"Are you almost ready Angela?" Adriano poked his head through her bedroom door to find her fixing her hair. She was dressed in white, and Adriano couldn't help but let his eyes fall down her body as she plucked and scrunched her up. She was looking in the mirror, when she turned around and directed her gaze to him. She immediately blushed once she spotted Adriano looking and gave him a small one-sided smile.

"Um, yes. Just give me a minute." Angela looked at him and he now noticed she had done her make up. Usually, Angela went around bare-faced and natural which Adriano loved but he also liked how she looked right now too.

"Okay, I'll be waiting." She heard his footsteps down the hall and hurried herself. Once she grabbed her bag she made sure none of the hot tools she used were left on, and finally left, shutting the door behind her.

"I'm ready." Angela said quietly as she walked into the room. Adriano took a double take and stood up, towering over her despite her gold heels she was wearing. He put on his coat and as soon as they walked into the elevator, Angela linked her arm in his, needing to be closer to him. Adriano could only looked down and smile at her.

"Are you cold?" he inquired when they were in the car park, he noticed all she had was a shawl wrapped around her and was trying her best not to shiver. She just nodded, her teeth jittering.

"I didn't want to ask could I use your jacket again. It would sort of ruin the outfit don't you think?" she laughed a little, making him smile.

"I'll warm the car up and I'm sure there's blanket in there somewhere for you to wrap around you."

"Thank you." She said when he had opened her door and reached in to wrap the blanket around her. Once he was done, he closed her door and went around the front of the car to his side. Adriano started the car up and soon enough they were on their way.

The drive was quiet but the comfortable kind. Angela leaned her head against the window and watched the swooshing world go by, humming quietly to the music playing softly in the background. Adriano tapped his fingers on the steering wheel along with the beat.

Angela lifted her head up and her eyes widened when she saw the sight of Adriano's parent's house coming into view for a good bit out. It was more of a mansion than a house. The gates opened up slowly and obviously, Adriano didn't bat an eyelid as they drove to a small hut and two security guards walked beside the car.

He rolled down the window and one of the guards bent down to his eye level. They greeted each other with a curt nod when the guard finally spoke. He had peered his head past Adrianno and looked directly at Angela, eyeing her with curiosity.

"Who have we got here?" he asked, Adriano's head shot to his left and he glared at the guard.

"She's with me. You don't need to search her."

"Your father told us to search everyone besides the immediate family."

"Can you get out of the car please?" the other guard knocked on Angela's window.

"Angela don't move. I'll handle this."

"You must be hiding something if you don't want us to search her Adriano." The guard to his left said as the other one opened the car door and forced Angela out, putting her back to the car. She looked down at the ground and said nothing.

"Didn't you fucking hear me? I told you not to search her." Adriano snapped opening and slamming his door loudly. He made his way around the Angela's side of the car and pushed the guard with great force against the car.

"Don't touch her." He growled and then turned to Angela. She was making that face again, the one he hated. Her mouth was set in a grim line, her eyes widened a little. She looked afraid and because of that, Adriano let go of the guard and took a deep breath. "Let's go Angela." He spoke softly to her. She gave him a weak nod and got back into the car.

He followed soon after and they began their drive up the winding driveway to Adriano's parent's house.

"Here we are." He tried to smile at her as the pair got out of the car. She was looking up in absolute awe at the house that stood before her. He nudged her gently to get her attention again. Angela looked down at Adriano's arm which was held out, ready for her to link. She done so and snuggled into his arm as they walked up the steps to the house.

Carmela answered the door to the pair of them, and greeted them with a wide, gleaming smile and a hug each.

"Merry Christmas you two! Come in. Dinner isn't for a while." She said, the sheer contentment evident in her tone. She loved her sons to pieces and couldn't be happier to see Adriano finally taking an interest in a girl like Angela. Although he hadn't admitted to anything yet, Carmela just knew there was or soon would be something between the two. After Luisa, Adriano had never even spoke or allowed his mother to see any woman in his life. But things were soon to change, she just knew it.

Dinner went by quickly. Angela sat between Adriano and Mike at the table, they were near Maria and Franco who had their children between them too. There were a lot more people in the family than Angela had expected. There must have been almost fifty and the numbers were to only increase after dinner, or so she was told by Carmela.

Angela liked how close Adriano's family were, but couldn't help but think of her own the entire night. She had made small conversation with Carmela, Maria and two of Adriano's aunts but decided to venture off on her own for a few minutes to clear her head, telling the women she was just going to the bathroom and she would soon find where it was herself.

The house really was massive. Although Angela's family had a good bit of money and lived in a reasonable sized home back in Florida, this family were on a completely different scale of wealth to her. It scared her slightly, her wandering thoughts tiptoed over the facts that she wanted to just forget about: Adriano and his family were dangerous, why else would they need security? They lived in massive mansions that were extravagantly furnished to go along with that, they all wore the best of clothes and jewellery. Everything about all of these women and men just screamed wealth, a good bit of it at that too.

