HELENA’S POV
I felt completely shattered after I had walked away from Dante. I feared that I might have been too rash with my decisions and at the same time I wanted him to pull back. I wanted him to tell me he loved me time and time again, that he had eyes just for me and he wasn’t going to betray me. I wanted him to hold my gaze, pin his dark eyes on me till I believed. But instead he had merely looked at me, as if he had been waiting to let me go.
I pulled away, staggering into the parking lot with tears already falling from my eyes, tears I couldn’t bear to hold anymore and were spilling down my face and wetting my cheeks.
I just needed to get out, to breathe, to escape the suffocating weight of his indifference. I stumbled into the parking lot, searching desperately for the car. My vision blurred, not just from the tears but from the overwhelming sadness clawing at my chest. It was like all the fight had drained out of me, leaving nothing but a hollow, aching void.
Then I saw him-Matteo. He was standing there, hands in his pockets, just staring at me. Normally, I would have lashed out at him, thrown some biting remark his way. But tonight, I didn’t even have the strength to be hateful towards him. I had nothing left. I couldn’t even muster the energy to be angry. All I could do was stand there, defeated.
I crumbled immediately, the tears slipping from my eyes faster than I wanted them to but to my greatest surprise I felt Matteo sweep me into his hands in an embrace. His hands cradling my head and for some reason I didn’t fight it, I let myself sink into him, sobbing into his shoulder like a child. I couldn’t stop the tears, and I didn’t want to. The weight of everything-the betrayal, the heartbreak, the endless games-it all came pouring out.
Matteo said nothing. He just let me cry, his hands gently rubbing my back as I broke down. When the sobs finally subsided, and I was still locked in his arms, he whispered softly, “Do you enjoy crying in front of me so much?”
I let out a weak chuckle, surprised that I could even laugh at a time like this. “Get me out of here – please” I murmured, but there was no venom in my voice.
Matteo didn’t hesitate. He pulled out his phone and ordered an Uber, and before I knew it, we were driving through the city in silence. The streetlights blurred past the window, and I leaned my head against the cool glass, trying to empty my mind. But Dante’s face kept flashing in my thoughts, that look of guilt, of helplessness, as I walked away.
When we finally arrived, I looked around, confused. “A karaoke bar?” I gave him an odd look, Matteo didn’t strike me as the type to visit a karaoke bar. He gave more of clubs and fancy lounges crawling with strippers and hookers.
“Used to come here a lot when I was younger could be fun for you. You need it”
I could see something almost boyish in his eyes, like I was looking at a younger version of Matteo, the one who hadn’t been hardened by the dealings of the Mafia world and wasn’t in neck deep in the streets of Algreen Cove. A boy who had never seen a gun talk less of how to shoot them. He seemed almost pure and maybe that was why I followed him out without another word.
The music blared from the speakers, loud and careless, as we stepped into the dimly lit room. Matteo grabbed a microphone and handed it to me with a grin. “You go first”
I took the mic, feeling ridiculous at first, but as the music filled my ears, I found myself moving to the beat. Singing, dancing, laughing. For a moment, Dante disappeared from my mind, and all that mattered was the sound of my own voice, the rhythm carrying me away from the pain.
When I needed a breather, I passed the mic to Matteo and collapsed into a chair. I pulled out my phone, barely registering the missed call from Dante and a voicemail. My heart clenched as I saw his name, but I shoved the phone back into my bag. I can’t deal with this. Not now. I didn’t want to hear his voice, I didn’t want to think about him and at that moment I wanted my life to be Dante free and without the images of Gianna shoving her tongue down Dante’s throat.
The night carried on like a blur, the music and Matteo’s presence offering me a strange comfort I hadn’t expected. But as the night wound down, reality began to seep back in. I needed to go home, and as much as I dreaded it, I knew Dante might be there, waiting.
Matteo and I rode back in silence, the tension from earlier creeping back into my bones. We pulled up in front of the house, and just as I was stepping out of the car, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was my sister, Vivianna.
“Hey,” I answered, still feeling the weight of the night on my shoulders.
“Oh, thank God you’re okay, I was beginning to get worried. I thought you were with him and Paulo wouldn’t answere any of my questions” Vivianna’s voice was frantic. “How’s Dante doing?”
“Dante? Why would I know how Dante is doing? We got into this huge fight at the party and I stormed off I don’t where he is”
“Oh honey” I heard her say “Dante got into an accident. Paulo just rushed to the hospital. I thought you were with him!”
Her words hit me like a freight train. The world began to spin, and suddenly, I couldn’t hear anything she was saying. My chest tightened, my breath hitching as I tried to process her words. Dante. An accident. Hospital.
My phone slipped from my hand, and I stood there, numb. The only thing I could hear, over and over in my head, was that Dante was hurt
Noooo –