Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 109716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
But I only smiled.
I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “My Ayla. My beautiful Angel.” I peppered her face with kisses.
When Ayla didn’t move, my eyebrows furrowed tensely, and I pulled back.
I quickly lost my smile.
Realization finally dawned that she still hadn’t responded to me. “Ayla?” I said, touching her cheek and running a finger along her dried lips.
There was no recognition in her green eyes.
I suddenly felt sick.
She still hadn’t uttered a word. No, she just stared.
I knew she wasn’t seeing me.
She just stared into space without saying anything. I wasn’t even sure if she understood what was happening.
I spent a few minutes trying to bring her back. But it was no use.
“Ayla,” I whispered. “It’s me. Alessio.”
Nothing.
And that was the moment my heart shattered.
She only stared blankly at me. Her face was completely devoid of emotion, her eyes lacking the light that had always been there. They were empty.
I was wrong.
I finally had Ayla in my arms; she was safe. She was with me—but she wasn’t here.
My Angel was gone.
In her place was an empty shell.
Chapter 5
I stared at Ayla, completely frozen. For so long, I wanted her eyes on me, but not like this.
Not empty and lifeless.
She wasn’t seeing me. As if I wasn’t even there.
I touched her cheek gently, hoping it would bring her attention to me. But instead she moved her eyes away. I watched her look around the room. Her attention stayed on the wall far longer than I liked.
Then her gaze moved around again, taking in every piece. Even though she looked intently around the room, I knew she wasn’t seeing anything.
She was lost in her mind.
Her eyes saw what was there, but her mind didn’t acknowledge it.
I feared this would be an outcome from her captivity.
I knew she would be hurt…maybe even beyond help…but I thought that at least she would recognize me.
Those beautiful green orbs moved back to mine. I remembered clearly the day I first saw those eyes. They were filled with fear back then. But slowly, I had watched them change to something else. There was wonder, amazement, happiness, and finally love.
But now all of that was gone. In its place was nothing…her eyes held nothing.
Looking in them, even I felt empty. I realized that I lived through Ayla. Her happiness had been mine. Her smile and laughter had brought me to life. The look in her eyes, the love in them had brought me compassion and love. They taught me to feel.
Now I was left feeling too much while she closed in herself.
Her gaze bored into mine.
Blue to green.
My heart stammered heavily in my chest as I watched for any change. Any trickle of life. When none of that happened, the realization settled around me like a heavy cloud. We had been thrown back into the pit of darkness.
I was just a stranger to my Angel.
I was suddenly afraid I would push too hard and maybe too fast.
Shaking my head in dread, I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I couldn’t give up. Not now. Not ever. I would fight until I had nothing left to give, until I had made sure she was fully back to me.
I forced myself to smile.
It was a strain, but I smiled—for her.
My finger softly trailed up her cheek, and I moved Ayla’s hair behind her ear. She didn’t move. Her gaze stayed fixated on mine.
If I didn’t know better, I would have said she looked mesmerized by my eyes. Like they were the only thing she could stare at.
I shifted around so our faces were mere inches apart. My lips touched the tip of her nose before I slightly leaned back. “I know you’ll probably not hear me. Or even if you do, you’ll not understand. But I want you to hear my voice. I want you to know that I am here.”
I moved my head to the side. “Angel,” I whispered in her ears. Placing a kiss on her head, I leaned back. “You are so beautiful; you know that?”
When she didn’t respond, I smiled and rubbed her cheeks. They used to be round, but she had lost weight. It wasn’t healthy for her or the baby.
At the thought of the baby, my eyes moved to her stomach. Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand on the bump.
Deep inside, I wanted to feel him or her again. The urge to feel the baby move, to connect with it in some way, was strong.
As soon as I placed my hand on Ayla’s stomach, the baby shifted around. I couldn’t help but smile. I felt strangely giddy at the thought of the baby moving at my touch.
I rubbed the bump. “You sure are a dancer,” I said to the bump when it moved again. “Or maybe a fighter?” A small laugh bubbled from my chest. It was playing target practice in there.