Totally Devoted

by Wanitta Praks

  Fourteen years ago, her bright smile lit him up and he saw a glimmer of hope, and now fourteen years later, she was now his permanent light stick. She would always be his light that would guide him through the future. She was his future.

  He’d always thought that having her as a lover was enough, but now he knew he needed her as more than a lover. He wanted her as a permanent fixture in his life. And for a woman like Jay, she didn’t deserve to be called a lover for life. She needed a name, a recognition of status to stand beside him. And he’d been thinking about it for a bit now. He wanted to give her something as a form of commitment.

  That necklace was not enough. That necklace was their friendship gift from the past. Now, in this present time, when she was the most important person to him, she needed another gift, something that would bind her to him forever.

  He went out and came back a little over thirty minutes later. It was a short trip, but he’d hoped she was still asleep when he got back. And she was, still snoozing away. He was glad as he’d hoped to surprise her when she woke up. He took his gift out of the small box and slid it onto her left ring finger. It fit perfectly.

  “Jay.” Giovanni’s deep voice roused me from sleep.

  “Gio.” I fluttered my eyes open and found my handsome man just sitting right there staring at me.

  Two can play this game.

  I repositioned myself to get more comfortable and then stared right back at him.

  “Am I beautiful?” I asked when he wouldn’t break eye contact.

  “Totally. Totally beautiful. I can’t stop staring at you, Jay.” He just had a smug look on his face.

  “Then maybe you should take a picture. It lasts longer,” I suggested.

  He smiled, that kind, genuine one that always made my whole heart swell up with love. “Already did.”

  “Ummm.” I sat up, and the bedsheets pooled around my waist, revealing my naked breasts to him.

  Giovanni’s eyes started glazing again. “You look so fucking hot like that. Like a fucking goddess.”

  “Thank you.” And I opened my arms wide to invite him in for a hug. I wanted his hug.

  He complied, leaning in, and before he realized it, I’d tossed him on the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling him on his abs and pressing him down with the flats of my hands.

  “Where did you fucking learn these moves, Jay?” He seemed surprised by my move.

  “You. You were always tossing me around, so I thought I’d try it myself, this tossing method. See, the key is to do it when the other recipient is not—”

  I blinked. I saw my ring finger. My left ring finger to be exact.

  I did not remember wearing an emerald stone ring the size of a golf ball before this. Unless…Unless…

  “Gio…” My voice quivered. I wasn’t sure what this was. And I was a bit scared to find out. But I needed to know.

  Giovanni took my hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed my knuckles and said, “You are my best friend. You are my lover. You are my soulmate. You are my everything. But most importantly, I want you to know that I want to cherish you. I want to give you a permanent status.”

  “Are you proposing to me?”

  “Ahhh, fuck!” He pushed himself up to a sitting position, and now I was sitting on his lap. “I fucking suck at wooing a woman.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Gio, you don’t need to woo me. I’m already yours from the beginning.”

  “Still. You are precious to me. And I want to give precious things to my precious one.”

  “Your kiss is precious. I want that too, please,” I said.

  And he was only too willing to oblige. “That is totally fucking okay. I can give that any time of the day.”

  He kept his promise, doing so right then and there. He kissed me, giving me pecks everywhere, and I felt my sides go all warm and gooey with so much love.

  Holding me loosely in his arms, he watched me as I admired my ring.

  “Do you like it?” he asked with a lightness to his voice, as if he was asking for confirmation whether the gift he’d given me was worth it.

  “Totally beautiful.” And he looked smug, pleased with my answer.

  But I couldn’t help wondering how much it had cost. The emerald stone was massive.

  “Gio, how much is the ring?” I spilled out.

  “Why do you wanna know?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Just curious.”

  “About five,” he said.

  “Five? Like five thousand?” I asked.

  Giovanni shook his head. “Five hundred.”