She wanted to ask Adriano what he done for a living again. But she was beginning to like him now, and the answer may ruin her image of him that she wanted to hold on to, even just for a little while. She knew she was afraid of what the answer could be.

Angela was walking the long halls upstairs in the house, walking past the bathroom and looking at the scattered pictures and paintings hung perfectly on the walls. She traced her hand along the wooden panels as she did so. She had stopped to get a closer look at Adriano, Mike and another boy who seemed to be a little older, in a picture. Mike was in Spiderman Pyjamas and was posing confidently, pouting to the camera while the other two appeared to be laughing and smiling. Angela couldn't help but notice how happy Adriano looked. She had never seen him grinning as much before like he did in the picture. He had looked so young too, probably only early teens but she knew it was him.

Angela guessed that the other boy who was beside Adriano was his brother. They looked very much the same, with matching dark hair, olive skin and almost black eyes. She examined Adriano's expression again, looking at his eyes that had warmness swirling around in them. They sparkled brightly at her.

"Well fancy seeing you here Angela?" she heard a voice to her left say and almost dropped the photo frame to the floor beneath her. Angela looked up to find Alessandro smirking at her, his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on her. She remembered him, he wasn't hard to forget. She thought back to that day when he and Mike came to her apartment to take her back to New York. An unwelcome shiver flew up her spine at the thought of how heavy-handed he had been with her, he lost his temper quickly and she recalled him being a lot more forceful and violent than Mike.

"Hello." She gulped, squeaking her words out. Angela was gripping the frame tightly now, her stomach churning uncontrollably at the coolness of his voice just a moment ago.

"The last time we both saw each other you were puking your guts up at the side of the road." He advanced to just a few inches away from her. Her body had frozen, not able to even think about taking a step back. Alessandro's dark eyes were menacing. They were warning her, of something she didn't quite know yet but they had forced her to look down at the ground.

"What? Have you nothing to say?" he asked, taunting her a little. He leaned in closer and she could feel his breath fan her cheek slightly.

"What do you want?" Angela tried to sound demanding but failed miserably. She wasn't good at this kind of thing. He laughed at her, lifting his hand slowly and touching her collarbone exposed from her dress.

"I want you to tell me why Adriano suddenly pulled out of his plans with Luisa. I want you to tell me what's going on between you two." He said, the slight distraction evident in his voice as he traced his finger on her collarbone and up to her neck and chin. His eyes were on her lips. He was standing so close she could see his long lashes fanned out. Alessandro had then picked up a lock on her hair that had fallen onto her shoulder. He twirled it gently in his hand as she spoke again.

"Adriano's business isn't mine to discuss, or yours for that matter either." Angela plucked up the courage to reply. Alessandro narrowed his eyes at her, grabbing a chunk of her brown hair in his hand and yanking it down forcefully. Angela grunted in pain, her head still healing from when Adamo had hurt her. Adriano had sent the doctor Baxton, the family doctor, over and he gave her something to close up the wound but it still hurt sometimes.

"Getting brave are we?" he turned his head to the side, only a breath away from her lips. She was struggling under the pain he was inflicting on her but still managed to twist away a few centimetres from his face.

"Let me go. And I don't know what you're talking about, there's nothing going on between Adriano and I." she said through gritted teeth. Alessandro's grip loosened but was still strong.

"Why else would he change his mind about marrying Luisa?" he pressed for an answer.

"I- I don't know." She was shaking now and her voice had come out strangled.

"You're lying." He spoke with confidence and force but what she was saying was true. Although she knew Adriano didn't care for Luisa anymore, she wasn't sure what exactly it was that had caused him to make his decision. One of the reasons for his dislike for Luisa was because of what her family had done to his brother and the type of person she was, he had told her that before one of the nights when they stayed with each other in his bedroom but she would never tell Alessandro that, it was too personal.

"I'm not." She tried to not move an inch so that Alesandro wouldn't hurt her any more than he was already.

"Don't worry Angela, I'll get my answers out of you some time." He locked his eyes with hers, drawing her even closer than before. She gulped nervously, not wanting to see him ever again and already dreading when 'some time' would be. "For now, I'll let you go." He had loosened his grip and brought her head slowly away from his only to jerk it back as soon as he spoke again. "Tell anyone about this conversation and you'll be sorry you ever opened that pretty little mouth of yours." He said through gritted teeth.

All she could do was nod slowly and sigh with relief as soon as he let her go. Alesandro stormed off down the hallway and down the stairs. Everyone could be heard talking and laughing downstairs. Tears filled Angela's eyes as she walked back to the bathroom and closed the door shut behind her. She covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from sobbing. She was shaking, too afraid to go back downstairs yet and see Alesandro. Her mind raked over the events that had just happened outside a moment ago. Was she supposed to tell Adriano about this? What would Alesandro do if he found out she had told someone?

