CHIARA

Even though he held the thermometer in his hand, he still placed his other palm on my forehead checking for fever.

"No fever. Thank God." He muttered, looking at the thermometer.

My nose was still running and a bit stuffy and my eyes burned but other than that, I was okay.

He placed the thermometer down and brushed away the hair from my forehead as he sat on the edge of the bed, next to me. "Do you have any body aches?"

"Why? Will you give me a massage if I do?" I managed to tease him in a throaty voice.

He flicked my nose playfully. "If I am in the mood."

Feeling exhausted, I said softly, "No. I am okay. Won't you go to work today?"

He has already received a few work-related calls and even though he might not say it, his presence is important there.

"You are not well, Chiara." He said casually as if that explained everything.

"I am okay now, Eeel. You can go to work. I will be fine."

"No. You are not completely fine. I am not leaving you."

Just to prove my point to him, I got up and leaned against the headboard. "I am okay! Just go to work, I know there's something important today."

He cocked his head, regarding me with suspicious eyes. "Are you saying that just to get rid of me?"

"Yes. Now go."

He was smart enough to not believe my words. "I am not leaving."

"Eeel!" I whined. "Please. I don't want you to stay back just because of me."

"Who says I am staying back because of you? Maybe I don't want to go to work." His argument was so stupid. He just said to himself that I am sick and that's why he will stay.

"Now stay there." He got up, ordering me. "I will bring you something to eat."

Huffing, I waited for him to return.

Fifteen minutes later, he came back with a bowl of porridge and I grimaced on seeing that. "Why are you torturing me?"

He gave me a stern look. "You need to eat healthy. No complaints."

"I will eat but on one condition. You will go to work after this."

He pursed his lips. "Just eat it."

"First agree with me."

He sighed. "Okay, but you will eat every last bite of this."

I rolled my eyes and gave him a thumbs-up.

Instead of handing the bowl to me, he sat down on the bed and filled the spoon with the porridge, he held it to my mouth.

My heart warmed yet I grumbled, "You are treating me like a kid."

"And you are making me sound like a paedophile."

I chuckled and silently ate the porridge while making funny faces. It was hardly sweet and bland making me feel like he did it deliberately to torture me.

I somehow managed to eat all of it and when I was done, he swiped his thumb over the corner of my mouth, wiping away whatever remnants of porridge were there and he sucked it off his thumb.

He did it before too and each time, my heart skipped a beat.

"Since you made me promise..." His voice snapped me out of my lustful thoughts.

"You are going to work?" I asked.

"Yes. But the moment you need anything and I mean anything, you will give me a call. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Okay."

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It was evening and Ezekiel had already texted and called me a total of ten times and each time I assured him that I was okay.

But right now, I wasn't. I could feel the fever climbing and it turned out I started with my period too, I mean wow.

So, fever plus period was a dangerous combination for me as I laid in bed feeling like crying and missing my husband at the same time.

So, on the verge of crying and losing my sanity, I called him.

He picked up on the second ring. "Chiara?"

"You told me to call you if I need anything."

"Yes. What do you need, my heart?"

I started to sob. "You." And I heard him inhale sharply.

"I started with my period too..." I cried to him.

"Oh. Do you need anything for that?"

"I just need you, please come back home."

"I am on my way. Wait for me, my little hellion."

.

I predicted the time it would take for him to reach home and made my way down to the front door and waited for him there.

Two minutes later, the front door opened and as soon as he entered inside, I threw myself at him.

He immediately engulfed me in a tight embrace. "You should be in bed."

Not bothering to reply, I buried my face in his neck, sighing in relief.

It turns out Cyrus was right.

I do love him.

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EZEKIEL

A WEEK LATER...

"What do you need?"
"You."

That conversation still played in my mind. No one has ever needed me.

Cyrus and I didn't have much of an age difference and he grew up too fast for me to be able to dote on him.

Dad was always busy and in his own world until Lorelie came along.

No one needed me like this until my wife came along. It's weird how having someone dependent on you makes you feel valued.

I don't know how I survived without her till now.

Dressed in a teal green shirt and a pair of blue jeans, I walked out of the closet.

"Going somewhere?" She asked, looking up from her books.

She thankfully, recovered fast and was fully okay now.

I clasped my wristwatch. "Yes. I have to review a property. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Can I come along too?"

I ruminated on it and nodded. "Okay but don't blame me if you get bored."

"Don't worry!" She jumped off the bed and went inside the closet to get dressed up.

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"So, what kind of property is this?" She inquired from the passenger's seat.

"A vacation home. I am gifting this to Dad and Lorelei for their tenth wedding anniversary."

"Ooh, that's nice of you."

The property was at the edge of Boston in a very peaceful place where they were hardly any other properties nearby. "I have yet to choose the furniture for it, other than that, it's mostly complete by now."

"Oh, can I give my review too?"

"Of course, you can as long as you don't suggest installing a pizza maker."

She stuck out her tongue at me. "Bleh."

Rolling my eyes, I continued driving.

.

"Whoah, this is beautiful!" She exclaimed, stepping out of the car. "It looks like a small castle."

"My choices are always good, wifey." I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Shall we go in?"

She nodded and we walked up the steps leading to the front door and I typed in the passcode for it.

The inside was equally beautiful, just lacking some furniture.

"You approve?" I asked.

She looked around in awe. "Hell, yeah. Can we have a home like this too?"

"I don't see the need to but if you want, yes."

"Thank you!" She grinned and continued to explore the house.

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The sun was setting as we left the house and I locked the door.

