ARIA’S POV
I found myself glaring at her as she meticulously cleaned the blood from Carter’s body, her stethoscope dangling freely around her neck. Despite the situation, she appeared strikingly beautiful, which only intensified my emotions. Carter briefly caught my gaze and smiled, yet my attention quickly returned to Evelyn, the woman who not only shared a past with my husband but also happened to be his doctor.
“Did Daya cheat? And with whom?”. I asked, and both Carter and Evelyn shared a look before turning to me.
“You need rest”. Evelyn spoke up suddenly.
Turning to Carter, I looked him in the eye, but he shifted his gaze to Evelyn.
“Is that why you called her a bitch?”. I asked Evelyn, my eyes watching her features closely.
“Aria…you’re not going to get anything out of this”. She said, and I chuckled dryly
“You think?”.
“Aria, stop”. Carter said weakly, his voice faint and small.
“Why?”.
“You have no idea what Matteo would do to him if he hears you talking about her”. Evelyn said, her voice low and calm. Too calm
“Why Carter?”.
“Cause right now, Carter’s his target cause Carter has spent more time with you than he has”.
“You think Matteo’s jealous?”
“I know Matteo’s jealous”. She says, and I scoffed.
“He doesn’t want me. Why would he be jealous?”
Evelyn sighed and sat next to me. Her eyes betrayed the smile on her face
“Men want what they can’t have. He can’t have you, Aria, and what they can have, they don’t want it”. She said in one breath.
“He can’t have me?”.
“He can’t cause I don’t think you’re the girl to give in easily”. Carter whispered.
I looked at both of them and nodded
“Then, why did daya cheat? He wasn’t enough for her? Or, she just wasn’t in love with him”. I asked, my eyes darting from Evelyn to Carter waiting for one of them to give me an answer.
“She-she was an arse”. Evelyn said with a shrug.
“A bitch!”. Carter exclaimed
“She was an arse and a bitch. She fooled everyone with her sweet face and lovely smile…”. Evelyn said in a sing-song voice
“I heard her beauty could make men trip”.
“Yes, she was utterly beautiful”. Carter said, and then I turned to Evelyn for confirmation, but she looked at him with a scowl on her face.
“She was beautiful, yes! but men don’t trip when they see her. They just wanted to share a bed with her. You know”. I nodded.
“Did she agree to that often?”. I asked
“Fuck no! See, Daya was a slow poison seeping it’s way into Matteo brains and heart”. Evelyn said, and I laughed
“Because she stole your man?”. I laughed even louder. “You saying that cause she took Matteo away from you?”.
Evelyn rose from her spot angrily, and I stopped laughing abruptly.
“You think it’s funny? You think it’s funny watching another woman take what has been yours for a long time?!! It took Daya a couple of months to take him away from me, and I spent years with Matteo, but he never once thought of forever with me!!! She knew how much i wanted him! She knew!!”.
“Calm down, Evelyn…”. Carter croaked
“Shut the fuck up, Carter! This has nothing to do with you?”.
“Oh but it does. Daya wanted me. I couldn’t tell Matteo, you know why? Cause he won’t fucking believe his wife would want a man he picked from the gutters!!”. Carter shouted. He leaned back on the headboard and sighed heavily. “I tried to tell him but he burnt me”. He wet his lips. “He loved her. He loved her so much. He became blind to obvious things”.
“Umm…”. I started, my eyes looking at my legs and the bandage around my feet
“Maybe one day you’ll feel the hurt I felt when I found Daya and Matteo naked in-“. Despite her attempt to maintain composure, her emotions overwhelmed her, and she crumbled, tears streaming freely down her face. Her vulnerability contrasted sharply with the strong facade she had previously presented, revealing the depth of her feelings in that moment.
“She knew how much I loved him but still…she-“. Evelyn cried
“I’m sorry, Evelyn. You don’t deserve hurt like that”.
“Maybe one day you’ll feel this hurt when you realize your husband has been with another woman all this while”. My body tensed in an instant, shock coursing through my veins.
“Don’t say that, Evelyn”. Carter sighed.
“And then you’ll suffer just the way I am”. She said as she stormed for the door, but it was pushed open by Matteo still in his shirtless form, holding unto the telephone. His handgrippedg it till his knuckles turned white.
Aria…” His voice reached me, and I immediately tensed, aware that I had just fled a short distance from him with my bare feet now covered in bruises. He informed me that there was a phone call for me, yet his eyes failed to meet mine, his body slick with sweat. I couldn’t help but notice Evelyn’s lingering gaze on him, which only added to the tension in the air.
As he approached me, extending his hand to offer the phone, my hands trembled uncontrollably, and I struggled to look into his eyes.
“It’s Dennis”. He said, and i looked up at him
I hurriedly took the phone away from his firm grip, but he stood there watching me.
“Hello”. I whispered
“Hey, finally got a hold of you. I’ve been trying to reach you since I got to Venice”. Dennis said. “I only got this number from Rose and…I’ve missed you so much, Riri. Let’s go get coffee and catch up sometime?”. He said, and I smiled, and then I looked up at my husband watching me.
“Yeah”. Was all I said.
“See you!”.
“Bye”. I said, and the line went dead.
Ignoring my hesitation, Matteo reached out once again to take the phone from me. With trembling hands, I carefully placed it on his outstretched palm, only for him to abruptly hurl it across the room. A small whimper of fear escaped my lips as I watched the phone fly through the air. He briefly glanced at me before abruptly turning and exiting the room, leaving me in stunned silence.
“And who was that?”. Carter asked.
“My ex”. I said, looking at the door Matteo stormed through.