  Five hundred? Did he just admit to buying me a budget five-hundred-dollar ring? I thought engagement rings were in the thousands. Oh, well, it’s the thought that counts, anyway. But the stone was massive. And it glinted in the light. I wondered if it was fake.

  “Gio, are you sure this is not fake? I mean the stone is massive and it shines.”

  Giovanni had his mouth flapped open like he couldn’t believe the words that had come out of me.

  “You think the ring is fake? You think I bought you a fake ring? Jay, my love for you is real. I’m not that cheap. But since you think it’s fake anyway, give it back. You don’t need to have it.” He went to wrestle me for the ring.

  “No. I’m keeping it.” I shoved him off. “You gave it to me already so it’s mine now. And I didn’t mean it that way. I just don’t want you to get cheated, that’s all. I mean, how can you get a five-hundred-dollar ring with a stone that big, anyway. It looks so real.”

  Giovanni roughly combed fingers through hair. “Because it is fucking real. And it’s not five hundred dollars. It’s five hundred grand.”

  Now it was my turn to have my mouth flapping open.

  I quickly tried to pull the ring off my finger when he caught my wrist. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Gio, I’m a walking cash register. I have five hundred thousand dollars on me. People can just rob me off the street. Take it back. It’s far too dangerous. I can’t wear it to school.”

  “I’m not taking it back. I gave it to you already. Wear it however you want.”

  “Then…then…” I mulled over that for a bit. A light popped on in my head and I smirked. “I know what to do. Thank you very much, Gio. I love it, and I will wear it every day. Close to my heart.”

  “That’s a good girl.” And we started kissing again, until we were both pining for something more.

  “Wanna do it again?” he whispered, and how did he know I was having the same thought? I replied back with a yes, please. And Giovanni stripped down for the second time. We enjoyed ourselves until we were both sated and my body turned to jelly.

  I was sprawled out on his chest this time, just casually listening to his heartbeat, when I heard him speak. “Wanna know a secret?”

  I lifted up my head from my comfortable position and gazed at him with a lazy smile on my face. “I do. And you are an open book, and I now have all access to your pages. Do tell.”

  “A girl proposed to me once. When I was younger.”

  “Really? Did you turn her down? I mean, you had to right, cause otherwise you wouldn’t have proposed to me.”

  “Well, I didn’t really turn her down. She’s just way too young for me back then.”

  “How young was this girl, anyway? I thought I was young enough for you, already. We almost have a ten-year age gap, you know. But I guess you are a hot commodity. Everyone wants you. I’m just lucky enough to have captured you first, is all.”

  “She was around five, I think.”

  “Five?” I was shaking my head in disbelief. “Wow, kids these days. I just can’t believe it. What was she, infatuated with you or something?”

  “You could say that. It happened fourteen years ago. Her name was Jennifer. And she proposed to me right under the beech tree.”

  My eyes grew wide as I understood his meaning.

  Oh, crap! That was me. I was that kid who had proposed to him.
/>   Chapter 17

  Totally Devoted

  Giovanni had never been so intently focused on anything like this before. How could he forget the face of the girl in his dream, the one who kept appearing after Jennifer had left. She was that girl who kept harassing him. And she had turned out to be Jennifer’s sister, this mild-mannered woman who was sitting so refined in his lounge room.

  They both sat in silence, just waiting for the other to talk.

  She was the first one to speak. “I should congratulate you.”

  “Jay told you?”

  “She did. She was very happy. I’ve never seen her this happy before.”

  Hearing this news put a smile on his face. If he could make his fiancée happy, he would do anything. He’d be happy to move mountains and swim across oceans just for her.

  “Have you decided on the date of your wedding yet?”

  “No. We’re going to wait it out. Jay wants to study first. We’re not in any hurry. We’ll just stay like this until we’re ready.”

  Amelia just nodded, and another spell of silence followed. And then, as if she remembered something, she looked up at him again. “Thank you, for saving me that day, too.”

