The Wedding Night

“If we dwell too much on the past then we might never see the future.”

Giovanni POV

“She survives but she hasn’t shown sign of waking up yet, ” the doctor’s words keep resounding in my head over and over again as I drove out of the hospital.

“What’s going to happen to her?” Lorena had asked the doctor.

“The poison had been successfully flushed out of her sister but due to how poisonous it was, it affected one of her vital organs.”

Lorena burst into the tears at the doctor’s announcement. “Please save her,” she begged the doctor.

I couldn’t say anything as I watched as Lorena cried over her friend. All I could do was walk away like a coward. Dennis offered to drive me home but I rejected his offer and collected the keys from him. “I need you to stay with Melody and watch over her, the attacker might strike again,” I instructed and walked out of the hospital.

I drove around the hospital streets for two hours while remembering the words of the doctor. “I don’t know when she’ll wake up.” I hit the steering wheel over and over again as the word resounded in my head. I didn’t know if I should cry or just pretend everything was fine. Just when I found out that I have a family, they strike again. Someone didn’t want me to be happy. They wanted me to be lonely for the rest of my life. It has happened before but I wasn’t going to let it happen again. I turned the car around and drove straight to the one person I suspected. Someone I believed would be happy once I lose everything.

Lorenzo.

Once I got to his penthouse where he resides, I walked to the receptionist’s stand. The receptionist wasn’t around and there were no security guards on sight.  There were a few people in the lobby and the receptionist could be one of them but I didn’t bother asking anyone and just took the elevator up. “In case you want to come to visit, my apartment is on the 32ndloor,” I remembered Lorenzo telling me about the apartment in case I come visiting.

When I got there, I found his apartment by the left. I knocked for a while and didn’t get a response. After knocking for a while, I tried his lock which required an access code. I input his favorite number which was ‘5235’ but it didn’t work. I tried using his birth date but it didn’t work. After thinking for a while, I input the four numbers I never imagined could work but it did.

“Remember Giovanni, 4123 means I love you.” It was the number formed by little Lorenzo. He was six years old at that time and I was ten. He formed the number after I found his best toy that he had lost.

I opened the door leading into his apartment and entered. It was the first time I ever step foot into his apartment. The whole building was owned by him but he chooses to rent everything out except for the one he chooses to stay in. I switched on the lights as I entered the apartment. His living room seems empty as the only thing that could be found there were two leather red couches and a flat TV screen. There was nothing in the apartment. No family portraits or portraits of himself. I had always picture Lorenzo as a happy man. His living room screams loneliness as there was no life in it. Everything seems ordinary. I saw a room opened and entered. It was his bedroom and it was the same as the living room. Boring and lonely.

His bedroom was darker than the devil’s soul. Everything in the room was dark including the bedsheets he used for his king-size bed and the curtains on his window. I left his bedroom and opposite it was another door but it was locked. I tried to force the door but it didn’t budge.

“What are you doing?” Lorenzo’s voice sounded at the entrance of his apartment. “How did you get in here?” He pushed my hand away from the doorknob. ” I won’t ask again Giovanni, what are you doing here?”

“Why did you do it?” I replied with a question.

“What are you talking about?” He shouted at me. I grabbed his arm and pushed him to the wall. “What’s is your problem?”

“My problem? The only thing stopping my fist from connecting to your face is my patience. Once I lose it, I’ll make sure your nose bleed forever.” I threatened.

Lorenzo pushed me away and punched me in the face. “Don’t think you are the only one who could throw a punch.”

I retaliate by kicking his leg and flipping him over my shoulder. He landed on the ground with a groan. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He yelled.

“You won’t admit right?”

“Admit what?”

“That’s you sent someone to attack me and melody!”

“What?” Lorenzo struggled to stand up and walked to his living room. “Are you insane? Why would I attack you?”

“If you didn’t attack me then you must have attacked Melody.”

“Why would I do that?” He walked closer to me and put my hand on his head. “I swear on my life. I know nothing about the attack. Why would I attack melody?”

“You keep talking about letting her go. You told me to chase her away. Why? Because you knew I was married to her?” I scoffed and removed my hand from his head. ” who else would have attack melody if not you?”

Lorenzo didn’t reply to me as he walked to his living and sat down on his couch. “I swear I don’t know anything about the attack. I have no idea.”

“Then tell me who would have attacked me in my home?”

“How did you find out about Melody?” Lorenzo replied with a question just like I did.

