Elena strolled gracefully from stall to stall with a basket in her hand , picking fruits and exchanging pleasantries with the market women. She made sure that her scarf was covering half of her face for fear of being discovered by someone she knows. 

"No one will come to this tiny village" She assured herself. 

She had taken the long route to the market instead of going through the lonely short cut behind Villa Rosa. She didn't feel good about that particular road since it's mostly made up of bushes and big trees. It reminded her of the faceless man from her dreams.

She tried to eavesdrop on the discussions of the locals as usual. It was something that she enjoyed doing since she was not bold enough to ask them questions directly. Acting too curious would give her away as desperate for information and in no time she would become their topic of discussion.

Life in the small town always feels better than the one she lived in the villa. She looked from the clear skies to the colorful birds and the cheerful locals. Once again she wished she could live amongst them instead of being locked up in that ugly villa. 

"Life's worth living again" she thought.

She felt like a palace maiden in her long dress , head scarf and raffia sandals.

"Good day miss" an almost toothless old man smiled at her.

"Eric" she smiled back as she sat on the empty chair in his vegetable stall.

She watched him pick out her favorite veggies, he did it with so much passion and concentration.

"Do you really live in the Villa down the hill?" Eric asked out of the blues.

She remembered his reaction the first time she had told him that she lived in Villa Rosa.

He looked at her eagerly like he was about to spill the bean.

"Yes Eric , I live there" she forced a smile.

"Oh.." his eyes flashed as he went back to picking veggies.

"Do you want to tell me something Eric?" Elena whispered, hoping she would get some useful information out of him.

He laughed softly "No miss, it's just that I did not know anyone else lived there other than that cold blooded bastard".

Their gaze met and she knew that he regretted saying that or maybe not because there was a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. 

"Well I'm sorry miss.....you see..." he stuttered.

He must be talking about her neighbor . The one that makes funny sounds almost every morning.

She felt suddenly relieved that she had not been hallucinating but at the same time cold shivers ran down her spine. Could he be a psychopath? Maybe she should talk to the police about it.

"Miss?" Eric nudged her out of her thoughts. "I should not have said that."

"It's fine Eric" she waved him off "I do not even know who this person you're talking about is."

He looked like he had so many questions to ask her but he just smiled revealing brown , broken and incomplete set of teeth.

She thanked him and picked up her basket after folding extra dollar notes in his palm. She considered that as tip for taking out time to pick out the best fruits and vegetables for her.

She walked back to the Villa quietly as Eric words replayed in her head.

Who is he ? The cold blooded bastard ? She decided that she would not involve the police but deal with him on her own.

She came to a halt as she heard rapid footsteps behind her. It felt like her ears were playing tricks on her but she jumped when she realized the foot steps were getting closer.

She turned in time to see a tall muscular man following her.

The houses that were on each sides of the road that leads to the villa were almost deserted, it didn't seem like if she screamed she would get help.

Her heart beat against her chest as she doubled her steps.

He didn't stop following her even as she hurriedly entered the "safe" fence of the villa.

She stopped in her track to face the intruder "what do you want?"

He stared at her with blood shot eyes "don't get me angry."

"Why are you following me?" She demanded angrily.

"I should be asking why you are trespassing" he eyed her wearily.

Trespassing? She almost burst out laughing.

"I've lived here for almost a year and no one has ever accused me of trespassing" she let out a small laugh.

"I still put it to you that you have trespassed, this land belongs to my family" he fired.

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out . It dawned on her that she was meeting her neighbor for the first time and in the most unpleasant way.

He is the cold blooded bastard ? She thought. How could that be ? Cold blooded bastards do not have blue eyes and black shiny hair.

"Well I've been living here for quite a while, under protection as well, with permission." She scoffed "you better not hurt me."

He moved closer to her "let me warn you as well , ask about Dante, don't cross my path, run when you see me , run from this place, run princess". This place eats pretty things like you up".

Cold shivers ran down her spine as she made a dash towards her room and shut the door.

She suddenly felt grateful for the small gate that separated her from her crazy neighbor.

"Eric was right after all" she whispered shakily "he's a monster."

His eyes were warm when he looked at her , it held something that was not rage or hatred. She could swear that what she caught in the eyes were admiration and that sacred her the most.

 A part of her wanted to call for help so bad but the rebellious part of her wants to watch how things unfold. Maybe this was her opportunity to know more about this deserted villa. She has never questioned why the police man brought her here but from the moment she encountered Dante , she could no longer get the question out of her head.

