Chapter 3 HER INNOCENCE

CHAPTER 3...

ANGELO’S POV

My stomach chose that exact moment to growl loudly. I realized I hadn't eaten dinner yet. Looking at her pale face, she also looked completely tired. "Have you eaten?" I asked. "No, I haven't," she murmured and pressed a hand against her stomach. I picked up my phone from the nightstand and quickly opened a food delivery app. I placed an order for a large spread of gourmet burgers, fries, and pasta. "The delivery guy will be here soon. I can't take you shopping for real clothes because it is too late already. We will do that tomorrow," I said. A half-smile touched my lips despite the complete madness of my life right now. "Thank you," she said softly. When she spoke those words and looked directly into my eyes with pure gratitude, I felt a strange sparkle in my heart. Warmth bloomed in my chest. It was a feeling I had not experienced in a very long time. How can she be so innocent? I wondered. Her purity was terrifying. It made it very hard for me to throw her out into the cold streets. At the same time, the rational and cynical side of my brain screamed in warning. I could not just keep a total stranger in my house. What if this was an elaborate trick? What if she was a genetically modified spy or a supernatural being with bad intentions toward me? I had to test her. I was a computer genius and a master of logic. I could not let a pretty face cloud my judgment. "Come with me," I said and stood up from the bed. She followed me obediently into the main sitting room. I walked to my glass desk and picked up my custom-built laptop. If she was a biological anomaly, there had to be physical evidence. I needed to analyze her and look for anything unusual. I skipped my usual writing software and opened an advanced biometrics program I used for research on my projects. It could connect with external scanners. "Can you place your thumb on the trackpad?" I directed her and pointed to the glowing glass surface. She hesitated for a second, then pressed her small thumb against the sensor. The laptop screen flickered. A red laser line scanned her print. Rows of data began to appear, but the system showed many error codes. Her fingerprint ridges were almost perfectly smooth and lacked the usual patterns of a normal human. Something was completely wrong with her fingerprints, just as I had expected. The secondary optical scan from the webcam also checked her internal vitals through advanced thermal reading. "Twenty-four..." I muttered while reading the biological age on the screen. "She's just twenty-four. Poor thing." I closed the laptop with a soft click and let out a breath. Lucky her, I don't do young girls, I told myself and tried to strengthen my emotional walls. I’m thirty. She’s practically a child in human years if she just transformed today. Before I could think more about the medical anomalies, the sharp melodic chime of my doorbell rang through the apartment. "I think it's the delivery guy. Don't move. I will get the door," I instructed and pointed a stern finger at her. She nodded and sat perfectly still on the edge of the sofa. I walked to the foyer and checked the wall-mounted security monitor. My jaw dropped. It was not the delivery guy. "Cassie? What the hell is she doing here?" I muttered. My voice was full of dread. Cassie was my childhood best friend. She was loud, intrusive, and fiercely protective. She had a habit of showing up unannounced whenever she had drama. I unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door a crack. "Cassie, what are you doing here? It's almost midnight!" I asked and forced a fake smile. "Move it, Angelo," she groaned and ignored my tone. She shoved past me and burst into the apartment with her massive designer handbag. She smelled faintly of cheap tequila. "My life is a literal trainwreck right now, and you're my only—" Cassie froze mid-sentence. Her eyes locked onto the living room sofa where my bird girl sat quietly in my oversized t-shirt and shorts. "Oh... you have a visitor," Cassie said. Her tone became sharp and judgmental. She turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow. "That's why you treated me like a stranger at the door. Am I interrupting a late-night rendezvous?" I panicked inside, but then an idea struck me. Cassie was an excellent judge of character. She could spot a liar from far away. If this girl had bad intentions, Cassie would notice it quickly. A slow smile appeared on my face. Let's see how this goes. "Hello," Cassie greeted and walked to the sofa with an analytical gaze. Birdie looked up, completely calm under Cassie's energy. She gave a soft, radiant smile. "Hello." "What's your name?" Cassie asked and crossed her arms. Before the girl could say she had no name or that she was a pigeon from the balcony, I cut in fast. "Senorita!" I shouted. The word flew out before I could stop it. Senorita?! What the hell was wrong with me? What kind of name was that? I groaned inside and wanted to kick myself for choosing such a romantic cover name. "Nice to meet you, Senorita. My name's Cassie," Cassie said. Her cold demeanor melted into a warm smile. "Nice to meet you... Cassie," Birdie said slowly and repeated the name carefully. Her smile grew wider. I stood in the background, totally confused. Why was Cassie being so nice? Usually she interrogated any girl I brought home like an overprotective sister. This change was surprising. "Senorita, can you give us a moment? Please wait here," I said with a strained grin. I grabbed Cassie by the elbow and dragged her down the hallway into my private bedroom. I shut the door firmly. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Cassie asked. She pulled her arm free and gave me a confused look. "You shouldn't be so friendly to my guests! You're making me feel too casual, and I don't like that," I complained and paced around the room. "You usually hate seeing girls in my apartment. You always find flaws. So why the sudden sweet introduction?" Cassie chuckled and shook her head at my anxiety. "I only introduced myself to Senorita because she is absolutely gorgeous and has a pure, welcoming spirit. She looks like a genuinely good person, Angelo. My instincts say you haven't slept with her yet... and that is a shocking new record for you." "She's just a guest! Why would I go to bed with her?" I protested. My face turned deep red. Cassie burst into loud laughter and pointed at my chest. "Just a guest, but she's wearing your clothes? Really? If a guy told you that about a random girl, would you believe him?" I opened my mouth to argue but nothing came out. She had a valid point. To anyone watching, it looked like I had a live-in girlfriend. "Okay, fine, I get your point, but it's a very long and complicated story," I said and frowned deeply. "Cassie, can you please go home now? I really need to look after my guest. It’s an emergency." I paused and rubbed my temples. "And again... her name isn't actually Senorita. I just panicked." "What's her real name then?" Cassie asked with a teasing smile. "I will tell you another time, but for now, go home. It's getting dark and the weather is turning bad again," I said and opened my bedroom door to lead her out. "Why are you chasing me away like you're hiding a secret apple plantation?" Cassie teased and rolled her eyes as she walked back into the hallway. "Angelo, seriously, don't do anything stupid to Senorita. She’s an innocent, nice girl. Honestly, you look like an older brother to her." "I told you, her name isn't Senorita!" I groaned, but she just chuckled and ignored me as we returned to the sitting room. To my surprise, the food had already arrived. The delivery guy must have used the building's automated drop-box. The containers were neatly arranged on the coffee table. Senorita was sitting on the floor and happily eating a piece of garlic bread. "When did the delivery guy arrive?" I asked curiously. "Minutes ago," she said with her mouth slightly full. She looked up at Cassie and held out a container of pasta. "Come eat with me, Cassie." Cassie’s eyes lit up and she started to sit down on the floor. "Oh, wow, that looks amazing. I am actually starving—" Before she could sit, I grabbed the back of her jacket and dragged her toward the main door. "You should go home and make up with your boyfriend," I said sarcastically and pulled the door open. Cassie pouted and turned to face me. "Is that any way to comfort your heartbroken best friend? I came here to cry on your shoulder, Angelo!" "You're a strong woman. You can do it," I said with a firm but supportive smile. I gently pushed her into the hallway and locked the heavy door behind her. "Phew! Thank goodness she didn't get drunk before coming today," I sighed with great relief and leaned my back against the closed door. If Cassie had stayed longer, she would have discovered the truth or convinced the girl to move in with her.

