Peace Maker - Chapter 183

Antonio stood there frozen for a moment, a wave of shivers ran through his body when he realized what had happened. He stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, his eyes blinking repetitively in disbelief.

“What…” he muttered, his lips barely moving as he felt the droplets on his face.

Annabeth stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before her hands started trembling and she reached for the same handkerchief Antonio had given her. “Oh.. my goodness- I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to I just-” she began, seconds away from wiping Antonio’s face when she realized it would just make it worse and stared at him with panic in her eyes.

“I- I didn’t mean to- it was just a cough and- and I couldn’t control-” She began, her words clamming up from nervousness. ‘Fuck..fuck..fuck..fuck..fUCK! LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE DONE NOW YOU IDIOT!’ she thought to herself as she stared at Antonio. ‘Talk about being concerned for the way people see you and then you go ahead and SPIT on his face, how disrespectful can you even get?!’

“I just…” she began, looking away from Antonio for a moment before turning back to him with worried eyes. “Please forgive me… I- I can do anything to resolve this but please don’t put any shame on my family name or on me… I just-”

She couldn’t breathe. It was like her life was flashing before her eyes. So many rumors.. The amount of demeaning she could undergo at this very moment if anyone had seen her… her family would disown her immediately. The worst part of this all…

‘Why… why can’t I tell what he’s feeling… why can’t I- what if he’s mad? Trying to hide his anger with disbelief? Have I dug my grave?’ she thought to herself as she peered at his emotionless face. ‘Will… will I be kicked out of the ladies-in-waiting?’

“Ah…” Antonio muttered, looking down at the ground, his eyes holding this blankness, like he was still trying to understand the situation, like he was reliving it. “What the-”

Annabeth flinched, immediately bowing her head. “I apologize, Marquess Antonio. It was my fault I shouldn’t have done anything disgraceful to you and I deeply apologize for this mistake. Please believe me.”

Antonio turned back to Annabeth, locking eyes with her for a moment before she immediately looked away. ‘She’s frightened…’ Antonio thought to himself as he looked down at her head, her face hidden away beneath her locks. ‘Her hand… it’s trembling… Why is she- why is she so scared?’

He stared at her for a moment. Her hidden face, her trembling hands and he felt a throb in his heart. It hurt. That she was this scared of him… that she was bowing her head in apology to him, that she was so worried about her future over a simple mistake…

‘Is she scared of me?’

It hurt.

They stayed that way for a moment before Antonio let out a sigh to which Annabeth shuddered, shutting her eyes tightly as she braced his anger.

“Hey,” Antonio called out, his voice soft and calm with not an ounce of anger in them.

Annabeth flinched, her head rising slightly before looking back down.

“Look at me,” Antonio asked again, his eyes gazing at her patiently.

Annabeth shuddered, slowly raising her head to look up at Antonio. She stopped halfway, too scared to gaze up at the expression he would be wearing on his face.

‘He’s angry right..?’ she thought to herself as she looked at his chin, her eyes refusing to rise further. ‘He has every right to be…but…’ she looked up slightly, only getting to his lips before looking down at his chin again. ‘Why… Why is his voice so calm? Is he one of those people whose voice doesn’t show that they’re angry? Those people that hide their anger until they can fully lash out at the person that wronged them…’

“Annabeth…” Antonio called out again, another shiver running down Annabeth’s spine.

‘Fuck… what have I gotten myself into…’ she thought to herself.

Antonio let out another sigh. He looked at her for a moment and began to raise his hands, hesitating for a moment before continuing. “I said look at me-” he began, his hand approaching Annabeth’s face.

She froze, her shoulders rising as her body clammed together in fear, her eyes tightly shut as she braced whatever was coming next.

Antonio froze for a moment, another throb going off in his heart. ‘She really is afraid of me…’ he thought to himself, his eyes dropping. ‘That hurts…’

His hand continued to her face after a second pause and gently touched her jawline, his fingers barely holding it with soft contact. Gingerly, he lifted her face up to his and stared at tightly shut eyes.

“Hey… I said to look at me,” Antonio called out again, “I’m not going to harm you… I promise. Don’t be scared.”

Annabeth listened to him, her shoulders slowly settling down. It was soft. His touch. And his voice… it was faint, mellow, and soothing to her ears. It was comforting, like he was coaxing her. For that reason, she trusted it… she listened to it.

Slowly her eyes begin to open, one eye at first to sneak a little peek at him. His face stared back at her with a small smile, relaxing and not one bit offended. He wasn’t angry. At least from what her blurry one-eyed vision could see. So she opened her other eye slowly until she was able to see him clearly.

‘He’s not mad…’ she thought to herself as she gazed at his face.

“Hey,” Antonio chuckled, his head cocking to the side slightly. “See, I’m not mad at you,” he grinned.

Annabeth stared at his face for a moment, her fast heartbeat beginning to slow down. ‘Right… he isn’t…’ she thought to herself.

Antonio moved his head back, his eyes opening as his smile slowly changed to a pout. “But I am a bit sad… I didn’t think I was scary… I didn’t expect you to find me scary.”

Annabeth stared at him blankly, taking in his sad expression. Her eyes looked away from him, holding a sorry expression in them. “I-I’m sorry… I just-”

“It’s ok,” Antonio replied, a little smile forming on his face again. “I get it. That would have been me too if I was in your shoes…”

Annabeth turned back to him, her eyes peering into his. ‘He isn’t lying…’

“But,” Antonio continued. “I don’t want you to be scared of me.” He let go of her face and stood up, reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out another handkerchief. He turned back to her and grinned, using the handkerchief to wipe his face.

He let out a refreshed sigh and looked back at her when he was done. “See~ problem fixed,” he chuckled, “the pleasures of carrying more than one handkerchieves you know. You always gotta be prepared.”

Annabeth stared at him for a moment before letting out a little chuckle. “Yea… I guess so.”

Antonio smiled when he watched her laugh. He knelt back down and stared into her eyes, making sure to see her from the same level. “See? So don’t be scared of stuff like that, I’d never get mad at you.”

Annabeth gazed into his eyes for a moment before nodding her head. “I’m sorry… it was…” she began her voice trailing off. ‘I’m saying too much…’ she thought to herself as she turned back to him again. ‘He might not want to hear it… Seeing that I just spat on him and all.”

Antonio caught her stare and grinned, his head tilting to the right slightly. “Yes? You were saying?”

Annabeth let out a little sigh, a tiny smile forming on her face. “It was just that I had made you feel bad and all before this…” she began, turning away from him and looking down at her hands. “I lectured you and made you feel all apologetic to me and then I go ahead and spit on your face like seconds after…”

She looked at Antonio for a moment and he gave her another smile. He was reassuring her, telling her to continue. He was listening.

“And it made me feel so… pathetic because I seemed to have forgotten your position. You’re a marquess… literally the same level as my father at such a young age which means you’re just as powerful and even more because you come from such a high family,” Annabeth continued. “I had lectured a marquess… probably belittled him in the process, completely forgetting I am many ranks below him not just socially but also as a female, and not only that, I went out of my way and spat on him.”

“Hm…” Antonio muttered, his eyes being pinned on her completely. A sign he was still listening, he was still paying attention.

“I was ready for death honestly. So much shame I would have brought to my family… if a single person had been watching, my future as I know it would have been tarnished as some rugged, unruly lady who had no idea of where her place is,” Annabeth muttered, her eyes lowering to her hands again before looking up at Antonio.. “So I was sure I would be destroyed at that moment… I didn’t mean to see you as scary but your position… your position that I had disregarded and your power would mean the end of me.”