thought he was older than that. Like now, when his eyes were bland and his face hard. Part of me felt pity for him, but I was sure my sympathy would be unwelcome.

Taking his hand, he pulled me out, making sure to hide me from the cameras before I stood fully on my feet. I liked how well and coordinated they were. It was as if they knew exactly what came next.

Sandwiched between them, I passed through a bunch of people, some of whom I knew and others I didn't. I waved at everyone who met my eyes, smiled at each of them until we got inside the building.

I have never attended any of these events with anyone by my side, and my colleagues got curious.

"You got bodyguards now?" Dave asked, smiling as he came around to where I stood, handing me a glass of champagne. I chuckled, taking the drink he offered, but before I could, Devonni grabbed it, a smirk on his face as he stared him down. I was still trying to process what just happened when Matteo placed another drink on my hand.

This was embarrassing, I thought, trying to fake laughed in order to neutralize the situation, but I made it even worse.

But why should I be embarrassed? I owed no one an explanation. It wasn't me who implied he might have put a roofie or something on my drink. However, I ended up apologizing. It would have been rude not to, and Dave wasn't a bad guy.

The guys had stepped back to give us some privacy, but I knew they remained within hearing distance. "Walk with me," Dave said, tucking my hand on the cloak of his arm.

Walking with him invoked memories I would rather have not created. It reminded me of losing my virginity, the reason I did, and also how he had told everyone about it.

I did not resent him; some men are who they are. We stood in front of a painting of a child playing in the water. Tendrils of hair plastered across her face, an innocent smile on her lips. It was mesmerizing the amount of innocence she possessed.

"I wonder if you were this beautiful when you were her age." He was flirting with me, I could tell with the tone of voice, and the smile he threw at me. Dave was taller than me but shorter than Rom. He stood beside me, smiling in my eyes, his white fitting garb perfect for his body size. He was a beautiful man with his soft manicured hands, meticulously styled hair, and a face that graced hundreds of fashion magazines. I couldn't help but compare him to Rom, but they were like oil and water.

Rom was like a warrior, a hunter, a man who was comfortable with who he was without letting the world define him. He was also a man who made his own rules and lived by them. That wasn't okay or acceptable, but it was who he was.

I moved my eyes from his face to the girl in the painting, "No, I don't remember being that happy or carefree." I smiled sadly, thinking of my childhood and teenagehood. I have never been happy. Dave, however, dismissed my answer in a cavalier way, insisting that maybe I didn't remember it because a beautiful woman like me must have had a lovely childhood. I rolled my eyes so hard that even the guys chuckled. I never noticed it before, but Dave was cliche and vain.

"Can we move to the others?" I asked politely, pulling my hand from his arm. He nodded, leading the way while I followed. The next painting was of a woman and a man. Lovers, on a beach, naked. I could feel a blush coming on my face, but luckily for me, Matteo whistled like a young boy on the verge of manhood or at least one who just had his first glimpse of a naked couple. But I knew that wasn't the case. He had probably slept with more than a couple of women.

"Maybe I should buy this one." Dave laughed softly, looking at the painting, but before I could ask why in god's name he should, Chad cut in between us, inserting his own opinion on art. He wanted us to know how versed he was on the topic. I didn't give two shit about it, and I wished I could say the same to him.

"I see you have two boys with you." He whispered suggestively to my ear. Part of me wished the guys could have heard him call them boys, and beat him to a pulp. But I was better than that.

"Where have you been?" He asked it as if I owed him an explanation.

"Taking a much-needed rest," I responded vaguely, turning to walk to the next painting, but he waylaid me by holding my arm, gripping it so hard I knew it would leave some marks. "Don't walk away from me when I'm speaking to you." His voice held a vicious tone, but surprisingly, I wasn't scared. What angered me to the verge of not knowing what to do was when he transferred his grip from my arm to my butt. I was so angry I thought I was either going to cry or slap his smirking face. My heart burned with a vengeance; only the evil ones could contemplate. I thought of dropping him in boiling oil or in a fire.

He made me feel violated.

Why did men think they could do this to me and get away with it?

Swiftly taking a look at the remaining drink on my glass, intending to throw it on his face, Bruno ascended on us like an avenging angel. His green eyes glinting in anger, the veins on his forehead protruding almost like they were about to pop out.

"I hate white." Bruno murmured without preamble, grabbing Chad's neck, using his body to obscure the scene from everyone in the room. "It's pretentious, look around you." he moved his eyes around the room, "everything and everyone is in white." He added, "It stands out, clean and pure, but in truth, it is hiding the filthiest among us, including you." He tightened his hand around his neck, and I panicked.

"Please don't kill him." I pleaded, placing my hand on his arm. He didn't look at me; he just continued to stare at Chad, whose face was turning red. "Don't even dare to move from where you stand." He told Dave who'd been ready to walk away. How he could sense movements around him when his concentration was fixed on Chad was beyond me.

Devonni and Matteo had who'd been looking at the naked couple painting were now with us, standing around like soldiers waiting for instructions.

"Please, B." I wished that the use of his nickname would snap him out of his anger, and it did.

"If you ever touch her like that again, I will come for you and believe me; it will not be to have a conversation."

"Do I make myself clear?"

As scared as he was has, as out of breath as he must have been, he nodded.

Bruno wouldn't have let him go without a concession.