Later that night, the clock struck 2:00 AM. The adrenaline from the evening had faded and left a heavy exhaustion in my bones. It was finally time to sleep. I stood in the living room holding a spare pillow and a thick blanket. "I will sleep on the couch. Go to your room," Senorita said slowly. She stood up from the floor and pointed toward my master bedroom. I blinked in surprise. "No, I'm the host. You take the bed. I'll take the couch." She shook her head stubbornly. "The couch is fine. It reminds me of a nest. It's enclosed." I stared at her for a long moment. I was too tired to argue with bird logic. "Alright. Use that duvet if you get cold," I said and handed her the blanket. "Goodnight, Angelo," she murmured. "Goodnight." I turned around and walked into my master bedroom. I closed the door halfway. I went to the glass window and looked outside. "It's snowing already," I said quietly and watched the pale white flakes fall from the dark sky. The temperature was dropping fast. I crawled under my covers, completely exhausted, and switched off the bedside lights. Within minutes, the warmth of the bed pulled me into a deep sleep. "Angelo..." A voice called to me. It was a soft, ghostly whisper that cut through the darkness of my mind. I was deep in sleep, but the sound of my name pulled me toward waking. I opened my eyes slowly. My vision was blurry. The room was pitch black. "Angelo..." The voice was closer now. Right beside me. My heart rate spiked immediately. I sat up fast, reached for the nightstand, and switched on the bedside lamp. The sudden warm yellow light blinded me for a second. As my eyes adjusted, my breath caught in my throat. Senorita was sitting on the edge of my mattress. My oversized t-shirt and shorts lay in a messy pile on the floor beside the bed. She was completely naked. Her pale, flawless skin glowed under the lamplight. "Senorita... what the hell are you doing?" I asked. My voice cracked with sleep and panic. I tried to pull the blanket up to cover my eyes. My conservative upbringing screamed inside me. Before I could move away, she crawled closer. She moved with fluid, eerie grace and sat directly on my lap, straddling me. My eyes widened as she settled down. Her bare heat pressed over my boxer shorts right on top of my dick. A sudden intense jolt of heat shot through my core and made me stiffen beneath her at once. She looked down at me with an entirely innocent expression. There was no sexual intent in her eyes. To her, this was not a sin. It was a simple observation. "Angelo... this is what you always do, right?" she said softly. Her head tilted as she looked at my panicked face. "I watched you through the window with the other girls. You always take off the clothes. You always sit like this. I want to be a human. Teach me how to be a human." My brain completely shut down. The closeness of her gorgeous naked body, the intense heat from her skin, and the shocking position we were in made it impossible to breathe. "What... what are you, exactly?" I muttered in total shock. My hands hovered in the air, terrified to touch her yet frozen by the powerful pull of the fated mate sitting in my bed.