"Why was she brought here of all places?"

After her unpleasant encounter with her neighbor , Elena tried as much as possible to avoid Dante's side of the Villa.

As much as she wanted to know more about him , she was also skeptical about getting close to him. He had clearly warned her to run away from him. What a terrible thing to say to a woman like her, now she is hungry for more escapade. 

She lay in her bed staring blankly at the ceiling as usual , a habit that she had gotten accustomed to. It allowed her think freely .

Apparently the day after her clash with Dante she had gone back to the market to seek Eric.

The old man did not seem surprised to see her and that triggered her curiosity even more.

She could vividly remember how he had looked at her calmly and almost with pity when she asked him about Villa Rosa. She had thrown the question at him directly, if she wanted answers , then she had to ask questions directly. She would no longer care what the people will say about her, it's not going to be her first time being the topic of discussion. In fact she loves it. 

Eric gave her a reassuring stare that made her relax a little bit.

"I do not know much about the Villa" he shrugged. She knew that he just lied to her and for some reason she did not push further.

"I met him" she told him . "For the first time since I came to live in the villa"

"Dante?" Eric let out a soft sigh. His eyes held different emotions at the same time and it was hard to figure out what he was really feeling.

Elena nodded gently "yes , the one you said is a cold blooded bastard".

Eric almost laughed "I should not have said that miss."

"It's fine Eric" She forced a smile , she would have asked him to call her Elena but she had to keep her identity a secret.

He returned her smile shyly.

"who is he?" She asked finally.

Eric looked at her with disbelief in his eyes "you live in the Villa down the hill and you do not know who that man is? If you claim not to be family, then how did you end up there?"

He looked like he was going to ask her to leave but instead he gave her shoulder a soft pat.

She wanted to assure him that she was telling the truth.

"It's a long story Eric...." She said instead.

Sensing that she was not ready to talk about it, he gave her shoulder another gentle squeeze.

"Whatever the situation is miss, I think you had better stay away from him"

Their gaze met and it stayed that way for minutes.

"Why Eric?" Elena broke the silence that was beginning to make her feel awkward.

"Well there had been rumors that he killed his own brother" Eric shrugged trying to act as casual possible.

Elena's mouth opened in surprise. Had she been cursed to be around criminals all her life? First it was her family , now Dante?

"It is just a rumor miss, it could be the truth and it could be a lie" Eric added quickly.

She looked at him , not sure whether to believe him or not "who is he ? Who are his family?"

Eric sighed , he looked like her questions were throwing him into exhaustion but the only thing she cared about was getting useful information out of him. 

"How selfish of me" She whispered under her breath. 

"Dante is a Moretti, II Vipera..." he coughed gently.

"Moretti are known for their dark powers and crime. They are mafias, they bargain with the powerful and influential. I wonder why you are in that Villa miss but that's not really a place for a princess like you".

Her mind shifted drastically to her father who was also a mafia lord, an extremely brutal one. 

She knew deep down that there was more to the story Eric had told her.

She felt like she was being stared at by wild pair of eyes but she did not see anyone when she turned around. Even in town, these pair of eyes followed her around.

Eric not paying much attention to her uncomfortable body language sliced through vegetables like he always does.

Elena rubbed her palms anxiously "thank you for trusting me with such information Eric"

He smiled revealing his incomplete set of teeth again "everyone knows this miss, except you. The locals know the Moretti and how dangerous they can be."

"I guess I had better just pretend like I haven't even heard of them" she joked .

"The less you knew , the safer you seemed to be" Eric said as a matter of fact.

"The locals might take you to be a Moretti if they know you come from that villa."

Elena laughed "I do not want people misunderstanding me , because I am not and will never be a Moretti."

Since she got back from meeting with Eric, she avoided Dante so much that she hardly stepped out of her room . He had been unusually quiet as well since their first encounter , he no longer made sounds in the morning or spoke to himself every minute.

She suddenly felt pity for him , she felt sorry for invading his privacy.

If he truly killed his brother , she was going to find out why.

"I'm sorry Eric, I don't think I can stay away from this man for long .... Dante , I do not think I would be obeying your instructions" she muttered under her breathe.

She was finally getting answers to her questions and it occurred to her that she could not hide in this room forever if she wants to know more.

Her sudden interest in Dante surprised her because she was meant to be minding her business , at least that's what the police man told her. But that would be too boring , she was tired of being bored.

Talking of the police man that brought her to live in the villa. She wondered when he would visit her next, she has series of questions she needs urgent answers to.