At this moment of the story, dear readers, you already know everything about my romantic and not so romantic relationship with Antonio. About how it started, how it developed, and about how this mysterious man ended it, by disappearing of my life without leaving not even a note.

Asshole Antonio.

But I guess there is still an important part that you guys should be wondering about. How did I end up in that horrible situation I described at the beginning of the story?

Let’s skip the crying and curses María and I said after I told her Antonio had left me – again -, skip all the medicines Giulianna made me have to avoid a possible sickness – including a weird vegetable juice she made -, and, well, let’s just said skip the entire afternoon.

Our story continues that night, when María and I went out to have fun and forget about Asshole Antonio.

“Come on, Kat, you need a bit of fun, and I need to get out of this place and enjoy a bit of Venice,” María had said.

I wasn’t exactly full of energy, but María had spent the entire afternoon with me at Giulianna’s, and so I kind of owed it to her.

“Yeah, let’s have some fun. Let’s start with St. Mark’s square.” I said feigning a smile.

We dressed up with our best clothes, I even decided to wear one of my dresses. And so we went out. And at the beginning, it was fun. We danced, we drank aperols, we laughed, and so I thought this would finally be a happy night, without people like Antonio or Luciano, and that everything would be fine.

The happiness ended when I went to a pub’s bathroom.

It was a small place, so I felt secure, but the bathroom was at the end of a large corridor and close to a service room. I went to the bathroom, do my thing, and washed my hands. So far so good. But when I went out, a man was waiting for me.

I couldn’t see much of him due to the low light, but I felt in danger immediately.

“Hi babe,” He said, a scary smile on his face.

And then he pushed me inside the bathroom.

I took air in my lungs and prepared to shout, but the man was fast, and covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief before I could do anything. There was music in the pub, so I guess no one heard anything. I guess María couldn’t heard anything.

And so I fell sleep.

And when I woke up, I was already in the boat, with a big man roaming my body with his eyes, and the man who had kidnapped me, the scary guy, ignoring me.

I heard them talk. Apparently, big guy had had his eyes upon me the first day I arrived, at the train station, but had lost interest when he saw me talking with the random guy who helped me. He was targeting lonely girls.

Scary guy was at the pub the night I had been drugged. He saw my face, and what was more important, he saw Antonio’s. And so he started following us.

And so he selected me as a target.

Why were they after Antonio? His words were repeating non-stop in my mind: it is dangerous to stay with me. Dangerous. Did he mean this people? Had he left me to protect me from them?

Well, that hadn’t worked.

“Did you leave the letter at the hotel?” Scary guy asked big guy, and he nodded.

“B-but… Antonio is… not in the hotel… anymore.” I said shyly.

Both men looked at me, and laugh.

“Who told you that, babe? He is still there. Different room though.”

To top it all, the receptionist had lied to me.

“Don’t worry, your dear Antonio is going to see the note, I assure you. What I am not so sure is if he will act as we are expecting from him. Cortes is a tricky little bastard after all” scary man said.

Well, at least I know why Antonio said it was dangerous to be together, and even his last name. Oh joy.

“And if he doesn’t?” Big guy said, a malicious expression in his face.

“She will be all yours, I know.” Scary guy said, and big guy laughed.

I gulped. Antonio, I really hope you will come.