I was curious as to why my phone was so silent for the past hour and when I checked, I found it had no signal.

I frowned. If this persists then Dad will kill me for giving him a home like this.

Stuffing my phone inside, I decided to deal with that later and we settled inside the car.

But as I started the engine, the car let out a weird sound and the engine died.

What the fuck?

I tried it a few more times but it didn't help.

"Stay inside", I told her and got out to check.

Lifting the bonnet, I checked the engine. I was no mechanic but I could tell that something was definitely wrong with it.

And my phone has no signal. Fuck.

Opening her side of the door, I leaned in to ask, "Where's your phone?"

"I left it at home because it was charging..." She trailed off when she saw the grimace on my face. "What's wrong?"

Everything was wrong. "We are stuck." Seeing her confused face, I explained our situation to her in detail.

"Shit. Maybe we can spend the night inside the house?"

Good idea.

She followed me to the front door but when I typed in the passcode, the door didn't open.

Why is everything malfunctioning?!

I clearly remember the passcode. I tried it a few more times, even tried slamming my shoulder into the door but nothing helped.

I am fucking suing the guy responsible for this door.

I was highly pissed by then and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to think what we could do.

"This place looks a little creepy at night", Chiara muttered, peeking around and she stepped a little closer to me.

I need to be calm for both of us. If I start panicking, she definitely will too.

I exhaled heavily. "It's okay. We can spend the night in the car."

She looked unsure but nodded anyway and we both walked over to the car and I opened the back door for her and followed her inside.

We sat in silence and I kept checking my phone, hoping I could get some signal.

I didn't realise how firmly I was holding my phone until she placed her palm over mine and gave me a soft smile. "Please don't stress yourself. I'm sure we will be okay."

My features softened and I placed away my phone. I am not worried about myself but about her. I don't want anything happening to her.

There is no civilisation too nearby and it's pointless to roam around here at night.

"You don't by any chance have something to eat here...?" She asked sheepishly.

I might do. I leaned over and opened the dashboard, I found an energy bar.

I handed it to her and she instantly ripped it open and started to eat it.

I felt so guilty that because of me she won't have anything else to eat. She always had a large appetite.

I rubbed my hand over my face in frustration.

Something nudged me and I removed my hand to see her holding the other half of the energy bar to my mouth.

"I am not hungry, Chiara", I told her, my heart fucking melting that she was offering me too when she was hungry.

"How can you not? Just eat this, I don't want to eat it. Please."

"Chiara--"

Seeing it as an opportunity, she stuffed it inside my mouth.

I shot her a glare and she grinned mischievously in return, holding the bar firmly, forcing me to eat it.

Only when I had eaten it, she settled back peacefully.

Fuck. It's nice to have her care for me. And if she continues doing this, I will end up kissing the hell out of her.

I forced my hands to not grab and haul her over my lap. Groaning mentally, I let my head fall back against the seat.

Nearby, a tree rustled loudly when the wind blew and Chiara let out a shriek and pressed herself against me. "I think someone is there!"

Seriously? "It's just the wind, my heart."

Her face was buried in the side of my chest, her hand around me. "This place is scary."

I chuckled. "It's not. Stop overthinking."

The wind picked up a speed outside and the trees made an eery sound making her fist my shirt. "I swear there are ghosts here. Why would you choose such a place?"

I sighed. There is no point in explaining to her.

"Hmm, maybe. Oh shit", I exclaimed for no reason at all.

She squealed and buried her face further in my side. "Oh my god, did you see something?!"

"I think", I lied. "I think I saw a shadowy figure out there. Shit."

I swear she started to shiver. "How can you be so calm?!"

"Because if something happens then I can use you as a sacrifice." I deadpanned.

She gasped and hit me on my chest. "That's why I told Dad not to marry me to you. I knew you would do something like this one day."

God, she is so easy to scare. "I think you are right. You Dad shouldn't have married you to me. Sorry, Chiara, but I think it's your last day. It was nice to spend some time with you."

"You are so bad", she cried. "I will kill you once I get out of here alive. Maybe I will ask Marcelo to follow up with this threat."

"That's when you will get out of here", I said in a scary voice.

"Ezekiel! Please, stop!"

I started to laugh. "Well, that was fun."

When she continued to shiver, I sobered up and lifted her head to find her crying. Shit.

Feeling guilty, I cradled her face in my palms. "Hey, I was just kidding. Look at me, sweetheart."

It was dark inside the car but the lights from the house illuminated the car enough.

She slowly lifted her eyes which were filled with tears and anger.

I wiped away her tears. "It was a joke. I was just messing with you. You know I would never let anything happen to you, my little hellion."

I kissed her cheek lingeringly, licking away her tears which made her shudder and lean into my touch.

"You scared me." She sniffled. "You think I am a little kid that you can have fun with."

I leaned back, still holding her face. "I am sorry. And I don't think that way. Everyone has fears. Do you want me to tell you my fears? I bet they are more stupid than yours."

"I bet you are scared of missing a sacrifice to Satan."

I chuckled. "Yes, that too. Other than that, I am scared of lizards."

Her eyes widened and she looked really excited. "Seriously?"

"Yes. See, it's stupid, I know that too. But I guess it's genetic since mom was scared of them too."

She let out a giggle. "Yes, that's stupid."

I smiled, my heart feeling too full of love and warmth and ready to burst. I needed her with an intensity I couldn't comprehend.

I wanted to taste her laugh on my lips.

My gaze heated and electricity cackled between us. It didn't take long for my control to snap.

And in the next moment, my fingers were buried in her hair and I crushed my lips to her.