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Chapter Seven

Sophia

''We're staying at my hotel for a few days until I find a new apartment,'' Dimitri says, heading towards his car while I follow behind him; being completely confused from what had just happened but try my best to contain it rather than letting all of the questions fly through. It appears that this whole situation feels a little bit messed up as if Dimitri is trying to hide something . . . if not, why didn't he just let me tell the cops about him being threatened which also involves his own son.

''No,'' I answer which causes him to look at me.

''No? What do you mean no?'' He raises an eyebrow, stopping halfway before fully turning to meet my gaze.

I scoff, ''You just got threatened by God knows who and let me just say this one more time, Dimitri but it involves Brody. I barely know your son but as far as I can tell, he's important to you but what you did back there, getting rid of the evidence . . . I'm just more than confused, man. Now, you're telling me that you're going to find a new apartment—yeah, go ahead because that has nothing to do with me. I'm not staying with you anymore,'' I continue to speak.

''For god's sake, I don't even know you enough to go through this whole thing with you.'' I add.

Both of his eyes remain gazing into my own before he starts to let out a deep sigh, ''There are just some things that I can't say, Sophia and believe me but I have good reasons for not telling you. Besides, you don't have anywhere else to go.'' He replies.

''I can't believe I'm saying this but I'd rather stay with Michael than staying with you, right now. Yes, he's a cheating bastard but I've known him for years now and as a matter of fact, I feel that he's a safer option.'' I respond, my mind wandering off in thoughts while Dimitri continues to stare at me in disbelief, his brows furrowed and his jaw clenching—it feels as if we're having an argument that is not worth having.

''A safer option? Excuse me, he broke your heart—how is being with him a safer option?'' He takes a few steps closer towards me, ''I've done nothing to cause you any pain or hurt you in any way possible. I'm not asking you to trust me but all I'm asking from you is to believe me that I have reasons for the things that I did and going to do,'' He answers, shaking his head before sighing once more; leaving me to eye his every movement, seeing him running his fingers through his hair.

''How can I even believe you? I barely know you!'' I exclaim, frustratedly.

''God damn it, Sophia.'' He mutters under his breath before quickly taking out his wallet, pulling out cash. ''Take the money, it's enough to pay the rent for a couple of months and for you to survive in New York. I can't force you to believe me then fine, just take the money and you can go wherever the hell you want.'' He continues to look at me as he holds the money out, making me scoff a few times, not believing this whole situation is happening.

''You've got to be kidding me. Who do you think I am?'' I push his hand away, causing it to drop beside him.

''What is your problem? I'm only offering to help you, for fuck's sake.'' He breathes out, ''You don't want to stay with me because you don't believe me then that's fine . . . leave, whatever but don't go back to your stupid ex-boyfriend. He treated you wrong and he doesn't deserve to have you walking back into his apartment, get that through your thick skull, damn it.'' He adds, in annoyance.

''Ugh, I can't stand you!'' I groan in frustration before crossing my arms and making my way down the other road.

''Where the hell are you going?'' He asks but I pay no attention to the sound of his footsteps behind me, probably trying to run after me as I quickly stomp my feet down the pavement.

''Away from you, obviously!'' I respond, only to find him stopping in front of me before grabbing onto both of my arms—letting me groan loudly at him before trying to free myself, ''Let go of me or I'll scream 'murder'.'' My lips curve up into a mischievous smile which causes him to raise both of his hands up; satisfying me.

''Goodbye, Dimitri. Have a nice life,'' I wave at him before walking down the road.

Within seconds, I hear the sound of his voice stopping me. ''Fine, fine, I'll tell you everything. Just stop walking down that road and hear me out, okay?'' He asks, his voice sounds as if he's begging but I shake my head—not wanting to confuse myself before turning around, seeing him standing at the exact same spot but his expression has changed into something hopeful.

''I want to hear it now and don't even bother lying because I can probably see it on your face,'' I respond which causes him to chuckle, nodding his head afterwards.

