To Be Yours Again

I walked back into the room and stared at his face. The more I stared at him, the more familiar he looked to me. A rush of emotion swept through me and I couldn’t deny it anymore. I don’t know who was found. I can’t even remember him having a twin brother. But this man right here was Lorenzo Moretti. The man who had broken my heart into pieces. Now look at him. How did we end up meeting again like this? Though I had so many questions but the number one was what I was going to do with him. “What am I going to do with you, Lorenzo?”

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BACKSTORY OF DANICA AND LORENZO Seven years ago... Danica was an eight years old who had just gotten out of the orphanage and was meant to now navigate life on her own. With the money the sisters had given her, she rented a small place first and started to look for a job. After a while of searching and using some agency, she finally got contacted. Apparently, an older woman who was the cleaner of a posh apartment just resigned and Danica was meant to take on the job. Danica didn’t have much qualifications so she was open to be a cleaner. And hearing the amount had made her so happy beyond words. She was told the apartment belonged to a rich heir and that was why the pay was massive. She was more than happy on the first day of her job. With her salary, she didn’t even need any side hustles, she would be able to take care of herself and maybe, get a college degree. On the second day of her job, she put on her old hoodie and headed off to work. The house also had a big piano, she had been tempted to play it as the owner wasn’t around on her previous day but she didn’t have the courage. Maybe she could play it today if no one was around as well. She made her way through the entrance of the old building toward the elevator, barely able to contain her enthusiasm, and then up to the top-floor apartment. For a few hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, this wonderful place with its large airy rooms, dark wooden floors and grand piano were all blessing her vision. She unlocked the door with her keycard but the alarm didn’t go off like it did the other day.

Perhaps the system was broken or it wasn’t set today. Or could it be the owner was home? Listening hard, trying to detect any signs of life, she stood in the wide hallway that was hung with a black and white photographic landscape. She heard nothing. Well, whoever lived here must have gone out and forgotten to set the alarm. She hadn’t met the man she was told lived here. She only knew he was a rich heir. So she felt he might just be some kind of rude and arrogant fellow. She wasn’t only judging because he was rich. But before of the amount of mess he always leave behind. Of course it was her job to clean but she always wondered how one person could make such mess. He just had stuff and dirt lying everywhere. She had only been here two times and just that first day, the apartment had been such a total mess and she spent hours tidying and cleaning. It had only been a day interval from her first day and today, the house had gone back to being messy. Well, the pay was good so she had to suck it up and continued cleaning after the overly dirty heir. The gray day was seeping through the skylight at the end of the hall so Danica flicked the switch and the crystal chandelier above her burst into life, illuminating the hallway. She peeled off her scarf and hung it up with her sweater. From her plastic shopping bag, she pulled out her old sneakers, her boots had gotten dirty on her way here so she set them outside close to the front door. She slipped on her sneakers and then made her way through the kitchen and then the laundry room. There, she dumped her shopping bag on the corner. Out of it, she pulled the ill-fitting nylon housecoat that the former housekeeper had said she should always wear while in the house. From the cupboard beneath the sink, she took out the cleaning caddy, and from the top of the washing machine, she grabbed the laundry basket and headed straight to the bedroom to start cleaning from there. If she hurried, she could finish the apartment before it was time to leave and she could also play the piano before the owner got back. But as she opened the door, she froze on the threshold of the room. He was here! The owner was around. Fast asleep, face down and sprawled naked across the large bed. Danica stood, shocked and fascinated at once, her feet rotted to the floor as she stared. He was stretched across the length of the bed, tangled in his duvet but naked, completely naked. She could see the side view of his face. Hair scattered on the pillow, one arm beneath the pillow that supported his head, the other extended toward her.

He had broad, defined shoulders and on his biceps was an elaborate tattoo that was partially hidden by the bedding. His back was sun-kissed with a tan that faded as his hips narrowed to dimples and to a pale, taut backside. Backside. He was naked! She should leave this instant. But this was the first time she was seeing a man’s body like this and she was absolutely floored. His long, muscular legs disappeared beneath a knot of gray duvet and silver silk bedspread, though his foot stuck out over the edge of the mattress. He stirred, the muscles of his back rippling and his eyelids flicker open to reveal unfocus but brilliant green eyes. Danica stopped breathing, convinced he was angry that she had woken him up. Their eyes met but he shifted and turned his face away. He settled down and went back to sleep. Relieved, she exhaled a deep breath. Flushed with mortification, she tiptoed out of his bedroom and bolted up the long hall and into the living room, where she set the cleaning caddy on the door and began to gather his discarded clothes. And that was how Danica had met the man who had changed the trajectory of her life.