Once Angela had finally calmed down, she made her way out of the bathroom and downstairs again. Slight pain had shot through the back of her head once she reached the bottom step. She winced a little and looked around for Maria.

Adriano had been taking quietly in the kitchen with his mother when she had made her way downstairs.

"So... Angela huh?" Carmela had asked, she was setting up more food on the countertop beside him and looked at him through the corner of her eye as she spoke. Adriano's tall frame had stiffened slightly after his mother had spoken.

"Mom." Adriano warned, he knew where Carmela was going to go with this and he didn't like it.

"What? I just said her name honey, there's no need to be defensive." His mother said playfully, still working on something else.

"You and I both know you weren't just saying her name, there was a question behind all of it."

"I just haven't seen you introduce a girl to us since- since you were younger. I never expected one like Angela either." Carmela had to watch what she said, not wanting to bring up the topic of Luisa with Adriano. She knew it would ruin the mood.

"One like Angela? What do you mean Mom?" he laughed now and she was glad he hadn't got offended.

"Well she's sweet, she has manners and you seem to like her a lot."

"Don't get your hopes up Mom. There's nothing between us." He wanted to let his mother down easy but he couldn't get his head around his last sentence. He questioned himself a lot about that lately, there shouldn't be anything between Angela and him, but did he want there to be? No, of course not, he thought. They had just shared a kiss, a mistake was all it was but it left him wanting more and he couldn't forget it. He liked her company, actually when he thought about it, he more than liked it. It had been such a small amount of time since they first met but Adriano couldn't imagine her not being around anymore. But he couldn't keep her there forever. "Angela's just staying with me for a little while." He added but Carmela thought he sounded a little distracted. She directed her gaze to where he was looking now.

Angela was across the other side of the room, through the open double doors from the kitchen. Adriano thought she looked a little lost, if not shaken up. He furrowed his brows slightly at the sight of her and immediately strode past people scattered in the living area to where she was standing by the window. Carmela just watched her son as his protective instincts kicked in. She knew Angela was special to him, even if Adriano didn't quite know it yet.

"Are you okay?" she heard his voice from beside her and instantly jumped. She had been standing with her arms crossed, looking out the window in a daze. Adriano stood in front of her, looking at her widened grey eyes as she looked up at him.

"Hmm. I'm fine." She mumbled, looking away from him now.

"Angela look at me." Adriano said gently, putting his hand on the back of her head and turned her head up to him. He examined her pale face and spoke again. "You seem like you're somewhere else." She let out a forced laugh.

"I'm good. Honestly." Angela smiled at him, she felt better when he was with her. Alesandro couldn't do anything to her if he was here surely. She opened her arms and leaned in, wrapping her arms around him in a loose hug that she found reassuring. His warmth comforted her and she smiled to herself once he began to hug her back.

"Once you're alright I don't care." He mumbled, more so to himself than anyone else but she still heard him. He had moved his hands around her but pulled away slowly once he saw the traces of deep red liquid on his hand. It was smudged on his palm, the hand he had held her head in. He looked at it with confusion, she was still unware of what he was doing.

"Angela." He said in confusion.

"Yeah?" She asked, now pulling away herself to look at him again. He had been staring at his hand and then turned her a little so he could see the back of her head.

"Your head's bleeding again." Adriano sounded a little worried and got a closer look at her head.

"What?" she said, a little shocked. She had a headache and pain but didn't think her wound was bleeding again.

"It's only a little. Don't worry about it, doctor Baxton is here somewhere, maybe he can take a look at it."

"Oh no, I'm sure it's okay." Angela tried to brush it off, she began to twirl her hair and wrap it in a bun. The pain wasn't that bad and Adriano may have been making something big out of the whole thing if she had the doctor look at it again. He took her hand gently, stopping her from putting her hair up and gave her a somewhat pleading look.

"Please, just for me. So I know you're okay?" his voice raised a little at the end of his sentence, making it a question, a question Angela couldn't say no to. She gulped and nodded, her heart melting at his words. Did he care? Yes, he did. It was something Angela was unsure about but in Adriano's mind, he knew for sure he did. He felt it was his fault if anything happened to her and he wasn't sure whether what he was feeling was guilt or not because guilt wasn't a common occurrence to Adriano. That night, it was his fault Adamo had come after Angela and he'd never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to her.

And so a few moments later, they were sitting quietly in another room with doctor Baxton while he looked at Angela's head. He assured them everything was okay and by then it had gotten late. Angela and Adrianno said their goodbyes to Adriano's family and they began their drive home.