--

Right now, we're currently sitting in one of the restaurants here in New York as the waiter walks away with our orders, letting Dimitri to place both of his hands on the table while I take my time to take a closer look at him; not just at his face but at how his body appears to be.

''So, are you going to tell me or are we having a silent conversation?'' I ask, raising an eyebrow.

He smiles, ''I don't know where to start but that was not the first time I was threatened. Believe me, if it was my first time then I'd panicked the hell out of there but I didn't . . . when I should've.'' He replies, both of his eyes gazing straight into my own.

''Are you . . . perhaps involved in something illegal?''

''No, nothing like that. To be honest, I don't even know what the hell is going on because this whole thing has been going on for months and I'm starting to think that those threats are just empty threats—nothing bad has happened but every time I get those notes, it's from something bad that has already happened. For example, my whole apartment was thrashed and the person who did it left a note. Two notes, actually.'' He continues to speak before taking out another note from his pocket, making me look down at the handwriting—seeing it matches the previous one.

'Sophia.' The letter says, causing me to lean back on my seat.

''Oh my god,'' I breathe out, feeling my whole body growing anxious as the familiar pain emerges from the middle of my chest, causing me to look at anywhere but him—wanting to calm myself down, knowing that if I don't . . . my panic attack will only worsen.

''Look, I know that you're worried but if you're not with me, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night without thinking of your safety. If you still choose to live at my place then at least, I'd know about your wellbeing. I'm sorry but I didn't expect for the person to know this much detail,'' He adds, slowly but clearly while I nod my head a few times; finding sense in his words, making me agree to every bit.

''You said this isn't the first time. When was the first?'' I ask, changing the subject.

''A few months ago. Probably four,'' He replies. ''I have this account where I've saved up a lot of money for Brody's future, his education, his health and his insurance but all of the money was gone—just like that, he left nothing behind but a text from a private number saying 'This is just the beginning.' and don't get me wrong, I tried everything to look for him. Believe me, I filed a police report saying that I got my money stolen but they can't do shit about it.'' He adds.

''That's why you didn't bother telling the police . . . '' I zone out, thinking back of when he crumpled the note that was attached onto the teddy bear's tummy.

''They can't do anything about it. Maybe, they can but it might them months or even years. I don't have that much time,'' He leans back. ''I know that person, whoever he might be is dangerous. He has done things that are impossible to do which means that I don't underestimate him because he has stolen my money, my car, trashed my apartment, threatened me and it's a matter of time that he's going to strike. If he's trying to attack me then I can deal with that but he knows about Brody . . . he knows about you,'' He says.

''But, Dimitri . . . other than the police, we have nowhere else to seek for help.'' I frown.

''I'm going to find out about him. Whatever it takes,'' He responds.

I continue to look at him, ''I'm sorry that I didn't try to at least believe you. You're not a bad person, Dimitri but I was just freaking out and I think that's how anyone would react. Anyone would freak out,''

''I don't blame you. You're right, we barely know anything about each other and I'd be worried, too if I were in your shoes.'' He ends with a smile, slowly causing me to respond back with a smile—our eyes still gazing into one another.

As soon as the silence has decided to accompany us, he breaks it.

''But, we can change that, can't we?'' He asks, the smile still lingers on his lips.

''How do you plan on doing that?'' I raise an eyebrow, smiling back at him in a playful way before seeing him leaning back on his seat; allowing the waiter to serve our food as I take my time to just eye onto his face—not bothered by the delicious sight in front of me because for some reason, it feels as if the figure in front of me is much more important than the smell of food itself.

''Well . . . first of all, we can go out—'' He stops to see my reaction before continuing, ''—as friends, housemates, whatever you want to call it. We can do the things we want to do, talk about each other, get to know more about one another and before you know it, we're already friends.''

''Ask me out properly,'' I lean forward before crossing my arms on the table, both of my eyes purposely teasing him.