I walked into his living room and took a seat opposite him. “I figured out and I had dreams about her,” I explained to him. I looked around his apartment and when my eyes connected with his, he quickly looked away. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“Because she shouldn’t be here. You both weren’t supposed to meet again,” he admitted. “I don’t know anything about your attack. How did they get into your mansion?”

“I have no idea. If it wasn’t you then it must be someone who knows me well enough to attack me that night,” I answered back while ignoring what he said about Melody.

Lorenzo heaved a sigh and stood up from the couch. He paced in front of me for a while before saying anything. “Is there anyone you suspect?”

“You.”

“Anyone apart from me?”

“Lucas and uncle Benjamin,” I didn’t know why I had suspected them but I knew they were probably scheming up something after what happened twenty years ago.

“I’ll try to find out if they are behind the attacks.” He offered to help but I rejected his offer by shaking my head.

“Why should I trust you?” I folded my arms as I asked him.

“I know you doubt me but we are brothers and I…..”

“Brothers?” I scoffed. “You and I are just connected and related by blood. You could be behind this for all I know.”

“I am not,” Lorenzo denied. “You might not trust me now but you will later but for now, just trust me and let me help you in this.”

“I thought you wanted her gone, why the change of mind?” I asked him.

“Yes, I wanted her gone but I just want everything to be over soon,” he said.

“I don’t trust you so please stay away and if I figure that you are a part of this, I’ll kill you myself.” I threatened and stood up. I headed towards the door but his next words stopped me.

“How did you figure out the access code?”

“I remembered,” I simply said and walked out of the house. When I got to the lobby, the receptionist was there and she bowed when she saw me. I didn’t acknowledge her now but walk past her and pretended I didn’t see her.

I should probably tell Lorenzo to change his receptionist.

When I got to my car, I looked up at the penthouse and thought about how Lorenzo must have been trying to hide his feelings. I could figure that he wasn’t happy but he tries to hide it. There were secrets hidden in my family and I needed to figure it out for everything to be resolved.

*****

Lorenzo POV

I couldn’t believe it when I saw Giovanni in my home. I didn’t expect him to figure it the access code. It was a code I created when I was six. I thought he would have forgotten about it but he didn’t. He remembered. I couldn’t believe he was also close to finding the truth. If I hadn’t arrived on time, he would have forced the other room door opened. As soon as he left, I stood up from the couch and went to the room opposite my bedroom. The room Giovanni had tried to force open.

I inserted the key into the lock and turned it opened. I switched on the light in the room as I entered. The room was filled with pictures on the wall. They were pictures of myself, Lucas and Giovanni. It was pictures of when we’re young till we drifted apart. I looked at the left side of the room where the pictures of Melody were pasted. The pictures were of her and Giovanni’s wedding. Pictures of her while she was in Italian, pictures of her and her daughter, and her friend Lorena. I knew I sounded like a psychopath but I had to do everything for a reason.

My phone rang in my pocket and bought me out of my thoughts. I bought the phone out of my pocket and stared at the caller ID before picking up the call.

“Yes,”

“Your time is up. It my time now.” the caller responded.

” I know. Please give me a little more time.” I begged.

“You’ve wasted enough time.”

“He remembers everything now. He remembers melody,” I informed the caller. “You need to be patient or else you’ll lose this game.”

The caller laughed over the phone.” I warned you didn’t I. What do you think would happened once he remembers everything you did?”

“I didn’t do anything. I saved him from you. I didn’t do anything wrong!” I shouted at the caller. “He is coming after you.”

“I’ll be waiting to crush him with my hands.”

“Once he remembers what happened five years ago, he’ll kill you. Run while you still can.” I advised. “You shouldn’t have gone after melody. You shouldn’t have gone after him. I’ll be all over for you soon.”

“No, it won’t because I have another prey. I’ll go after the little girl.” The caller laughed and ended the call.

“Hello, you psychopath!!!” I threw my phone across the wall. It landed on the ground and scattered to pieces. I fell to the ground and burst into tears. I didn’t want to be involved in everything that had been happening but I always found myself connected in a way or the other. Even if I tell Giovanni about everything that’s was happening, he’ll never believe me. I was suffering too. I was suffering for involving in something I shouldn’t have. I tried to warn Giovanni and make melody go away but they never listen. No one trusts me enough to believe that I didn’t mean any harm. I had to do something to make melody disappear from Giovanni’s life. Once she does, everything will return to how it was. Giovanni would never remember the real truth about the past.