Page 134 of Vicious Intentions
Something he does to confuse me.
A trick to make me see him as human instead of the cold monster he is.
When his gaze shifts away from me and onto my empty tray, I let out the pent-up breath I was holding. However, my reprieve is short-lived since all too soon his full attention is back on me.
“Are you still hungry? Would you like some dessert tonight, perhaps? Maybe a sundae?”
“What is this? The Four Seasons? No, Matteo. I do not want dessert. Thank you very much,” I retort sarcastically, letting out a small snort that would make Stella proud.
“You’re turning down ice cream? You? But you love it.”
Just as the words fall from his lips, my spine goes ramrod straight. How much of our conversations did Raffaele share with him? Why would my love of ice cream even be important? It’s not like I could have been lured into a van with the promise of a sundae. I mean, how naive do the Donatos believe me to be? Argh.
Matteo must realize his slip of the tongue, because he quickly backtracks.
“I mean, I don’t want to assume. If another dessert is more to your liking, I’m sure I can have it brought to you,” he says, his handsome face now a blank canvas of emotion.
Instead of a reply, I walk to the other side of the room and sit on the edge of the bed, making sure my back is turned to him.
“You can leave now. I’ve been properly fed, and I’m in no way sick. Your prisoner would like to be left alone.”
He lets out a long, drawn-out exhale, the sound sending goosebumps down the back of my neck.
Traitor.
I press my lips together and straighten my back as I hear him pick up the tray and move toward the door. But just as he’s about to leave, something seems to change his mind, and he sets the tray on top of the dresser instead.
“You haven’t left your room yet. May I ask why?”
I press my tongue against the inside of my cheek, refusing to answer.
That’s another one of his little mind games. I noticed early on that he never locks the door when he visits. At first, I thought he’d simply forgotten, but on the second night of my house arrest, he told me I could leave the room whenever I wanted. That I was free to come and go as I pleased. I just couldn’t leavehispenthouse.
That’s the other part of this kidnapping that never quite made sense to me. I may have never taken much interest in Outfit dealings, but even I know they have more than one safe house back in Chicago. Why keep me here, in his home, when he could just as easily hide me from my family in any number ofCosa Nostrasafe houses?
As I feel the weight of his stare on me, the answer to that question should have been obvious—here he can always keep an eye on me. He doesn’t trust anyone else to watch over his trophy, not when it looks this good on his mantle.
“Have it your way, then,” he says at last, finally picking up the tray and leaving the room.
The moment he’s gone, I drop back onto the bed, pressing a palm to my chest, trying to slow the rapid beating of my heart.
Maybe my stubbornness is more of an Achilles’ heel than a lifeline. Perhaps I should make use of the freedoms he’s given me and roam his house like he wants me to. Maybe I’d find a phone or convince someone to help me out of this mess.
Since I’ve been here, the only two people I’ve seen are Matteo and his housekeeper, Paolina. She has kind eyes. I’m sure if I told her I was being held against my will, she might help me. Maybe she could even smuggle in a phone for me to call my family.
However, if I leave this room, I might run into Raffaele. And I’m not ready to see his face yet. Not yet. Not when his betrayal is still so raw. Not when my heart still aches for the loss of a love that was never real in the first place.
“Stop it,” I whisper to myself, my closed fist tapping at my temple, hating myself for the lingering feelings my heart refuses to let go of.
Just let these feelings die, heart. Let them die.
It was all a lie. A beautiful, cruel lie. A means to an end.
So let this love die, heart…before you lose the ability to love at all.
Before this love turns you to stone.
That’s the thing about heartbreak. You know you’ve been wronged, betrayed, and humiliated, yet your heart still can’t stop loving the one who broke it. That’s why it hurts so much. Because all that love inside you has nowhere to go now. So it beats… and beats… bruising the walls of your heart with every strike, needing to be let out. But since the person it was meant for no longer wants it, no longer deserves it, you trap all that love inside, even as it fights to be set free. As it fights you.
