Chapter 3

Matteo's POV

"The cake is pretty sweet, but not as sweet as us," Luca said with a grin.

The woman off-camera let out a soft laugh, and his eyes crinkled with unguarded happiness.

By the time Luca had polished off half the cake, I'd finished choking down a bowl of crappy instant noodles.

On screen, his second phone lit up. As he looked at it, his eyes reddened, his features frozen in shock.

A few seconds later, in front of more than a hundred thousand viewers, he gasped, his whole body trembling.

The livestream cut out abruptly. I was still in a daze when Daniela's call came through.

She didn't give me a second to breathe before her fury came tearing down the line. "Matteo! You actually leaked my relationship with Luca online over a bowl of chicken broth and a few maids? If anything happens to Luca because of this, that worthless life of yours won't be enough to pay for it!"

I tried to explain. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just got home, and I've been eating—"

"You're still denying it? Luca said he sent those photos to you by accident. Nobody else has even seen them, not even me! And you've been to this same resort before. I even saw you lurking in Luca's livestream."

She spat the last words through gritted teeth.

If I'd been standing in front of her right then, she'd have kicked me to the ground and forced me onto my knees to beg Luca for forgiveness.

It was just like last winter. Luca's knees had been aching after a game of basketball, and he'd demanded that I come take care of him.

Back then, I was still weak from the internal bleeding in my gut. The second the word "sorry" left my lips, she kicked me to the floor.

I cracked my head against the tile that day, blood running down my face, before Luca finally choked out that he forgave me.

Daniela's furious breathing through the phone dragged me back to the present. I looked down at the dregs of the noodle broth. "It wasn't me. I've got no reason to do that."

On her end, Luca's voice rose with fear again. "Dani, I think someone outside is watching me. I'm scared…"

The line went dead. I sat frozen at the dining table, staring into space.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, Daniela's men punched in the door code. They burst in, dragged me out, and hauled me away like a sack of potatoes.

"Move it! Ms. Falcone wants you out there to take a knife for Mr. Bianchi right now!"

…

The hot spring resort had a massive floor-to-ceiling window.

I'd been ordered to sit at the dining table right in front of it and read. Meanwhile, tucked into the safest corner of the room, Daniela softly comforted a terrified Luca.

"Don't be scared. I'm right here. I'll protect you."

His whole body pressed against hers, his long fingers clutching her leather jacket.

"Dani, are they going to kill me? Are they going to beat me? I'm so scared…"

"No. You're completely safe here. I promise you, nothing is going to happen to you."

Their voices dropped to a murmur as Luca wrapped his arms around her.

"Dani, what would I ever do without you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. You'll never be without me. I'll stay by your side until we're old and gray."

The sounds of them kissing were impossible to block out. Even with my eyes glued to the page, every wet noise cut straight into my ears.

They made out for a solid half hour, stopping just short of going all the way.

"Dani, Matteo is still right there. He's your husband, after all. Maybe you should have someone protect him too?"

Daniela shot a freezing glare my way. "If he hadn't leaked our photos and location, you wouldn't be this terrified. He brought this on himself."

I tried desperately to focus on the words on the page, but my vision blurred. I was supposed to be numb to the pain by now. So why the hell was I crying?

I didn't get it, and I didn't care to find out.

Eventually, days of accumulated trauma and exhaustion caught up with me, and I drifted off.

I woke to the robotic voice in my head chiming "24 hours remaining" right as Daniela's palm cracked across my face.

"Matteo, how can you be so malicious? Sneaking in here while I was asleep!"

I bolted upright, tearing the stitches in my stomach, and hissed at the sudden pain.

"Stop playing the goddamn victim! Talk—where's Luca?"

Only then did I notice that, at some point during the night, I'd ended up in the bedroom.

And Luca was gone.

"I don't know," I rasped. "I remember being by the glass window last night—"