Valentina.
“Handle him losing the Mafia Don title because he got married to you.”
The silence that followed Ethan’s words was deafening.
My heart pounded in my chest, and I stared at Matteo, waiting for him to deny it, to say something – anything – that would make it all make sense.
Matteo’s eyes were locked onto mine, but there was no panic, no surprise – just that cold, calculating look he always had when he was trying to be in control.
None of his warmth.
My stomach churned.
“Is that true?” I whispered the question, scared of what I might hear.
Matteo remained silent, his jaw clenched. Ethan, on the other hand, shifted uncomfortably, glancing between us as if regretting his words, but the damage had already begun.
I could feel the ground beneath me crumbling, the walls of whatever fragile trust Matteo and I had built starting to collapse.
He didn’t even deem me fit enough to know the events that happened in his life.
“Why can’t you talk to me?” I demanded, my voice rising now. “Why can’t you let me help? Why do you like to keep me in the dark in every single thing?”
Losing his title would crush him.
When Matteo finally spoke, his tone was hard and unyielding. “This isn’t something you need to worry about.”
“Isn’t something I need to worry about?” I laughed bitterly, feeling the anger bubbling up inside me. “I’m your wife, Matteo!! Whether either of us likes it or not, I’m a part of this now. You don’t get to decide what I need to know!”
It didn’t matter that I wasn’t supposed to be his wife.
Not at all.
“This is bigger than what you think, Valentina,” He said, taking a step toward me. His voice was calm, too calm, like he was trying to diffuse the situation, but it only made me angrier. “I’m trying to protect you. From all of it.”
The same fucking thing. All the time.
“Protect me?” I took a step back, the overbearing feeling of suffocation was too much when close to him. “By hiding things? Refusing to help me? That’s not protection, Matteo. That’s control.”
His eyes darkened, and I could see the frustration bubbling in his eyes.
He wasn’t used to being called out the way I did.
“You should never have married me.”
“You don’t understand the consequences…” He growled, moving backwards from me.
Ethan was long gone now, and I wouldn’t say I blamed him.
“Then explain it to me!!” I shouted, chest heaving. “All you’ve ever done is make decisions. Tell me why I’ve been dragged into this nightmare, and why you’re always lying instead of simply letting me go.”
He could let me go.
Especially now when his family didn’t even approve of his marriage to me.
He stares at me, his jaw tight, but he didn’t answer. The silence between us stretched on, filled with unbreakable tension, until it became too much to handle.
I turned on my heel and stormed out of the hallway, not caring where I was going.
All I needed was an escape from him.
From his secrets, his lies, and the suffocating weight of it all.
Air.
I needed air.
And silence.
Without thinking, I ran toward the back of the house and slipped outside. The cool night air hit me like a wave, and I breathed in deeply, trying to calm the storm raging inside me.
My feet carried me toward the edge of the woods, the quiet darkness offering a strange sense of comfort, even as my heart raced.
Matteo was such a fool.
I didn’t know where I was going. I just needed to get away.
Branches snapped underfoot as I walked deeper into the woods, my thoughts swirling in a chaotic mess.
How had it all come to this?
Barely a year after dad died, how had I let myself get caught in a web of lies and deceit from all angles.
I was at a point where I didn’t understand what the fuck was going on. From my mother’s deceit to Matteo’s lies and secrets.
“But how are you so sure mom lied?” The stupid voice inside my head whispered.
The only person I could trust was Isabella. She had never lied to me.
A rustle nearby made me freeze. I turned sharply, scanning the darkness, my senses suddenly on high alert.
“Who’s there?”
It was probably the men who worked for Matteo. Maybe they were told to follow me.
“Who’s there?” I called our again, my voice sharper than I intended.
There was no answer, but I couldn’t get over the feeling of being watched.
I took a cautious step forward, squinting into the shadows, and that’s when I saw him.
A young man, barely older than me, leaning against a tree. Dressed in dark clothes, posture casual, with an unlit cigarette between his fingers, there was something in his eyes that made me uneasy.
I could take him.
“Who are you?” I demanded, my pulse quickening.
He pushed off the tree, stepping into the moonlight. His face was unfamiliar, but there was something about the way he held himself that screamed danger.
“Relax,” He chuckled, dusting the dirt off his coat. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
I took a step back, keeping my distance. “Then why are you on private property?”
The man’s smile was contagious. A lazy, calculating smilentha reminded me all too much of Matteo.
But that was where the similarities ended.
“I make it my business to know the women my rivals are moving with. To see if they are worth helping.”
My muscles stiffened. “What the hell are you talking about?”
My phone wasn’t with me, so I had no way of calling Matteo.
He shrugged, his gaze flicking over me like he was sizing me up. “Everyone who’s anyone in this side of the world knows you’re looking for someone. The pretty, big sister of yours. I figured it was time someone gave you some answers.”
My heart skipped a beat at the mention of my sister. “What do you know about her?”
His lips curled up in a cruel smile. “I know she’s not where you think she is. And I know if you want to find her, you’re going to need my help.”
I narrowed my eyes, not trusting him for a second. “Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, my mind reeling. This man was clearly dangerous, but he knew something.
Yet, I knew I couldn’t risk it.
Matteo would…. had to find Isabella or risk losing his title, and everything it came with.
If this man.. whoever he was, had a way to help, then I’d be damned not to listen to him.
“And why are you helping me?” I asked, suspicion lacing my words.
He tilted his head, as if considering the question. “I have my own reasons to see Matteo fall. And I won’t let that cock sucker first me to it.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Not at all.
But I was desperate.
Desperate for answers.
Desperate to find my sister and help Matteo in the process.
“What do you want in return?” I asked, my voice steady despite the fear creeping into my chest.
His onyx eyes gleamed in the moonlight, and for a moment, I found see the darkness that swirled in those dark depths. “Just your cooperation. Matteo would never find Isabella with the method he’s applying.”
Every moral part of me screamed for me to turn away.
Forget this.
But I could help Isabella this way.
“Fine,” I said, my voice firm. “But if you’re lying to me, you’ll regret it.”
He smirked, clearly not intimidated. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
With that, he turned and disappeared into the shadows, leaving me standing there, my heart pounding and my mind reeling.
I had just made a deal with the devil.
That’s when I heard someone call out for me.
“Valentina!!”