THREE: RESTART HIS HEART

    Alexander felt conflicted. He felt that he'd made a horrible mistake by listening to the slobber heads that he called his friends. He didn't want a girl in his life, not after loosing the first one he'd fallen in love with. He didn't think his heart could take any more heartbreaks. He shouldn't have brought her home, but it was a little too late now.

She was so beautiful with her long Auburn hair in shinning waves down her back. Her dress had hugged her beautiful curves in such a perfect way that had made him want to kiss her senseless. He could vividly recall how her big brown eyes had filled up with tears and fear.

He didn't want her to be afraid of him but still, he felt that it was the only way to prevent the both of them from falling for each other.

   He couldn't deny the fact that she reminded him of Liv, his exgirlfriend and this only made things a little harder than necessary. Ellise didn't know it yet. But, he was doing her a favor by keeping her in his home. It would be assumed that she was very valuable to him because he'd saved her. His enemies would've gotten rid of her if he hadn't decided to keep her safe in his home.

He couldn't risk letting his guard down. He didn't want to get hurt, again.

He sighed heavily, brushing his hair away from his face.

He had hurt her, he realized.

I'm a monster, just like my parents, he thought with a heavy heart.

"Xan?"

He turned to see Cecilia opening the window of his bedroom.

He sighed, burying his face in his hands. "Are you okay?" She asked. "No" he whispered.

"What's wrong?"

He wanted to tell her that he felt bad for hurting Ellise but he remained silent, his mind clouded by several thoughts .

"I'm just tired"

"I am worried about you, Xan. You're shutting yourself out. I don't want history to repeat itself" Cecilia said.

"That was three years ago. I am doing great now. Thanks to you and my friends, I am back on my feet".

She shook her head, placing her hand over his.

"Are you really okay? Are you trying to convince yourself that you're okay when you're not?"

He frowned, meeting her blue eyed gaze. "I've watched you for the past three years. You've refused to let down your walls. Don't you think that it's time for you to find love and healing? Here's your chance, Xan. Don't screw it up" she said.

"It's not that easy" he mumbled.

"I know, sweetheart. I want you to try to let go. I'll be there to help you when you're ready"

She pressed a kiss to his forehead, squeezed his hands reassuringly before leaving. Cecilia was his rock, she was like the caring mum he never had.

...

       Ellise opened her eyes, sitting up slowly. The previous day's morning had been a disaster. She had never expected her meeting with Mr Loides to be so unpleasant. She stared at her wrists, wincing at the painful looking bruise that marked her skin. She realized that without a doubt, she was definitely trapped and there was no way she could escape.

   Wiping away her tears, she stood up went into the bathroom to take her bath. When she returned, Cecilia was standing in her room. Her eyes went wide when she saw the bruises on Ellise's wrists.

"He did this?" She asked, grabbing her hand to inspect the painful looking bruises.

"I apologise on his behalf. He's a bit violent considering the nature of what he does. But he has a heart deep within. Maybe, you can help restart his heart. Have a good day" she said and left the room.

Ellise frowned to herself, clearly confused.

Restart his heart?

How?

What the hell did that mean?

Ellise stared at the pancakes Cecilia had brought her. She wasn't really hungry, so she got dressed and sat down on the bed.

She decided to do everything she could to make Mr Loides let her go. She had to try.

There was no way she was going to give up just like that.

....

Mr Loides returned home from a meeting at three pm. Dmitri and Dominic came with him.

As soon as he entered his room, Dominic grabbed Ellise's hand to inspect her bruises.

"He did this to you, didn't he?"

She wanted to lie to them, but it was no use since they  already knew the truth.

"I'm really sorry for his behavior towards you" Dmitri said with a look of sympathy in his eyes.

Ellise smiled weakly and went back to the kitchen to help Cecilia in cooking.

     When they'd placed the food on the table, Mr Loides walked in and stood by the table, staring at Ellise. She shivered, goose pimples surfacing on her skin. Why was he staring at her?

Ellise was worried that she'd done something wrong.

As they ate, the others had a long conversation but Ellise remained silent, afraid that Mr Loides would get mad at her for talking.

After lunch, he went back to his room without a word.

"Hey, El? What's wrong? You spaced out for a while" Dmitri said and she lowered her gaze.

"Are you afraid of him?" Dominic asked, his eyes filled with concern.

"I am terrified" she squeaked out.

Dmitri embraced her, patting her back.

"It'll be okay" he whispered and she closed her eyes, inhaling his cologne.

She was relieved that she had people she could talk to.

