Page 40 of Vow of Desire

He bends over, crying so hard, he can’t even open his eyes. “I am sorry, Luciana. I’m sorry that I did this to you. I neverwanted any of this for you. I wanted you to marry for love. I wanted you to be happy.”

“Oh. Dad.” I wrap my arms around him and he hugs me back so tight it almost hurts. But I don’t mind. My father’s hugs have always been a source of comfort for me. “I love you so much. I’m just frustrated that I wasn’t given what I needed to be ready for all of this.”

“I know. And I’m sorry.” He pulls back, wiping at his eyes. “Is he hurting you? Is he expecting things from you? Because if he is, I’ll hurt him. Fuck this peace treaty.”

My eyes widen. My father was never one for cussing – at least not around me. “No. Matteo hasn’t hurt me. I don’t want you to go to war with him. I couldn’t risk you getting hurt.”

“Then if he’s not hurting you, what’s the problem? I don’t understand.”

“It’s… it’s not that he’s hurting me. It’s more that he challenges me and it’s scary. I’ve never had to feel the things he expects from me and it’s a lot. I’m either scared all the time or feeling like I’ve been failing all the time. I was taught to be perfect and now I feel like I’m so far from that.”

He cups my face. “You’ll always be perfect to me.”

And that right there is the problem. My father will always put me on a pedestal and while I love him for it, it’s the exact reason I’m struggling. I want to give in to Matteo while I want to run far away. None of it makes any sense but maybe it would have if I had been given grace to be less perfect.

“I love you,” I say because I know my father will only see me as perfect and there’s nothing I can do to change his mind. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry? You come here, upset. I should speak with your husband.” He heads for the door but I grab his arm.

“Dad, no. I don’t want you to make things worse.”

“I won’t make things worse. I just want to speak with your husband and make sure he’s treating you right. It’s only fair as your father for me to do this.” He pulls away from me and walks outside with determination.

I have no choice but to follow.

Enzo drives me back to Matteo’s house while my father drives up ahead. I rush out of the car the moment we pull into the driveway but my father is already walking to the front door. He pounds on it.

“Dad,” I say. “Don’t do this. It’s ok. You don’t need to speak to Matteo.”

“I think I do. You came to me, upset, all because of him. I need to speak with him.”

“Then at least let me open the door. You don’t need to keep pounding on it.” Before I can get my key out, the door opens. Matteo looks between me and my father.

“What’s going on here?”

My father walks right up to Matteo so they’re toe-to-toe. “Have you been hurting my daughter?”

Matteo’s eyes flick to mine and back to my father. I feel a blush creep up my face and down my neck. “No. Did she tell you I’ve been hurting her?”

“She came to me in tears. Upset. You must be doing something to her to make her feel this way. So what is it?”

“Do you want to come inside?” He steps out of the way and motions for my father to come into the house.

I leave the front door open when I step inside. For some reason, I don’t think this conversation should happen in private. The last thing I want is my father getting hurt.

Or Matteo. Do I want him to get hurt? I’m still not sure.

“What is the problem?” Matteo asks, crossing his arms and looking like a cold statue.

“You have made my daughter upset. I came here as her concerned parent wanting to make sure you’re treating my daughter right. I agreed to this marriage deal but if you’re hurting her, then all bets are off.”

Matteo narrows his eyes. “Are you threatening me, Rocco?”

“I am if you’re hurting my daughter.”

“I told you. I am not hurting her. Is that what she told you?”

“No,” my father admits. “But you are making her act strange. I have never seen her this upset before. So what are you doing to her?”