Chapter 47 Nighttime Call with Marco

Elena Garcia POV:

I went back to my room and just stared at my phone, lost in my thoughts.

Albert had been telling me I messed up something that Marco shouldn't have had to deal with or pay for.

I felt pretty helpless.

Considering Marco saved Sofia, even though Sofia's true nature was pretty awful and our relationship wasn't great, I still saw her as family at that time.

Marco promised to save my family, and he kept his word.

Sofia got back to her family safe and sound, but I totally ignored Marco, who played a huge part in that, and didn't even send him a thank-you message.

Albert's words felt like a scolding, making me uneasy.

If I were a jerk like Andrew, I could easily blame everything on Marco, but I wasn't.

It was still a long time until dawn, but as I lay in bed, I couldn't sleep.

The darkness made everything seem worse, and a million chaotic thoughts raced through my mind.

I was thinking about why Sofia treated me that way and how I should deal with her in the future. I was also wondering how to handle Isabella and James if they didn't trust me. And even William, Albert, Marco...

Too many messy thoughts filled my head, and eventually, I decided to calm down and sort everything out slowly.

I decided to do what I could at the moment, which included following Albert's advice and contacting Marco.

I sat up in bed, leaned against the headboard, and took out my phone.

Elena: [Thank you so much for saving Sofia. Marco, I'm really sorry for complaining to you.]

I spent some time editing the message. My brain felt sluggish, and I originally planned to send it to Marco during the day, but my finger accidentally hit the send button.

After the message was sent, I looked at the time on my phone and felt annoyed.

Who would send a message like that in the middle of the night? It was too bad.

My finger hovered over the phone screen as I wondered if I should re-edit a message to apologize for sending it so late.

As I was feeling speechless about my actions, my phone vibrated.

I got a message from Marco.

Contrary to what I thought, he wasn't resting and asked if he could call me.

After I replied that it was okay, his call came through immediately.

"Marco?" I softly called his name.

Marco didn't respond; I could only hear his breathing on the other end.

"Are you mad? I'm really sorry for complaining to you back then. My experience at the villa made it hard for me to stay calm." I wondered if he was angry.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have called you so late. Do I sound like I'm making excuses for my outburst back then?" A bitter smile appeared on my face. "If you're still mad, it's understandable."

"No," Marco finally spoke, letting out a long sigh. "I'm not mad, Elena. On the contrary, I thought you were still mad at me. I'm really sorry; I didn't consider everything back then. You did nothing wrong, Elena. Those dangers were brought by me. I'm really glad you're still willing to contact me."

Even though Marco said he was glad, his voice was really low, sounding sad.

So, the good news for me was that Marco wasn't mad about my words and actions back then.

But the bad news was that I would rather he showed a bit of anger. His current attitude made me feel not relieved but guilty.

I realized I might have hurt Marco.

"Are your injuries getting better? I was going to call you first, but you did before me," Marco asked.

Marco seemed to catch himself and realized he was sounding too down.

I heard him take a few deep breaths, and then his tone lightened up, trying to sound as happy as he said he was.

"I'm really glad you're still willing to contact me." He repeated it, like he wanted to make sure I knew he meant it.

"I'm okay, I'll be as good as new soon," I lied.

But with Marco's attitude, it was hard to tell him the wounds still hurt.

He was genuinely worried about me after I got hurt.

Maybe he felt guilty too, but his concern was exactly what I needed now, especially when my family didn't show enough care, and I had some issues with William.

Marco apologized, saying that because of Abner, he had to go back to the Bianchi Manor and wouldn't be able to visit the Garcia Mansion for a while.

When he mentioned this, his tone got a bit sad again.

My mood got a bit complicated.

Marco's words and actions always made me feel like I was really important to him, which would make any girl feel touched.

His emotions were all because of me.

Even now, he seemed to be hinting that he was bummed he couldn't see me.

I pretended not to get what he meant. "It's okay, Albert will make sure to welcome you well when you visit again."

"You know I'm not visiting the Garcia Mansion for Albert, right?" Marco said.

"I thought you were. Aren't you a considerate boss who cares about his subordinates?" I asked.

I heard Marco softly say "fuck," realizing what I meant. He was annoyed but admitted, "Yes, I am."

This almost made me laugh.

By now, we both felt more relaxed.

"I'm about to go to school soon, so it might be a while before we meet again," I explained a bit, "I really appreciate your concern, Marco."

Despite his identity, Marco was a really good person, and he made me feel comfortable being around him.

Definitely, if he didn't repeat the childish behavior he showed on the beach before, it would be even better.

Thinking of this, I realized there was still an unresolved issue between Marco and me.

Marco's fondness for me.

This was a guess I made when I heard Sofia's words in the garden.

Before that, I had always thought he was overly familiar with me, suspecting he might know me.

But maybe there was another possibility: he fell in love with me at first sight and investigated me through Albert or someone else. This guess might be a bit narcissistic, but it was possible.

Maybe Marco didn't realize it wasn't genuine affection, or maybe he knew, but since he didn't act like a playboy like Albert, I leaned more towards the first possibility.

Albert was still trying to get me to accept Marco, but his thoughts weren't my concern. After all, this was between Marco and me.

But I didn't want to hurt Marco either. I couldn't bluntly tell him, "You might not really like me!"

Nor could I deceive myself and Marco by choosing him.

So I softly added, "You're a really good friend, Marco."

I hoped my words would make Marco understand some of my thoughts.

Marco didn't speak.

Our conversation went quiet again.

Until I started to feel uneasy, wondering if Marco was unhappy with me stopping our relationship at friends, he finally spoke, "I'm glad you think of me as your friend, Elena."

His voice revealed no emotion. "This is actually much better than I imagined. Even as friends, there will always be traces of me in your life. But I might be a bit greedy."