Chapter Seven: Hugs

I ran up to my room and locked the door behind me.

What a surprise that I ended up in my own room and not in some other strange part of the mansion.

I just sat on my bed looking at the mirror, my reflection staring back at me. My cheeks were still on fire and I realized that even the tips of my ears had turned pink too.

Hours had passed since the moment I ran away from Daniel and locked myself in my room.

It was currently five in the evening and the rest of my brothers would probably be returning home anytime soon.

I was surfing through one of the lifestyle magazines that I found on my desk. Me reading a lifestyle magazine explains exactly how bored I was.

Just as my eyes were getting heavy with sleep and I finally decided to succumb under it, a light knock on my door brought me out of the slumber.

I hurriedly ran towards the door to open it, while trying to adjust my clothes and the hair which probably was looking like a wild goose's nest.

"Come downstairs, Sleepyhead."

It was Leo, the youngest brother of mine. He was again chirpy as usual, even helping me in straightening my messy hair.

"Just give me a minute."

I told him and at his nod, I closed the bedroom door and hurried to the bathroom.

I washed my face and tried to adjust my hair in a messy bun. My hair was still smooth due to the princess treatment that they had got a few hours ago.

Therefore, it didn't take me too much time to tie them in a loose bun. I put on my slippers and opened the door of my room.

I was surprised to see that Leo was still waiting there. He passed me a soft smile and then we both started walking downstairs.

Halfway through the stairs, I was on the edge of freaking out. How was I going to face Daniel?

Since I had cooled down, now I was feeling stupid about running away from Daniel in the afternoon without saying a single word to him.

We were already in the living room and once again my eyes were trained on my shoes, not daring to look up and see the disappointment in Daniel's eyes.

I felt someone's fingers at my chin as they tried to make me look up.

As I followed their instruction, my eyes landed on a familiar pair of dark green eyes that were still looking at me with warmth and concern.

"Are you alright, Sorellina?" Daniel asked softly as he tried to read my eyes.

I wasn't sure what took over me at that particular moment but the next thing I knew I was hugging my big brother tightly.

Daniel too was taken aback by my sudden attack on him, but it didn't take him long to fold his muscular arms around my small frame.

"Oh come on, baby sis! If you wanted a hug you could have told me, I would have happily showered you with hugs."

Leo whined with a pout as he gave both of us complaining looks.

I giggled lightly at his antics as I finally pulled out of Daniel's arms. Within a second, Leo had pulled me in his warm embrace as he lifted me up a little and whirled me, making me squeal and giggle at the same time.

I noticed Daniel and Christ smiling as they watched us. There was Simon too in the room. He wasn't smiling but I could see that his eyes were filled with softness.

I found myself relaxing in the company of my brothers. The worries that were eating me a few minutes ago, flew out of the window, leaving me light and tension free.

As Leo finally let me down, I still found myself smiling like a fool. But then my smile dimmed as my eyes landed on the shopping bags that were sitting on the coffee table.

As the others noticed the change in my expression they followed my gaze to see what was the cause behind it.

I watched Daniel moving closer to me from the corner of my eyes.

"Sorellina, what happened at that time? Why did you run away like that? Didn't you like the clothes?"

Daniel's soft tone and the concern that was covering his eyes made me feel even worse.

I felt my lower lip wobbling as I tried my best to keep the tears from spilling that had suddenly emerged in my eyes.

"Maybe she's lacking in manners. What will you expect from someone who's been leaving in an orphanage and running away from foster homes?"

I didn't need to turn around to know that these words belonged to Mark. For a moment my eyes became blurry with tears but I tried to keep them from spilling.

"Mark! Can you just keep your mouth shut?"

I wasn't expecting Daniel's angry tone which made goosebumps appeared on my neck, even though his anger wasn't directed at me.

For the next few seconds, the entire living room was filled with silence. I was even made to wonder if they were still there or not.

"All of you can leave. I have something to talk about with Emilia."

It was like my soul almost left my body as the deep commanding voice of Domenic entered my ears.

"But Domenic..."

"Not now, Leo. We will meet with you guys in the kitchen within twenty minutes." Domenic announced in his deep voice.

Yep, announced! Because within a second, everyone disappeared from the living room, leaving me alone with Domenic.

There were no more tears in my eyes. However, my heart was about to burst out of my chest at any second.

I was still staring at my shoes, not sure what to do when suddenly someone grabbed my hand and started walking towards the basement door.

I was so stunned that my head immediately moved to look at the person who was holding my hand.

"Who are you?"