CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE PARK

"Are we going to back? I'm very exhausted" Bella complained, she was tired but she had to admit she had fun in the Five-star Italian restaurant Where they had a pretty decent meal and a Band surprised them with a lovely Classical Italian song, 'Bella Ciao'. The music wasn't planned, an organist at the edge played the tune and two women with Voices of Nightingales sang beautifully alongside the Chef who surprisingly had a very deep baritone... It wasn't an experience she never wanted to forget.

" Of course, I'm taking you, but it's barely 7 pm," He said amidst the loud country music blasting from the car's speakers.

"You like American music so much even if you're not American" She twisted her mouth as he hummed along as the song played.

" My parents might be Italians but hey, I was born and raised in America so I'm practically American" he stated "You're not American... Are you, what state are you from?".

Bella frowned at his question, well she started it.

" I was born in Russia... Yakutsk, when my parents died I moved to America... I think my dad was American, I don't know about my mum" she explained, withholding some details. She wasn't the only child born in Yakutsk and raised in America, was she?.

"Yakutsk! Isn't that the coldest place in the world, Why would they leave America for Yakutsk, maybe your mum was Russian...huh?". Ethan wondered. Bella looked at his face, so clueless that they were probably hiding from people who wanted them dead and that he was the son of the mastermind.

"Well, I think we visited Yakutsk once when I was Ten. My Dad had business there... We also had properties there". Ethan recalled experiencing a very serious frostbite that made Emily cry.

"Business Huh" Bella sneered, Her family was probably the business the Devil was referring to.

"I'd really want to visit there someday, Don't you?" He asked and Bella got cut off by the question. Of course, she wanted to visit after so many years. Maybe their old house must have been rebuilt and probably families must have occupied it.

"yeah!.. I mean it's been so long".

"What happened to your parents?" Ethan forced the question. He had tried to avoid opening her old wounds but still, he needed to satisfy his curiosity.

"They died in a fire..." She found herself stuttering. that was unlike her but the ongoing subject was something that touched her down to her marrows.

"But How?..." He thought out loud. Bella lowered her head, how could he be asking her this question when His father planned the whole thing. What was she to say... Hey! Ethan your Evil and Heartless father killed my parents... His men set our house on fire?

"My mom was careless. It was a gas explosion. I was outside with a friend, and that's how I survived," she lied, with her face fixed permanently outside the window so he couldn't see the rage in her eyes.

" I guess I got lucky, I would have perished with them in that fire. Ethan wished he could depict her thoughts just by examining her blank face.

"I'm glad you survived though, I wouldn't have met you then," Ethan said admiring her features from her side view. he felt shockwaves as she moistened her lips with her tongue. Sometimes she wondered if Her life would have been a little different if Her parents were Alive.

The atmosphere was a little tense, Bella's eyes darkened...Yeah! He better be glad she survived... If she hadn't she wouldn't be plotting to erase his fucking lineage.

" That night... At the bar, you were sobbing..." He began, Bella turned quickly and he could see how reddened her eyes were.

"Don't ask me that" She fired back, Her voice hoarse and bitter, Ethan felt he must have touched a really sensitive spot and she didn't look pleased at all

"Bella I'm sorry if I had involuntarily triggered a bad memory, But hey! You can talk to me about it, Sharing your problems reduces the burden. Besides we just talked about your parents.."

" Don't you dare speak of my parents again!...." Bella yelled, Ethan was shocked, she was probably out of control as she had been trying to hold her temper for a long, well, she just couldn't do it anymore.

" Stop the car!"

"what? Why?" Ethan asked in shock.

"Stop the damn fucking car!" She yelled and He pulled the brakes, Bella flung open the door of the car and rushed out into the street, Ethan abandoned his car runnin'

g after her,

" if you didn't want to talk about it you should have said so!" He said running towards her, took her hands and she shrugged it off. roughly

"You should learn to know what subjects people are comfortable with"

"I can't fucking know... Your face never gives anything away" He yelled angrily "I told you about Emily didn't I?.... You're not the only one with a past Bella... You don't know what I've been through".

"Do you know what I have been through?... I shouldn't have lived!" She screamed, Tears clouded her eyes as she convulsed, Ethan was taken aback by her response. She turned her back and just as she put her foot forward she felt his strong arms wrapped around her enveloping her in his strong masculine scent. She struggled to break free and surprisingly his grip was tight... She gave up burying her face into his chest and sobbing.

Ethan ran his hand gently through her hair, she could hear his heartbeat and his husky and velvet voice soothed her, but He couldn't understand why she was lashing at him, Ethan everyone had a past and he was just as bad being the son of an Ex-Mafia. Bella wondered If asking him further questions would hurt him as much as it hurt her that she was in the arms of this man..., she reminded her body that he was forbidden.

" It was my fault Emily was shot, I was two years older. We were kidnapped on a school trip by some men, I and Emily tried to escape and she was shot" Ethan narrated calmly. Bella wondered if it was the gang, Surely she should know about it... Or perhaps they kept it away from her because she was little back then.

"Did they find out the culprits?" She asked curiously

" No, but My dad suspected they worked for one of his old friends, my Dad used to be a lawbreaker. A bad one" He explained and Bella shook her head that was still pressed to his chest stiffly, She was sure that that was the kind of job La Gambino would do.

" Let's leave, it's getting cold out here," Ethan said leading Bella to where they had abandoned the vehicle.