He chuckles, copying my pose in an instant. ''Sophia, I'd like to take you out this weekend and you'd make me very happy if you say yes.'' He smiles, glancing down at my lips for a few seconds before gazing back up into my eyes; letting me chuckle, feeling my cheeks heat up.

''Only if there's ice cream,'' I respond.

''Deal,''

After spending approximately an hour at the restaurant, we're already standing in front of 'his' hotel, causing my jaw to drop and my eyes to widen in surprise at how extravagant and elegant the lobby is decorated. Everything appears to be standing put in perfection, even the sight of the flowers in the vases are somewhat attracting and with the employees dressed nicely to improve their reputation, I can officially say that I've probably been living under a rock until now.

''Wait a minute. This is your hotel?'' I ask, eyes wandering around.

''One of my hotels,'' He winks which causes me to grin widely at the sight as I scoff in disbelief, not exactly expecting him to bring me to one of the most beautiful hotels I've ever seen. ''Come on . . . let's get inside,'' He adds.

''Dad!'' We both turn to the sound of Brody's voice as he runs in with Steve trailing behind him, smiling as soon as he sees Dimitri and I.

''Hey, buddy. How was school?'' Dimitri crouches to match Brody's height before smiling up at him.

Brody grins, ''It was fine. Like always but dad, why are we at your work place?'' He asks, both of his eyes wandering around the hotel lobby while both Steve and I just stand to watch them—the other employees have passed by with smiles plastered on their faces.

''This is not dad's work place, Brody. Uh, we're actually staying here for a few days until we get a new home—until I find us somewhere very comfortable to live than our previous home,'' Dimitri replies, trying his best to utter the words without necessarily lying.

''But, I like our previous home.'' Brody frowns.

''Well . . . we have to get a new one. We can even get a puppy this time,'' Dimitri smiles, raising his eyebrow at the word puppy as Brody jumps up and down in joy—seeing him sigh in relief at the sight of his son's attention being dragged elsewhere.

''A puppy? We're going to get a puppy? I've always wanted a puppy!'' Brody exclaims, excitedly before wrapping his arms around Dimitri's neck. ''When can we move to our new home? I can't wait to get a puppy,'' He adds.

''A few days. A couple of weeks top,'' Dimitri responds.

Just as Brody's about to say something, Dimitri is being called by Dion—who seems to be out of breath as they both walk further away from us, causing Brody to sigh before heading towards one of the seats, stomping his feet with his eyebrows furrow in annoyance. ''It's always about work, work and work. It's never about me,'' He mumbles, almost inaudible but due to the silence surrounding us, it'd be deaf of me to not hear his huffs and puffs.

''Hey, there.'' I sit beside him.

''Leave me alone, Sophia.'' He replies, glaring hardly.

''You know . . . there's this pet shop I saw on the way here. Do you want to go and check it out?'' I ask, turning to face him with my lips curving up into a smile; wanting to at least attract his attention while both of his eyes are glaring directly at his own hands before looking up at my face, his gaze softening.

''Are there puppies?'' He speaks, slowly and somehow hesitating but I hear excitement in his voice, causing my smile to widen. ''Are there cats, as well? Probably kittens?''

''Well, we have to go and check it out. What do you say?'' I slightly nudge his shoulder which causes him to chuckle before he starts to grab onto my hand and pull me towards the exit.

My eyes wander back to Dimitri who has already turned to look at me but the surprised look on his face causes my smile to widen as I grip back onto Brody's hand, running with him down the road until Dimitri is no longer in sight—pushing through the people here in New York while both Brody and I continue to laugh, enjoying the adrenaline rush in our veins.

''Wow, wow, slow down. We're almost there,'' I say, pointing at the shop.

Brody's eyes widen at the sight of puppies which causes him to immediately drag me inside, straight towards the part where they keep dogs and puppies contained but clear to view. My eyes wander down to the sight of his hand still gripping hard onto mine before he finally let go, using both of his hands to point at the other dogs and puppies, leaving a small smile to my face; mesmerised by the sparks in his light eyes.