Angela was a little too quiet for Adriano's liking but didn't know how to communicate his concern. She wasn't as shaken up as she was when he found her looking out the window earlier on but he wondered what was wrong with her.

Angela's mind was racing, her worries about Allesandro had died down a little since they had gotten into the car and she was in Adriano's presence. But now, something else had come back into her thoughts again just like at the dinner table earlier that day: Her family. She wondered what they had done for the holidays, she wondered did they think of her as much as she thought of them.

Angela knew that one day, she would pluck up the courage to finally go home but not yet. She just couldn't do it. Not after all of the horrible things she had said to them back then. She felt ashamed and embarrassed, she had been wrong and her mother and father had known best all along. Angela just wished she had figured that out sooner, before she left for New York with Derek.

"Everything good Angela?" Adriano's deep voice cut into her thoughts, she had been staring out the window but turned to look at him now. His head was slightly turned, eyes switching between her and the road in front of him. Adriano turned into the parking lot for his building and parked in his usual spot.

"Yeah. Sure." Her voice came out breathless as she nodded eagerly, trying her best to put on a brave face in front of him.

Adriano gave her a small smile but she looked away quickly, not wanting to give anything away. She was remembering everything about Florida and the town she grew up in. Would she ever pass by her old high school again? Would she ever visit friends she'd lost touch with after her big move to New York? Would she catch up with everything that has happened in the long space of time since her absence?

Adriano but his hand on the small of her, walking her into the elevator. She felt a slight shiver at his touch but said nothing. He was leaning down slightly, trying to get a closer look at her crumbling expression left on her face without her knowing. He had a panicking feeling tumbling around in his stomach now, what was wrong with her? Did something happen? He needed to know.

They rode the elevator in silence, a silence that continued all the way until they were in the living room. Angela took off her heels, her height shrinking by about four inches.

"Do you want some coffee? Maybe we could watch a little TV?" Adriano suggested but her dull expression didn't change.

"No, I'm tired. I think I'm going to go to bed." She scratched her head a little and yawned, turning around and walking off. His expression sunk a little, he thought they might stay in his bed tonight. He could do with the sleep but then again, he began to think that was just an excuse to hold her close now.

Angela didn't want to be alone but thought it might be the best thing for her right now. She dragged her feet on the carpet as she walked to her bedroom, closing her door shut behind her and leaving Adriano standing in the living room by himself. He didn't know what had gotten into him, because all of a sudden, he didn't just feel concerned, he felt angry now too. Why was she acting like this? He was trying to talk to her, make sure she was alright and she just didn't care.

After a minute or two of standing in silence, he found himself storming through the living room now and straight to her door, knocking loudly and opening it before she could tell him otherwise. She was standing up, already changed into one of her baggy old t-shirts and underwear. She looked up at him with widened eyes as he made his way over to her in big strides.

"You know, I'm trying my best here to talk to you and you're giving me nothing back." He said, the frustration very clear in his voice. He was raking a hand through his dark hair and had begun to pace up and down in front of her. Angela stood there, playing with her fingers and looking at him with a little confusion. She hadn't expected him to care.

"I'm fine-"

"No you aren't fine." He said with force, his loud voice was booming now and she took a step back involuntarily. Look, you just scared her now, way to go, Adriano thought to himself. He let out a frustrated sigh and tried to speak as gently as he could now. "Talk to me." He spoke softly and as soon as he said that, tears began to form in Angela's eyes and she knew she was going to break down now. A thick silence filled the room for a moment or two before she finally spoke.

"I just miss them okay?" Tears were silently falling down her face. It ached him to even look at her like this so he took her into a tight hug. "I miss my family. And I hate the fact that I know I can't go home." She said into his chest, her voice slightly muffled. She squeezed his sides and looked up at him now. He was thinking very hard about what to say next but only came out with something he didn't want to say.

"We can buy you a ticket for the next plane home if you want? You must miss them Angela, you can go if you want." But he didn't want her to go, he didn't want her to want to go either. She had dreamed of going home but didn't want to leave yet, she didn't know what was keeping her but in the back of her mind Adriano's name came up.

"Oh no don't be silly. I'm just upset right now. I can't go home yet." The 'yet' in that sentence itched at him for a moment but he didn't speak of it. They didn't speak for a moment, she just turned her head again and hugged him tighter.

"Oh Angie, " he spoke again, not liking the sight of her upset. He didn't care that he hadn't used her full name, the words had just come out. "I'm sorry." His arms wrapped around her a little more when he spoke. This guilt, it was going to eat him up, he needed to let her go home.

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I'm so sorry about not updating sooner, but here's a long chapter as my way of saying sorry!:) I can't believe this story has just reached 4.7k reads?! You're all so amazing, I can't thank you enough for reading, voting and commenting. So what do you think, should Adriano let her go home?... Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, sorry about any mistakes, it's not proof read.

A. Summers xo