  “I did it because Jay asked me to,” he said, waiting for her to continue.

  “Still, I want to thank you. Has Jen told you everything?”

  “Yes, she did.”

  “I want to apologize for what I did in the past. About the necklace. About everything that had happened to Jen, and to you. It had all started because of me.”

  “You should stop talking about the past,” Giovanni told her. “It doesn’t change anything. Jay has been hurt and so have you. Don’t do this to yourself anymore, Amelia. Let go of the past. It’s gone now. You can’t turn back time.”

  “I know. My sister has matured a lot since she lived with you. Giovanni. Please do me a favor. My sister is only nineteen. She’s still so young. Please watch over her, cherish her, love her, take care of her as much as you can.”

  Giovanni sat straighter in his seat. “You’re saying that like you’re about to leave us, Amelia.”

  “Yes, Giovanni. I’ve been thinking about this for some time now. I want to leave this place, leave this town, leave this country. Go somewhere far away, somewhere secluded, somewhere where no one knows me.”

  “What about Jay? She needs you. You know how much she cares about you and idolizes you.”

  “She has you. She doesn’t need me anymore.”

  “But she says she loves you.”

  “I’m only her sister. You are her fiancé,” Amelia stressed, and he got the point, but he just wanted to pass the message across that his fiancée really cared for her.

  He tried again. “She worries about you.”

  “I know she does,” Amelia said. “But I need to learn how to stand on my own two feet again.”

  “How far do you want to go?”

  “As far as possible from here.”

  “I think I know of a place. I have a few properties there. If you don’t mind going that far south, I think it’s the perfect place for you.”

  I wasn’t one for eavesdropping, but for this one occasion, the temptation was far too irresistible. I caved in, plastering my ear against the oak door and listening intently to the conversation being held on the other side. Sadly, I only heard incomprehensible murmuring between the two adults.

  Yes, adults. I, myself, was also an adult, having passed the good old age of eighteen since a year ago. But clearly, I was not significant enough to warrant a hearing between the two.

  As soon as Amelia had arrived about ten minutes earlier, Giovanni had kindly asked me to leave. When I didn’t move my butt and just sat glued to her side, he dragged me up and onto my feet, then proudly shoved me out the door.

  Or so that was his plan. I didn’t give in to him easily, though. I challenged him to the very end, digging my feet into the carpeted floor, hoping to create enough resistance to stop his pull. But he was way ahead of my game, having known well in advance that I’d use this trick. Afterall, he did witness this same action on our first encounter, having seen Bobby dragging me out the door to supposedly throw me over the bridge. Thank God that scenario never panned out.

  “Please be careful with her.” Amelia’s musical voice stopped us in our tracks, and we stood still like animated objects, only now realizing that we were behaving like two kids fighting over candies.

  “Don’t worry. Jay is not as fragile as you think. We’ve done it many times. She’s unbreakable. Right, Jay?” Giovanni recovered first, mincing his words out to Amelia, all before turning to me and plastering that shit-eating grin on his face.

  The bastard, he was clearly trying to embarrass me in front of my sister and talking about our sex life for goodness’ sake. Where was the arrogant man who swore and hated to display affection in public? Had he considered Amelia to be a part of his clan, now?

  “Giovanni, you—”

  My words got lodged in my throat as his lips sealed mine. Hot raging blood coursed through my veins, and I became aware of the sound of my heartbeat, the rhythmic thump in my chest, the heat on my face, and the soft fluttering feelings in my belly. No matter how many times he kissed me, I could never get enough. It was a full-minute mouth-devouring kiss, but for me, who had many experiences firsthand of what that mouth was capable of, it felt like only a split second had passed. I wanted it to be longer. So I chased after those lips, wanting them to seal over mine again, but he backed off, gently reprimanding me.

  “Now behave. I have to talk to your sister,” he said, giving me a final kiss on my nose. It took me three heartbeats long to remember how to breathe again, and when I finally did react, the door was already firmly shut in my face.

