Valentina.
The early morning light cast soft shadows over the floor. Everywhere was still quiet, and every movement sounded too loud as I inched myself off Matteo’s mattress.
It was twenty-five minutes after nine, the latest I had woken up on any day since I got to the Nevarro Estate, but I needed to leave before Matteo woke up.
My feet grazed the floor.
“Where are you going?” The rough, sleepy voice of Matteo broke the silence and stopped me in my tracks.
With my toes curling into the soft threads on the floor while my heart thundered in my chest.
Stay calm.
Stay collected.
But even his voice sparked pg eighteen memories in my mind.
“You like this, don’t you?” He had taunted. “Knowing I can wreck your pussy in a way no one else can while you make a mess all over my cock?”
Heat crawled over my cheeks but I maintained a neutral expression when I turned.
We had abandoned my painting and came back home, where Matteo proceeded to take me to his room for another round of sex.
I couldn’t lie and say he disappointed me.
Matteo sat up against the headboard, white silk sheets wrapped around his waist. A smooth expanse of olive skin stretched across his chest, catching the soft glow of the morning light. His dark hair was tousled, the remnants of sleep still visible in the way his eyes were half-lidded.
His chest was like an invitation to continue from where we stopped last night.
I forced my eyes away from his body only to find his eyes waiting for me, his lips spread out in an arrogant smirk, oozing pure male satisfaction.
Asshole.
Yet, it did nothing to stop the fluttering of butterflies in my stomach.
“I was just…. leaving,” I said breathlessly, pulling my robe tighter around my body. “Caterina would have something she wants to tell me. She always does.”
“Leaving? Without talking?
I shifted uneasily, glancing away. “What is there to talk about, Matteo? We both know what we did.” I pulled on the top of the shirt I wore.
It was an old tshirt Matteo had given to me before we slept off. It fell somewhere between scandalous and mid thigh.
Matteo’s eyes flickered down and darkened.
The butterflies spread from somewhere below my stomach down to my core.
“Do we?” His voice was soft, but it was laced with the authority that had always unnerved me. He moved closer, his gaze never leaving mine. “But that’s not why you’re leaving my room less than twelve hours after we had sex.”
I snorted softly, despite myself. “It’s surely being more than twenty four hours,” I said, crossing my arms. “We didn’t use protection, and I’m not on the pill.” My voice squeaked like a door hinge in need of changing.
Matteo’s jaw tightened. “We could have a baby.”
His words hung in the air between us, heavy and suffocating. My heart thudded painfully against my ribs.
This was not the kind of conversation I wanted to have when I have so little time to prevent a pregnancy. Not now. Maybe not ever.
I blinked, my throat tightening. “Yes?” I challenged, through my voice was a bit softer now, the bravado slipping. “We’ve had sex now. The consummation of the marriage. I can’t be a replacement for my sister anymore.”
His eyes flashed, a hint of frustration breaking through his usually calm demeanor. “I’ve told you. Multiple times, in fact. You are not Isabella’s replacement. Not anymore.”
This was not how I wanted our final confrontation to go. I was to stand far away from him so I could shout with him affecting my senses.
Not when I was dressed in his tshirt while I smelled like him.
“You’re not Isabella. You’ve never been her. And if what happened last night and hopefully, in the future, leads to a baby then I’m happy about that.”
I shook my head, trying to step back, but he held me in place. “How can you say that? You don’t even know me.”
His gaze softened, but the intensity was still there, simmering just beneath the surface. “Maybe not entirely. But I’m starting to. And I know enough to realize that you’re not some pawn in this, Valentina. You’re not a placeholder for Isabella.”
My breath hitched, my mind racing to catch up with his words. “Then what am I?” I whispered.
Matteo’s thumb brushed gently against my cheek, his voice lowering. “You’re mine.”
He had said it. Multiple times.
But my mother always told me to take what men said before and during sex with a grain of salt.
It was the after that mattered.
But the way he said it, possessive yet vulnerable, made me believe him.
For a moment, there was only silence between us, save the soft rustling of the sheets and the distant hum of the estate staff going about their activities. I let out a shaky breath, my fingers curling around the sheets.
*
Father’s voice echoed in my head, from the last conversation we had before he died.
“Isabella would grow to love him, if she doesn’t already,” he had said. “Matteo is the best choice for her. For all of us.”
I never understood the weight of his words until now.
Matteo would protect us, if we ever needed protection.
*
I blinked, forcing the memory away, my chest tightening with a mixture of tiredness and confusion. “I need to know, Matteo,” I said, my voice wavering slightly. “If she left like everyone said, then I need to know why. To understand.”
Matteo turned back to me, his gaze steady. “I promise you, Valentina. I’ll find out the truth. About everything.”
The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard. For a moment, I allowed myself to believe him. To trust that, despite everything, Matteo would keep his word.
I swallowed, nodding slowly. “Okay.”
There was a long pause between us, the weight of the conversation settling in the air like a thick fog. But then, Matteo took a step closer, his hand reaching for mine. “Come with me tonight.”
I frowned, confused. “Where?”
“There’s another gathering. A business dinner, but more private. I want you there.”
I hesitated. “Another date?”
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, though his eyes remained serious. “Yes. Consider it that.”
I didn’t know why, but despite everything… despite the doubts, the fear, and the uncertainty…. I nodded. “Okay. I’ll come.”
He leaned in slightly, his breath brushing against my ear. “Good. It starts at eight so I can help you get ready.”
“We’ll have to set new boundaries. New rules.” Matteo continued, his eyebrows raised up in a perfect arch. “Nothing about our old rules worked anyway. Don’t you agree?”
My mind reeled as I thought about it. “What do you suggest?”
“No more separate bedrooms. No more sneaking out in the morning…..” Matteo’s eyes darkened. “And no more overthinking about the whole situation.”
“What a shame,” I snorted. “I had planned to run away tomorrow morning.”
Matteo didn’t look amused.
“It was a joke.”
Nothing.
I sighed. “Since we’re setting boundaries. No more scowling like someone died. You have to actually invite me to the family house so I can meet everyone….”
“Why would you want to meet them?” Matteo grumbled. “You’ve met Sophia and Luca and my stepmother, and neither did any good for us.”
“Actually meet them? No, I haven’t.”
I tried my best not to remember the conversation I had with Luca.
“I’ll be back.”
Before I could respond, Matteo stood up and walked toward the door, leaving me sitting there with no clue about why he left.
But his abrupt exit gave me time to slowly gather my though, my mind swirling with thoughts of Isabella, Matteo, and everything else.
As I stepped outside the room, something caught my eye.
Just outside Matteo’s door, there was a small piece of paper folded neatly on the floor.
I bent down, picking it up carefully. My fingers shook as I unfolded the note, my eyes scanning the hurried, messy writing.
“If you want to know where Isabella is, meet me tomorrow at midnight. Alone.”
My blood ran cold.
The note was unsigned, but it was clear that whoever had left it knew something. Something about my sister. And if I wanted answers, I would have to follow their instructions.
Alone.