002

Two years earlier.

SCARLETT

I woke up screaming.

My hand flew to my throat before my eyes had even opened properly. I sat upright so fast that the room spun around me, my chest rising and falling in violent, shallow breaths.

My fingers pressed against my neck, feeling the skin there as though I expected to find Matteo's hands still wrapped around it.

For a few seconds, I couldn't breathe. I could still feel him.

The pressure of his fingers.

The knife.

The pain tearing through my stomach.

His face above mine, wet with tears as he asked me over and over again how I could do that to him.

"Matteo..." His name slipped from my lips.

I looked around.

Silence.

I wasn't on the floor.

There was no blood beneath me.

No Valentina.

No Matteo kneeling over me with murder in his eyes.

I was in my bedroom.

I stared around wildly, trying to force my brain to understand what I was seeing. The familiar cream-colored walls. The oversized windows. The curtains I always forgot to close properly. My dressing table. My closet.

My bed.

I looked down at myself.

I was wearing an oversized T-shirt.

No blood.

My stomach.

My hands moved there immediately and I pressed against it frantically.

Nothing.

No wounds.

No torn flesh.

No blood soaking through my clothes.

My breathing became faster. "No." The word came out weakly.

I pushed the covers away and stumbled out of bed. My legs nearly collapsed beneath me.

"No, no, no." It hadn't happened.

It couldn't have happened.

But I remembered it.

Every second.

Was that a dream? What kind of dream was that? It felt real. Like I've lived through it.

Valentina lying in her own blood.

Matteo crying.

His hand around my throat.

The knife entering my body.

My own voice begging him to stop.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

This was a dream. It had to be.

But it had felt too real. I had felt myself dying.

The door suddenly flew open. "Finally!"

I screamed again and jumped backward.

Adrian stood in the doorway.

He stopped immediately and his expression changed when he saw me. "What the hell?"

I stared at him.

He was breathing slightly heavily, as though he had rushed upstairs.

Adrian frowned. "Scarlett?"

I couldn't speak. My throat felt dry.

My body was still shaking violently.

He took a cautious step into the room. "Are you good?"

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

I swallowed. Still nothing.

Adrian's eyebrows pulled together. "Scarlett?"

I pointed toward my throat. My hand was shaking.

He stared at me for a second before walking toward the small dining table near the window.

The table was exactly how I remembered leaving it covered in snacks.

Chips. Chocolate wrappers. A half-open bag of candy. Two packets of biscuits. A bowl of popcorn.

The embarrassing collection of junk food I kept pretending I wasn't addicted to.

It looked absurdly normal.

Too normal. What is happening?

Adrian picked up an unopened bottle of water. "The Morettis are here," he said casually as he twisted the cap open. "They came a little early, but they decided to wait."

I stared at him as he handed me the bottle but I didn't take it.

"Nicoló is with your grandfather."

My heart stopped.

The Morettis?

My mind immediately began running in a hundred different directions.

The Morettis were here.

Why? What happened?

Had Matteo told them?

Did they know about Valentina?

Did everyone know?

My stomach twisted violently.

I had killed Valentina. Even if it had been an accident.

She was dead.

Matteo had killed me.

Or had he?

I touched my neck again. Had I survived?

Was that possible?

Maybe someone had found me.

Maybe Matteo had stopped.

Maybe I had been unconscious.

Maybe everything after that had been some horrible hallucination.

My mind kept throwing possibilities at me faster than I could catch them.

Where was Valentina?

Where was Matteo?

Was he downstairs?

Was he here to finish what he started?

I suddenly looked toward the door.

Adrian noticed. "What are you looking for?"

I looked back at him.

My lips moved. Still no words.

He pushed the water into my hands. "Drink."

I stared down at the bottle.

"Scarlett, you're worrying me."

I forced myself to swallow. My throat hurt.

Not physically, but I could still feel the memory of his hands.

I drank the water.

A little spilled down my chin because my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Adrian stared at me. "Are you alright?"

I lowered the bottle. "What did you say?"

"The Morettis are here."

"No."

Adrian blinked. "What?"

"Before that."

He looked confused. "Nicoló is with your grandfather."

My breathing picked up again. I looked around the room. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are they here?"

Adrian stared at me. "Scarlett."

"What?"

"You've been asleep for three hours. Are you actually okay?"

I shook my head. "No." The answer came too quickly.

Adrian sighed. "You need to freshen up."

My eyes narrowed. "What?"

"You look like you just escaped a horror movie."

I stared at him.

"And before you start arguing, you have less than an hour."

"For what?"

He looked at me like I was deliberately trying to annoy him. "To sign your marriage contract."

My entire body went still. "My what!?"