Mafia Lord's Mute Sweetheart

Chapter 72: Chapter 72 Hug

It was following her again.

Her hands began to shake. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps. She broke into a jog, then a run, her sandals slapping against the pavement. The car followed, slow and relentless like a predator toying with its prey.

She fumbled with her phone, her fingers trembling so badly she could barely unlock the screen. She opened her messages, her thumb hovering over Annie’s name.

Help. Someone is following me. I am so scared.

She did not have time to send it.

She turned left. Then right. Then left again. She ran through narrow alleys and backstreets, her heart pounding, her lungs burning. The car was still behind her, its engine a low growl in the evening air.

She looked back while running, trying to see how close it was.

She did not see the car in front of her.

She crashed into it.

Her body hit the hood with a dull thud. Her phone flew out of her hand, skidding across the pavement. She stumbled backward, her arms flailing, her legs giving out beneath her. She fell to the ground, her palms scraping against the rough asphalt.

Pain shot through her knees, her elbows, her hands. She looked up, her vision blurred with tears.

The car had stopped. The driver’s door opened.

Alessio stepped out.

He was wearing a black suit, his dark hair slightly disheveled, his green eyes sharp and intense. He had just come back from a meeting and was driving himself, his mind still on the reports he had reviewed, the calls he had made.

And now, Daisy was on the ground in front of him.

He looked at her, his eyes widening. Her sundress was wrinkled. Her palms were scraped raw. Her knees were bleeding. Her caramel hair fell across her face in tangled waves. Her eyes were wide, wet and terrified.

"Daisy?" he said, his voice sharp. "What happened?"

Daisy opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She was shaking so badly she could barely breathe. Her whole body trembled, her teeth chattering, her hands clutching at the ground like she was trying to hold on to something solid.

Alessio knelt beside her. His hands hovered near her shoulders, not quite touching her. He did not want to scare her more.

"What happened?" he asked again.

Daisy pointed behind her, toward the street where the dark car had been.

Alessio looked.

There was nothing there.

The street was empty.

Alessio’s eyes narrowed. He looked back at Daisy. Her face was pale, her lips trembling, her eyes still wide with fear.

"There is nothing there," he said slowly.

Daisy shook her head frantically. She pointed again, her hand shaking. She tried to gesture, to explain, but her hands were trembling too badly to form the signs.

Alessio watched her. He could see the fear in her eyes, the genuine terror. This was not an act. This was real.

Daisy let out a small, helpless sound. It was a small whimper.

And then, before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around him.

She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest, her whole body shaking against his.

Alessio froze.

His arms hung at his sides. His body went rigid. He was not used to this. He was not used to being touched.

He did not hug her back.

But he did not push her away either.

He stood there, his arms at his sides, letting her cling to him, letting her shake against him, letting her tears soak into his shirt.

"What happened?" he asked again, his voice low and steady. "Tell me."

Daisy pulled back just enough to look up at him. Her eyes were red, her cheeks wet. She pointed at her phone, which was lying on the ground a few feet away.

Alessio followed her gaze. He walked over and picked up her phone. The screen was cracked, but it was still working. He brought it to her.

Daisy’s hands were still shaking too badly to type. She tried to hold the phone but it slipped from her fingers.

Alessio caught it before it hit the ground.

He looked at her. At her trembling hands, her tear-streaked face, the raw scrapes on her palms and knees.

He made a decision.

"Get in the car," he said.

Daisy looked at him, her eyes wide and confused.

Alessio opened the passenger door. "Get in the car, Daisy. I will take you home."

Daisy hesitated. She looked back at the empty street. Then at Alessio. Then at the open door.

She nodded.

She let him help her to her feet. Her legs were weak, her knees bleeding, her whole body shaking. She leaned on him more than she wanted to, but she could not help it.

He helped her into the car. He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side.

He got in and started the engine.

Daisy sat in the passenger seat, her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. She was still shaking but the trembling was less violent now.

Alessio glanced at her. Her knees were still bleeding, the blood trickling down her shins. Her palms were scraped raw, bits of gravel embedded in the wounds. Her sundress was torn at the hem.

"Where is your home?" he asked.

Daisy pulled out her phone. Her hands were still shaking, but she managed to type.

The Evermont mansion.

Alessio’s jaw tightened. He nodded and started driving.

The sun was setting, the sky turning a deep shade of purple. The streetlights flickered on, casting pools of orange light on the pavement.

Daisy sat in silence, her hands still clasped in her lap.

After a moment, she typed something on her phone and held it out to him.

Thank you.

Alessio glanced at the screen and didn’t reply.

After a few minutes...

"You should have someone check your wounds," he said. "Your knees are bleeding."

I will take care of it when I get home.

He glanced at her again. Her face was pale, her eyes still red. She looked fragile like a bird with a broken wing.

He looked back at the road.

They drove in silence for a while, the city lights blurring past the window.

Finally, Alessio spoke again.

"Who was following you?" he asked.