"You're an amazing young lady, Ellie. I am sorry that you're trapped here for the time being" Dmitri said, giving her a look of apology.

She sighed.

"My parents don't care about me though. Ever since my elder sister died, they neglected me. I really hated it but now, I prefer to be with them than to stay in this hell hole. I don't know why Mr Loides hates me so much" she said. Dominic squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"We're here for you, love. You can talk to us whenever you need someone to talk to" he said. "Can't you help me out of this place?" Ellise asked and they both exchanged glances.

"I'm sorry, there's no way we can do it. The security here is really tight, if you haven't noticed yet" Dmitri said.

She sighed, her head hanging low in defeat. She quietly watched them as they played poker. She was soon lost in her own thoughts.

"Ellie?" Cecilia said and she looked up at her. "Yes?"

"Are you okay? You zoned out there for a while" she said giving her a worried look.

"I'm fine" Ellise said, giving her a weak smile.

"Xan said he wants you to get him a glass of water" Cecilia said and she stood up, nerves racing.

She filled a tumbler with water, trying to steady her shaky hands.

Taking a deep breath, she left the kitchen with the glass of water and headed straight to his room. The door was a mixture of white and gold designs. Holding her breath, she knocked on the door. "Come in" a raspy voice said and she opened the door. Then she walked in, closing the door behind her.

His room was dark and she had to squint in order to avoid tripping.

She was quite aware of the fact that she was quite clumsy.

Suddenly, the lights went on and she flinched. Droplets of water spilled on the smooth marble floor. Mr Loides lay on the bed with a blanket wrapped around his body. He looked very much asleep with his long eyelashes casting shadows against the top of his cheeks. He looked so innocent and beautiful in this position.  Ellise gulped nervously, turning to leave the room since she didn't want to wake him up.

"Ellise" his rapsy voice stopped her dead on her tracks.

His eyes were open halfway and he was peering up at her through his eyelashes.

"Mr Loides, here's your water" she said, her hands trembling. He sighed and sat up, grabbing a pill bottle from the bedside table. She felt a pang in my chest.

Was he sick?

He looked really tired but could he be ill?

"Ellise" he hissed and she flinched.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He said, anger radiating from his tired voice.

"S-sorry, I-I zoned out"

He sighed heavily and took the glass of water from her.

She watched him pop the pills and chug down the water before laying down on the bed. Then she picked up the glass and began to retreat. She turned to spare him one last glance. His eyes were closed, lips parted slightly.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

His sudden statement caught her off guard and she stumbled and tripped on the wet floor, the tumbler breaking into several glass shards. She whimpered, tears crawling down her cheeks as she felt the glass shards dig into her skin.

Mr Loides slipped out of his bed and walked towards her, eyes wide. For the first time, she saw an emotion in his eyes..... concern.

He held her hand, his gaze fixed on the glass shards embedded in her palm. Carefully, he held them and pulled them out. Ellise cried out in pain, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

She looked up into his eyes and her heart sank. His eyes had gone blank and she knew at once that they were back to square one.

"You are so careless, Ellise! Just leave my room right now!" He ordered and she nodded before rushing out of his room.

She felt foolish for thinking that he would care about her even a little.

She got to her room and washed off the blood, tears blurring her vision. Unable to find the first aid box, she laid down on the bed, cradling her injured hand to her chest until she fell asleep.

....

  Xandre paced back and forth in his room, tugging at the roots of his hair. The moment Ellise had gotten hurt, he'd felt really bad and had wanted to comfort her. If she knew how vulnerable he was, he felt that she could use it against him. She would find a way to break through his walls and he didn't want that.

He was afraid of letting go. He didn't want to care for her. He wasn't supposed to care.

He left his room to check up on her since he knew that she was probably not going to dress her cut.

She was lying on the bed looking so beautiful. He grabbed her hand, kneeling beside her carefully. Her injured hand was bleeding and it looked really painful. Holding his breath, he cleaned the wound. She groaned in her sleep but still didn't wake up. It was clear that she was a heavy sleeper.

He gently wrapped a gauze around her injured hand before applying a bandage. Carefully, he placed her hand back to her side without waking her up. She didn't have to know that he cared when he shouldn't.

   Ellise turned on her side, a tear sliding down her cheek as she mumbled in her sleep.

'I'm sorry, Mady. Don't go, please....'

He bit his lip, his grip on the first aid kit tightening.

She doesn't deserve to be stuck with me. She doesn't deserve my wrath and anger. I should let her go. Heck, I should give her the life she desires. But no, I can't. I don't know why.

But I can't let her go, he thought.