  Trying to pry into other’s people’s business was tiring, so after a while, I sat on the floor, one ear still glued to the door, when a minute passed and a sudden push of the door toppled me over, and I ended up sprawled on the floor. Giovanni came into my view, his eyes peering at me.

  “Hey, Gio, you’re back. Has my sister gone upstairs?” I opted to ask him instead, craning my neck to see the absence of my sister in the room next door.

  “What are you doing on the floor, Jay?” He questioned, looking at me through suspicious eyes.

  His eyes really were his downfall. Even when he shouted, cursed or was hell-bent on having his own way, his soulful midnight-black yes always spoke the truth. Those eyes told me he would never hurt even a fly.

  I gazed up at them and remembered my lost stars, my ultimate universe. They were all in there, every unknown course, I only had to look at those eyes to get my answers.

  “Me? Haha.” My mind was able to kickstart again when I saw the scowl on his face. “I’m admiring your ceiling. Have you noticed there’s a cobweb on that corner there?” I teased him, pretending to shake my head in horror. But the truth was, the house was super clean. I continued my charade. “Tsk, tsk, Gio. Since I became your fiancée, who’s been managing the house. Disgraceful. Disgraceful indeed. Should I apply to be your maid instead, at least the house would be clean.”

  He tsked back at me. “Get up.”

  “Help me up?” I extended my hand out, reaching for him to take me in his arms.

  Giovanni must be in a good mood. He complied. If we were to put this scenario back a few months ago when I was still his maid, I’d surely get a smack on my bum. But now, all he did was smile and pull me up.

  But I had other ideas. Yes, he was stronger than me. Yes, he was pulling me, but I had the force of gravity on my side. Using my whole body as leverage, I pulled him down. He collapsed on top of me, extending his arms to brace for impact before I was squashed beneath him.

  “Jay!” he growled. “What the fuck did you—”

  I kissed him. Right on his lips, cutting off his words before he could swear again. “No cursing. And before you ask why I kissed you, it’s because we didn’t get to finish our business from before.”

 
Giovanni was stunned for a full three seconds, probably astonished at how bold I’d become. I gave him another peck on the lips, and he responded with more blank stares.

  “Well? What did my sister say?” I prompted him.

  “Your sister. She…” And suddenly he caught on. “You need to offer me something in exchange for that information.”

  Oh, he was a smart one, so sly like a snake. I liked it. I offered him more kisses.

  “Is that enough? Would you like more?”

  “Yeah. A bit more.” He smiled sheepishly like a kid being offered candy. I was his candy, and he sure loved me.

  I kissed him again and again. On his cheeks, forehead, and nose. After I was done, I waited, smirking in a side smile. “Well, was that enough?”

  “I suppose,” he reluctantly said, getting up and resting on the couch behind him. I climbed onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.

  “So, what did my sister need to talk to you about that you had to shove me out the door?” I asked him sweetly, playing with his shirt collar.

  “Amelia is moving to New Zealand.”

  My heart dropped to my stomach, and my fingers dropped to my lap. I fiddled with the sleeve of my shirt, worried about this issue. I didn’t want to sound clingy nor expose to Giovanni that I had a sister complex, but I’d just found Amelia again, and now she’d be moving away. The thought just didn’t sit right with me. I didn’t want to part from her yet. But if she chose to go, then maybe I should follow her. I could attend varsity there, too. Gio could survive on his own. Heck, he sure could survive without me.

  After what she’d gone through with Nikolas Lorenzo, I was worried she was still too fragile to be on her own. And so, after chewing on my lips senselessly and mulling this idea for all of five seconds, I shouted out, “Gio, I might—”

  He pinched my cheek, and I yelped like a cat in surprise. “Ow, Gio. What was that for?”

  “If you are thinking of moving to New Zealand with your sister, you better think again. I will not part with my three million dollars.”