ARIA’s POV
As I strolled into the dining room, I noticed Carter sitting in one of the chairs. He seemed shocked, and his smile appeared forced, lacking authenticity.
As I took my seat, which he kindly pulled out for me, I couldn’t help but sense that something was wrong. Suddenly, I remembered that Carter had mentioned he wanted to share something with me. So, turning to him, I inquired.
“What’s on your mind, Carter?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t want to ruin anything”. He said, and now I was even more curious as to why he’d say that.
“What’s that exactly?”
“You’re a friend to me and as your friend I’d like to give you an advice”. He said in a very low voice.
“What’s that?”
“Don’t trust one person so much”. He said.
“Why? He’d never hurt me”. I met his gaze and sighed. “Again”
“You think so? Do you think Matteo would never hurt you? He hurt daya, not once, not twice, and he admitted he was in love with her. We don’t know what he feels for you. You might just be his favorite now cause he just wants to keep you in his bed”.
I gazed at him, maintaining a neutral expression as I absorbed his words, feeling a whirlwind of emotions causing my hands to tremble.
The sudden realization that he could be correct washed over me. Clearing my throat, I averted my gaze, focusing on the bread in my hand. I reached for the peanut butter jar, scooped out a portion, and spread it onto the bread.
“Here’s some jam”. He passed me the jar over to me, and I took it. I sorted myself out with the jam and took a bite of my bread, and I saw him staring at me. His lips curled up into a small smirk. Almost unnoticed, but I saw it alright.
“Don’t you feel Matteo’s playing with your feelings?”. He said.
I looked at him and back down at my plate.
“I feel he’s being genuine cause I see how happy he is”. I said. not wanting to speak any further.
“He gets that excited when he gets whatever he wants. A done deal, Daya, You, Evelyn-“. He stopped and met my gaze, nodding as he spoke, “Yes, Evelyn told me all that happened between them and Matteo’s that kind of guy. You’re wasting your time with him. You need genuine love from a genuine man. Not Matteo”. I laughed.
“We don’t know if he loves me”. I said, but I was hurt hearing about my husband and another woman. They had something going while he was married to me. That hurt me, but I remained calm.
“Yeah, maybe he’s just fucking with you. Cause you’re clearly not his type”. He said and that struck a nerve. I dropped my food back on its plate and turned to Carter, whose eyes were already on me.
“What’s his type?”. I asked.
“Tall skinny women who have everything figured out. He’s dated models, star, and frankly speaking, Daya was the most beautiful of them all. No one could match her beauty. She looked like a god. Anyone who saw her was in awe. She was perfect. And, he fell for her as well. It was her beauty that made him head over heels. Her aura was everything. And he loved her. And you, you are different from Daya. You are beautiful, but I won’t lie to you, Aria. Her beauty surprised everyone each day”.
“Can I see her”. I asked, feeling awful.
“Matteo made sure to burn down everything that belonged to her. Maybe not everything. His heart still beats. His heart belonged to her”. He paused and locked eyes with me. “It still does”. He said, and I inhaled.
“Of course. I mean, why would Matteo love me. I’m nothing like her”.
“Mhm”. He nodded and rushed to my side before taking my hands in his.”But, many other men will find you attractive. You just have to find him”. He said, and I scoffed.
“I’m married to Matteo. I can’t just leave. Remember what happened the last time”. I said, but he didn’t utter a word, but his eyes were staring at something behind me. I glanced over to see Matteo standing at the door, his fists clenched tightly by his side. As he hurried towards Carter, I watched him land a blow with his right fist to Carter’s face while grabbing his collar. Despite my efforts to restrain him, it was futile against someone nearly three times my size.
He shoved me aside and delivered another punch to Carter. Frantically, I screamed for help, but no one appeared to be around. Racing to the living room, I searched for Alonzo, and he quickly dashed into the dining room upon hearing my cries. Alonzo intervened to pull the enraged Matteo away from the battered Carter, but Matteo broke free from his grasp. I positioned myself between Matteo and Carter, offering myself as a barrier.
As Matteo locked eyes with me, his expression softened, and I instinctively opened my arms to him. Without hesitation, he stepped into my embrace, holding me tightly against him. I felt him tremble, wondering if fear or some other emotion was coursing through him. Signaling to Alonzo to escort Carter to safety, I took Matteo by the hand and led him out of the dining room.
Once we were out, we saw Elizabeth a few feet away from the entrance. Her eyes moved from me to Matteo, whose head was cast down and his hair falling freely on his face. His face couldn’t be quite seen, but I could tell he was hurting.
“Matteo”. The old lady called out, but my husband’s grip on my hand tightened. He held me and began walking away from the old lady.
“Matteo son”. She called out, but he kept walking slowly away from her with me directly behind him, and our hands locked.
“Aria”. He stopped dead in his tracks, but I didn’t look at the lady but my husband. “I dropped something over at your room. Make sure to check it out. It’s important you see it”. I smiled and nodded at her before Matteo began walking away again.