Page 154 of Vicious Intentions
My fingers loosen immediately, the scissors clattering to the floor. He moves instantly, crossing the room and pulling me into his embrace, putting me as far from the scissors as he possibly can.
“Get those fucking things out of here!” he snaps, sounding more crazed than I was not a minute ago.
Only then do I realize we’re not alone. His mother stands near the door, looking like a shell of a woman, while Niccolò is already moving, gathering up the scissors, razors—anything sharp enough to cut—and throwing them into a small bin.
Right behind their mother is Raffaele. He just stands there, staring at me, locked in an embrace with his brother. I can almost taste the bitter venom in his gaze.
“Got it. There’s nothing left,” Niccolò says, holding the bin in his hands.
“Out!” Matteo orders, not sparing anyone a second look.
Niccolò leaves, dragging Raffaele with him. Their mother lingers, but Matteo doesn’t tell her to go.
Instead, he holds my clasped hands in his, pressing his forehead to mine. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
I can’t respond. I’m too stunned. Too tangled in everything that just happened.
Behind us, his mother’s voice is quiet, remorseful. “I’m sorry, Matteo. I won’t help her again. I promise.”
I flinch at the emptiness of her words. Whatever hope I still had of ever leaving this house dies with them.
Tears threaten to come again, and before he has a chance to see them, I pull away from Matteo’s grip and walk back into the bedroom, only to find night has fallen, the room now swallowed in shadows—just like my husband’s soul.
I walk over to my side of the bed and lie down, only to hear Matteo do the same behind me. In the dark, we lie in silence, taking stock of everything that just happened.
His voice is the first to break it. “Why did you cut your hair?”
“I wanted to hurt you,” I lie while staring into the darkness.
“Well, you succeeded,” he says softly. “But not by cutting your hair.” My throat tightens at the insinuation.
“I wasn’t going to hurt myself.”
“I didn’t know that,” he admits, pain threading his voice. “I don’t think I’ve ever…” He doesn’t finish his sentence.
“Ever what?” I ask, turning onto my side to look at him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more afraid. Which is saying something, if you knew everything I had to endure in this house.But none of it scared me as much as seeing you…” This time, when he doesn’t finish, I don’t force him to.
Silence settles in again, and for a moment I almost think he won’t say anything else. That he’ll let this day end like this, without addressing the real elephant in the room. To my dismay, however, Matteo refuses to hide anymore.
“You could shave your head. Dye it bright pink. Change your whole appearance until you look like someone else entirely. I wouldn’t care,” he exhales. “It wouldn’t change anything. I fell in love with you long before I ever saw your face.”
“That’s a lie. You’ve seen my face.”
“No. I saw the face of my enemy’s daughter. I saw my hate. I didn’t see you. I didn’t see you, Anna. But now…” His voice softens as his hand finds my cheek. “You’re all I see.”
I swallow and turn my back to him, hating how his words still have a way of getting through to my heart.
“I think I preferred you a liar.”
At least then I was safe. Now, I’m anything but.
Chapter 33
Matteo
It’s been ten days since my wedding day, and already the heads of the families are growing restless. They were promised a war, and yet Romano has been slow to deliver one.
