ALL ALONE

SONIA'S POV 

Sitting dormant in this house for the past 48 hours has been like nothing but a harsh punishment. It has also given me room to reflect on Anthony's rude attitude towards me since we got married. 

I know what I signed up for when I agreed to his proposal, but this… this definitely isn't it. I feel sad, bored and alone sitting here all by myself. 

And my current state makes everything ten times worse. My morning sickness has been as consistent as ever and I've cried more times than I can count. 

The one company I've had since Anthony stormed out two nights ago was the Obgyn who came to check that I was doing just fine and even she left as soon as she'd recommended taking some rest and given me medications.

Done with my cup of tea, I make my way to the sink to wash up when I hear a distant sound. That's the most sound I've heard in a while and I have to find its source. Anything to keep me from going crazy in here. 

I quickly wash up the tea cup and head outside. The warm afternoon air kisses my face when I'm on the porch. It's still very much bright outside.

Hearing the sound again, I follow it to the backyard and the sight before me makes me stand rooted in my spot in amazement. There are herds of horses scattered all around the backyard – if I can even call it that. 

The back of the house is home to a vast ground. It's so huge, I know there must be a farm lying somewhere around. And then the horses… they are beautiful and big and I feel drawn to the one closest to me. I'm about taking a step towards it when someone pulls on my arm.

"These aren't normal horses, ma'am." I turn to see the familiar face of the gentleman who helped me with my luggage when I first got here. "They could get you killed especially if you approach them from behind like that."

Right. I've seen something of the sort happen in a movie before which killed the man instantly. My mind is filled with a visual representation of what could have been of me had he not shown up when he did and I shake my head to get rid of the thought, deciding to be filled with gratitude. 

"What kind of horses are they? They don't look like the normal ones." I ask, looking back at him. He is a handsome man probably in his late twenties. He's putting on a loose fitted sleeveless shirt and with the way his arms are glistening with sweat – probably from working on here – I should find the sight before me attractive… but I don't. 

All that seems to have clouded my thoughts for the past few weeks is a sandy blond haired man and his impeccable suits. 

And there I go again. Thinking about someone who has little to no regard for me. When will I learn?

"They are feral horses, mostly known as wild horses."

"Oh. Are they supposed to be here?" 

"Not at all. They came in through a broken fence weeks ago and have barely left ever since." 

I frown. "Barely?"

"When a number of them leaves, the rest remain here until they're back. They never leave at once."

"Oh," I laugh. "They must like it here then."

"I suppose."

"And Mr. Romano doesn't have a problem with that?"

He gazes at me quizzically and I realize how it looks with me regarding my husband so formally. Mr. Romano. I would slap my head if he wasn't still looking at me.

He shakes his head In reply. "He likes that they're here. We occasionally work on training them so they're tame."

"Well, is it working?" 

"On a few, yeah. The ones in the far back find it difficult to trust. It'll take a while to get to them."

"It's probably because they've been in the wild for the longest of time." I chip in.

I'm not looking at him but I see him nod in my periphery. 

"I'm Sonia, by the way."

"Gerald." He shakes me and we use the next hour and a half to tour the compound. 

I meet a few other people along the way, all Gerald's family. Apparently, they are the caretakers of the property. Gerald takes me to another part of Anthony's insanely large compound where the domesticated horses are and teaches me to ride a horse.

By the time the sun begins to set, I'm smiling from ear to ear, happy to have done something to uplift my mood. I say goodbye to Gerald and his sister and make my way back into the house. My throat is parched.

I've just had a glass of water when I hear movement behind me. My heart is almost in my mouth due to fright but when I look back I see that it's only Anthony. His handsome self is leaning against the counter, clad in a suit as usual and staring intently at me over the iPad in front of him. 

"Oh, it's just you." I breathe. "You scared me."

Damn it. I had said I wouldn't speak to him should he decide to show his face again. But my words are already out, unfortunately. No taking it back.

That's alright. I shrug mentally. I can just start ignoring him now. Ignoring his rude stare, I walk around him to the sink to rinse my glass cup. Then make a left towards the kitchen door to leave.

"Were you hoping It was someone else, instead?" I hear his ticked off tone and turn to face him, frowning.

"What do you mean?" 

"I saw how comfortable you were with my caretaker, wife. If you'd allow me, I would even say you were being 'flirty'." 

I scoff before I can catch myself. The asshole. "Are you accusing me of what I think you're accusing me of?" I quickly fold my hands in front of me before I do something I'd regret. I'm pissed at the effrontery of this man I call husband.

"I don't know, you tell me." He narrows his eyes at me.

I don't want to, but I can feel the sting of incoming tears threatening to pour out. It's the damn hormones. "You can't leave me all alone in this big place you call – whatever it is you want to call it – and not expect me to be lonely, okay? I was in here all by myself in a city I didn't know existed up until two days ago. So you must forgive me if I stepped out to do something with my time since you weren't available to make it worth my while."

I'm breathing fast and hard by the time I'm done spurting out my heart's content. How dare he accuse me of cheating? He didn't out rightly say it but I think I'm old enough to know what he's implying.

The nerve. 

He doesn't say anything, but looking at him, I could've sworn to have seen something unrecognizable briefly cross his eyes before disappearing. 

Turning away from him to go back to my room, I mutter, "I don't know who hurt you in the past, but not everyone's like that." I leave him there before I can embarrass myself any further with my stupid tears.

-ANTHONY-

As soon as I'd gotten back home and met the house empty, I had a brief wave of panic before checking the CCTV to make sure she had walked through the doors of her own accord and not taken out forcefully.

Of course, I knew Gerald wasn't in the house while I was away but the camera's doesn't cover every corner of the compound so knowing what she was up to would've been next to impossible. That was until I spotted her through the windows of my study, riding one of my more domesticated horses while laughing, looking more happy than I've ever seen her, with Gerald on another horse beside her.

'I don't know who hurt you in the past, but not everyone's like that.'

I recall her earlier statement and how it threw me off guard for a second. It was unexpected and some part of me might even consider it to be true, but I don't let myself go down that lane. She was well damn right about one thing though and that is about not knowing shit. 

I finish up with some work before heading upstairs to my room. Tonight should be our last night here as I have work to attend to soon.

Passing by Sonia's bedroom, I hear muffled sniffing and freeze. She can't possibly still be crying. I look at my wristwatch for the time to see that it's been well over an hour since our… unfriendly encounter. 

'You were mean to her for no reason at all.' I hear my subconscious say and I'm frankly still surprised that I have one. But I know it's not wrong. By her reaction to my accusation, I could tell that she wasn't lying about what she'd said. 

The only dick in that moment was me, considering I made a woman cry. 

I let out a deep breath and resume my walk to my room. I'm not about to let a few tears move me. Sonia's a big girl and with time, she will learn to put on her big girl pants as she stands to gain something out of this charade as well as I do. 

I was told by her father that she left the walls of our world briefly before getting pregnant. Maybe she forgot what living in the mafia world entails, but she will remember soon enough.