Page 20 of Cardinal

"Uhh, isn't that a little excessive? There were like so many in there." Granted, I wouldn't even have an idea of where to start. Excessive, but maybe needed. Still, I didn't want him to have tubs of ice cream sitting around, especially if I didn't like the flavor—I didn't want food to go to waste.

"Well, how else are you going to find what you like or don't if you don't try everything?" He mused with a chuckle, raising an eyebrow as he leaned against the open car door. "It's just a pint of everything."

"That's a lot of ice cream still." I protested with a soft pout. I couldn't argue anything else with him because he had a valid point. "What if I don't like something? I don't want it to go to waste."

Amused, he chuckled and reached out to ruffle the back of my head. "Then either I'll eat it on a cheat day, or one of my men will pick it up. Between all who work for me, someone will take the free treat." With that, he shut the door and rounded the car to his side.

"Luciano?" I waited until his head turned to me before smiling softly and brightly at him. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me for treating you as you should be, principessa."

Chapter 12

Juliet

~1.5 weeks later~

"Juliet, come here." Luciano's deep voice summoned me to his office just as I passed it.

I nearly tripped over my own feet from how fast I stopped to spin around on my heel. Standing at the doorway, I smiled at him apologetically. "Sorry, I know I'm not supposed to be in this wing, but they said you were over here, and I wanted to say bye before school." I also might have wandered a little too far in my daze.

Smiling, he forgave me with a shake of his head as he beckoned me over with a wave of his hand. "It's fine. Just be a little more mindful from here on out. It's not that I want to ban you from this wing just because." Once again, he had this reluctant edge to his voice that made me wonder if he held something back, but I didn't push it as I slowly approached his desk and stood across from him on the other side. "I am doing it for your own safety and sake. There are lots of things that happen in this wing that are unsavory, things I don't want to expose and taint you with."

His studious eyes looked me over before his face softly bunched up with a soft frown. "Are you sure you want to return to school? It won't hurt you to take more time off to recover, and my offer of homeschooling is also on the table." He inquired as he got up from his seat and rounded the table until he leaned back against the desk before me.

Uncertain, I frowned and twiddled with my fingers. "I don't know. I feel like I should try to go to school. I mean, it might help to be around my peers again… But it also just feels overwhelming to think about being around all those people." Chewing my bottom lip, I exhaled heavily through my nose. "I also can't stay cooped up in your place forever… But I'm so scared."

The thought of going back to school and pretending I didn't get trafficked by my own parents, gang raped, and now tangled with the biggest mafia on the east coast was unnerving, to say the least. On the other hand, how would other people see me if they managed to find out what happened?

Reaching out, Luciano took my hands into his, brushing his thumbs comfortingly over my knuckles. "You don't have to do this if you are not ready. It has barely been over a week since your traumatic event, and you have only had one therapy session so far." Settling my hands back down, he reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. "You don't need to push yourself so much. You have only started the healing process, and if you overexert yourself, you can undo your progress."

He was right, like always, but being home with him felt suffocating with how he bounced from being caring and supportive to giving me a cold shoulder. I know he was a busy man, but over the past few days, he locked himself away in the office wing and felt as if he tried to isolate himself from me.

"I'll be okay… I have to be." I couldn't stay broken and weak forever. I had to pick my life back up sooner than later.

Sighing softly, Luciano shook his head as his hands cupped my face. "No, Juliet, do not force yourself to be okay when you are not. If you are not ready, then that is okay. You are allowed to take time, especially since you can." His thumb softly brushed my cheekbone as he looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

"Listen, I know you want to try and get your life back, take some kind of control back and all, but if you are not fully prepared to try and face the consequences, it will end badly. You have already gone through enough, and I do not want you to get hurt again so soon or ever." At least his voice was comforting to my nerves.

Just as I opened my mouth to protest, he held a finger to my mouth, "If you want to try today, then I will support you like always. I just need you to agree to a few terms, alright?" His voice sweetened just enough with his little smirk as he tilted my face up a little.

"Do I get to know the terms before I agree?" I asked warily as my body tensed up. The last thing I needed to do was blindly agree to something and get myself in a shitty situation. I doubt Luciano would do something like that to me, but I couldn't help but feel wary about any kind of agreement after everything.

Huffing out a soft chuckle, he gave me a proud smile of sorts. "Good girl, never blindly agree to anything." Letting go of my face, he placed his hands against the edge of the desk. "Go for half the day for the next few days. Give yourself some breathing room. If you feel like you can keep going by lunchtime, let me know so I don't have someone pick you up. If I do not hear from you, then I will assume you are not comfortable and will have your ass dragged home to decompress." Tilting his head, he urged me to answer with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine." It wasn't some ridiculous request. He was being more than reasonable, and it was for my sake and health. "What are your other terms and conditions?"

"If you feel uncomfortable and want a break at any point in the school day, then let me know ASAP. You will also let me know of any plans before or after school just so I know of your last known whereabouts if anything were to happen, not that they should, but just in case." After giving me a moment to process his words, he continued, "I am not going to control your life much if I can help it, but for you to have such freedom, you have to be safe, responsible, and reasonable with me. Your bodyguard will take you to and from school every day, and they will hang around the parking lot until it is time for you to go home."

Pouting a little, I held my complaint back as I reluctantly nodded. I didn't want a bodyguard around to draw attention to myself. Then again, pretty sure showing up to school in an expensive ass car with a new driver would draw eyes to me already.

Maybe Luciano had a point about taking a few days off, but even when I would go back, the situation wouldn't be any different. So, might as well suck it up now, I guess.

Resigning to my fate with a sigh, I looked down at my foot for a moment before looking back up at Luciano, who studied me with hawk-like eyes. "If you have any issues with any of it, then by all means, let me know." He invited me with a wave of his hand and a warm smile.

"Well, I don't want the bodyguard, but it's for my safety… So, I'll learn to live with them hanging around." I grumbled with a relenting sigh. "Anything else?"

Nodding his head, Luciano fished around in his pocket and pulled out a small pouch. "Just one last thing." From the bag, he pulled out a necklace with a pendant of a pair of bat-like wings with two horns and a pointed tail in the shape of the letter 'L' on it. "Well, this one might not be much of a request, more of a… Demand, I guess."

---