I laughed and said. “Indifferent! I wish I was, but it doesn't mean I have forgiven him. I never will.”    The next day I was on my way with Marc in the car and the nurse who accompanied us was a woman of fifty, her comfortable body seated in her blue uniform her shoes were very formal but she was very stern with Marc. And I was very pleased with Cathy's arrangement as I had never expected her to act immediately.Marc looked at me as the nurse was put into another car which followed us along. “ I have to thank you for my new nurse, I gather, or was mom making that up?”I lifted my chin in defense not letting him see how pleased I was and said. “I don't know what you're talking about.” I lied, and he gave me a quick glittering smile.“No !” He exclaimed. I gazed looking out of the window and his hand covered my own but I did not say anything to him and stared continuously out of the window. But when his hand held mine a shiver ran through my whole body.For a few breathtaking minutes, we just sat like that but my body was responding in quite a different manner. His touch was enough to bring out my hidden emotions. I tried to pull away. He withdrew his hand as though I had made some comment and he turned his head to look out of the window and turned his profile hard and unreadable.After a few moments, his eyelids dropped. The drug he had been given before coming out of the hospital began to have an effect. He slowly slid into a deep sleep while I watched him. For the first time, I understood the weakness, which still held him captive. Asleep, he looked strangely vulnerable: the dark features relaxed his mouth soft and his limbs covered the dark eyes. I had a burning urge to touch him as I watched him my fingertips aching to feel his skin. It would have been easy to do so without his knowledge as his head slid down sideways against my shoulders but I forced down the impulse to turn my head away. It was an effort to remember that I hated him. I had to keep reminding myself, wiping myself into a fit of anger that no longer seem to matter. Dimitri the driver was driving very smoothly. So I just stared and enjoyed the view outside. It's been a while since I was out of the country and the change in the scenery was pretty breathtaking. I dozed off after some time, my head bent down towards Marc as I slept. The car jerked to a stop and I found myself close to him, his arm around my shoulders the warmth of his body under my cheek.And I wondered when did I allow myself to be embraced by him.I blushed and got up pushing myself away. Marc was helped by Dimitri but he insisted sharply on walking into the Villa. He walked slowly resting at every other step, but he made it and Demitri applauded him.I must say that Marc was trying very hard to recover as I saw him struggling to walk by himself. And I let out a deep sigh. As we entered I saw Ada coming out and greeting us and she flung herself at Marc and she kissed him on his cheeks. She had been taking care of him since his birth. She turned towards me and smiled widely as if she was happy that I was back. Ada was a cheeful women and I always liked talking to her but the best part was her cooking skills. She makes those mouth watering delicious Italian food and I always praised her for that. She said something in Italian and Marc and Dimitri started laughing.I had tried to learn Italian during the first month of our marriage. English had been a barrier between me and the Garcia family, even though they spoke it perfectly but they liked to go back mostly into their language when they were within the family and to have someone among them not understanding was very tiresome for them. I had felt left alone by it at first almost suspecting that they were doing it deliberately, but when I had learned enough of their tongue to follow a little of what they spoke, I found that the habit was ingrained and they had not meant any particular malice by it. Marc was looking very tired and pale and so the nurse interrupted and said he should go to his room and rest. Taking his arm Dimitri led the way up the stairs. The Villa had been built by his grandfather a long time ago and had been a little modernized since then. Marc preferred to keep it as is. It had always been a beautifully built Villa with large airy rooms. I felt like I have checked myself into a hotel. Marc had to listen to the instructions given by the nurse at last. But Ada made it very clear with her expression that she did not feel easy entrusting her precious Marc to a stranger. But had to oblige as Cathy had already called them up instructing them to follow the advice given by the nurse. So Ada gave up.I was very tired and retired to the room allotted for me and fell asleep, the moment I closed my eyes and slept heavily to the long warm night. When I woke up it was daylight and I lay still on the bed listening to the birds chirping, watching the sunlight play around the walls and it felt so peaceful in this isolated place. All the tension and strain of the last week seem to fade away and my heart turned over with a certain realization that I and Marc were together under one roof for the first time in seven years.The journey had been very exhausting for Marc and for the whole day after our arrival the nurse insisted that he stay in bed despite his ongoing protest but the nurse was very firm and told him to rest. Whenever I went to see him, I found him half asleep I could see the tiredness in his features. He stirred drowsily the dark eyes gleaming through his lashes and smiled faintly at me. “I seem to be sleeping the whole day. “ He said when I visited him the first time. “Sorry, Carmen. You must be angry as I am not spending time with you.” And I stood by the bed smiling at him my fingers gently pushing the soft black curls from his forehead. " It doesn't matter you will soon get your strength back, so rest. We will have plenty of time to interact.”While he rested I made my way around the Villa gardens like a pilgrim, as I had never explored the Villa previously when I had visited it. I recalled, how young I had been, an inexperienced nineteen-year-old with no idea what manner of man I had married: uncertain of him and myself, over-sensitive easily hurt. I had been wide open to the wound Bella had made. And I was an easy target for her and no wonder the Italian girl had laughed at me. But it's different now, as I cannot fooled that easily.