''Look at that, Sophia! He's excited,'' Brody chuckles, seemingly attracted to one of the dogs with white thick fur.

''Maltese. The Maltese,'' Someone says from beside me as she watches Brody with a smile, ''They're very playful and affectionate. If you're looking for a puppy for your son, then he'd be a great company.'' She says.

''Oh, he's not—''

I am shortly cut off by the sound of Dimitri calling out my name, causing even Brody to turn around and look at his dad, without a doubt the previous frown and pout returns. Dimitri seems to have caught the changes coming from his son which causes him to make his way towards Brody, crouching down to his height and turn to look at the puppies. ''Which one do you like?'' He asks.

Brody shifts, ''That one. The sleeping one,''

''Don't you think he's a little . . . sleepy?'' Dimitri raises an eyebrow as they both chuckle, ''How about that one over there? The one busy minding his own business but then again, the sleeping one is quite cute. Sophia, what do you think?'' He turns, waiting for my opinion.

''I like the sleeping one. He seems more like me,'' I respond and within seconds, Brody and Dimitri are already laughing at my respond but I just smile at the sight of them—liking how Brody can easily warm up to his dad, even though he was pretty upset earlier.

''We're going to get the sleeping one as soon as we move in. I promise,'' Dimitri raises his right hand, only sticking out his pinky finger as he turns to look at his son, who hesitates to return the promise but as soon as his lips curve up into a smile and his head nods a few times, the promise is sealed. ''That's my boy,'' Dimitri kisses on top of his forehead.

Dimitri starts to stand up, ''Can you make sure the one over there remains here until we come back for it? I can give the deposit now,'' He says and the woman in front of us immediately nods, gesturing towards the counter.

''Of course. May I know when?'' She smiles.

''In a week or two.''

The three of us step inside the penthouse with Brody running inside and quickly making his way down the hall while Dimitri closes the door behind me, letting my eyes wander around the room to take the sight of this place. It's quite strange to even find myself lucky, stumbling into a stranger's life and instantly being able to experience the things I've never been able to experience before and it's somewhat unbelievable.

''I used to spend my nights here,'' Dimitri says, interrupting my silence.

''When was that?'' I ask.

''When I was still with Chloe,'' He responds before placing the card on one of the counters. ''Just make yourself at home. Dion and Steve will be dropping off your clothes from the apartment with some new ones. I hope you don't mind but I asked them to buy you some more,'' He adds.

''You really didn't have to—''

He cuts me off, ''I really wanted to.''

Then, I begin to trail behind him as he heads towards the main bedroom. It doesn't take me long to admire the beauty and the sophistication of the room with a small yet elegant chandelier hung up on the ceiling with mostly modern decorations, my breath hitches for a moment. ''This is where you'll be sleeping. Brody will be sleeping in the other room and I'll be taking the couch,'' He says, shortly.

''What? The couch?'' I raise an eyebrow. ''You can take the bed. Seriously, you don't have to do that for me.''

''Absolutely not. You'll take the bed and I'll take the couch—that's it. Besides, I'll be in Dubai for a few days.'' He replies, loosening his tie.

Dubai. Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene which I've been completely amazed by but never got the chance to even travel there—maybe one day, once I'm financially stable and able to sort out my own life before even considering to travel around the globe in which I'd like to experience.

''When are you leaving?'' I ask, feeling curious before sitting at the edge of the bed.

He unbuttons the first button of his shirt, ''Tomorrow morning. My flight's at eight,'' He responds with a deep sigh escaping his lips but I pretend not the notice the tiredness radiating from his body on how he slouches as he takes a sit near the sofa or even the dark circles under his eyes are somehow darker than before. It's pretty obvious that the man in front of me longs to just lay in bed and sleep the whole day off but knowing his job, sleeping or resting seems to be out of topic.

''That soon?''

He looks up into my eyes, ''Don't worry. I'll be back before our 'friend' date,''

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